India beat Indonesia

Chennai: India managed to beat Indonesia 3-2 in the classification match to decide the 9th-12th placings in the 13th Asian Junior Women’s Volleyball Championship being held in Thailand.

After finishing at the bottom with two points in group B, India defeated Indonesia 22-25, 25-21, 28-30, 25-23, 15-13, while Sri Lanka scored a 25-22, 25-20, 28-18 win over Singapore. India will now play Sri Lanka to decide the 9th-10th places.

In quarter final matches, Japan beat New Zealand 25-8, 25-7, 25-14; China beat South Korea 25-17, 25-16, 25-18; Chinese Taipei got past Vietnam 25-18, 25-16, 25-18 and hosts Thailand defeated Australia 25-13, 25-12, 25-17.

Royal boost for IOC

Copenhagen: Crown Prince Frederik — an avid yachtsman, horseman and marathon runner — has been nominated to become Denmark’s next IOC member. The 38-year-old Frederik is being lined up to replace Kai Holm, who reaches the IOC’s 70-year age limit in 2009.

“The crown prince is the best card in our efforts to continue to have a Danish member on the International Olympic Committee,” Denmark’s national Olympic committee said on Thursday.

IOC president Jacques Rogge supports the prince’s candidacy, according to the statement. Holm has been Denmark’s IOC member since 2002.

Suit over Zidane red card

Paris: A French lawyer is to contest Zinedine Zidane’s World Cup final red card in the French civil courts, a court source has said.

Mehana Mouhou, A lawyer in Rouen and Paris, wants the red card overturned on a technicality because he claims the fourth official watched video evidence of the French captain’s infamous head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi, before bringing it to the referee’s attention.

France went on to lose the July 9 final after a penalty shoot-out.

Mouhou will have his day in court and is set to try to convince a judge on December 7.

Eight charged with fraud

Frankfurt: Eight men have been charged with fraud over allegations they tried to bribe players in Germany’s lower divisions and Austria’s top league to fix matches. A 45-year-old unnamed Asian man and his 24-year-old Lebanese accomplice are accused of being the ringleaders in trying to fix 10 games on behalf of Asian bettors, Frankfurt prosecutor Silke Huettig said on Thursday.

A former Serbian player and coach, two African players, and a Portuguese and German man complete the group. None of their names have been released. The two ringleaders, who have been under arrest since March, allegedly attempted to fix games in 2005.

’Keeper banned

Singapore: Fifa has ruled that an Asian ban on North Korean goalkeeper Han Hye-yong should have world-wide effect. Han’s one-year ban, imposed by the AFC after she kicked Italian referee Anna de Toni at the women’s Asian Cup semi-final in July, will cover all matches including friendlies, the AFC said on its Web site on Thursday. The AFC hit Han with the ban last month and also fined her $4,500 for violent conduct.

Montenegro membership

Ljubljana: Montenegro was granted provisional membership of Uefa on Thursday, while European soccer’s governing body postponed a decision on Gibraltar’s application following objections from Spain. Montenegro gained independence after it split from Serbia in June. Serbia succeeds the former Yugoslavia in Uefa’s records and was not required to seek readmission.

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