Gaudio out of Czech tie

Buenos Aires: Injured French Open champion Gaston Gaudio will miss Argentina?s Davis Cup tie with the Czech Republic next week, team captain Alberto Mancini said on Thursday.

The world No. 8, who has won two tournaments this month, pulled out of the Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco this week with a stomach muscle injury after two sets of his first round match with Czech Tomas Zib.

Mancini has three other players in the world?s top 12 in his squad ?Guillermo Coria, David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas.

Ban on 7 cyclists

Bogota: Seven Colombian cyclists were suspended for one month to two years for positive doping tests in races last year, the Colombian cycling federation has said.

Federico Munoz was given an 18-month suspension after his positive test during a race in November. Another leading Colombian cyclist, Argiro Zapata, received a preliminary one-month suspension for testing positive at the Vuelta A Costa Rica race last year. Albeiro Sanchez, Gustavo Ramirez, Hernan Fabian Ramirez, Oscar Perez and Daniel Diaz were issued with two-year bans following tests at races in 2004.

Eves? meet

New Delhi: A seven member Indian contingent will participate in the first international women?s boxing championship to be held in St Petersburg, Russia from March 7-13.

The contingent, comprising of four boxers, a coach, judge and a manager will leave for Russia a day before the competition, IABF co-ordinator Rakesh Thakran said in a release here on Thursday.

Hoyzer released

Berlin: Robert Hoyzer, the referee at the centre of Germany?s match-fixing scandal, was released from custody on Friday. He remains accused of eight cases of complicity to defraud.

Berlin prosecutors said Hoyzer would have to report to police three times a week. He has also given up his passport.

Hoyzer was arrested two weeks ago on the basis of evidence suggesting he was involved in match-fixing before the incidents in 2004 he had admitted to.

Mukesh academy

Kakinada: Former Indian hockey captain Mukesh Kumar on Friday announced his intentions to launch a hockey academy in Andhra Pradesh with the cooperation of the state government.

?There is a dearth of good sport academics in the state. The government is willing to provide 60 per cent support for the purpose,? Mukesh told mediapersons here.