Kluft to skip pet event

Stockholm: Reigning Olympic heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft will not compete in the event at the Beijing Olympics, instead focusing on long jump and triple jump, a report said. The 25-year-old Swede told a paper that she was no longer motivated in the heptathlon. “I have had a dialogue with my self, looked for different signs and followed my heart,” she said.

Kluft had dominated the heptathlon in recent years, winning three World Championships, two European Championships, and the World Indoor Championships, but said in October she was considering a switch.

Dinesh closes in on Beijing berth

New Delhi: Dinesh Kumar is just one win away from bagging a berth in the Beijing Olympics. The Indian stormed into the semi-finals of the second Asian boxing qualifiers with a knockout win over Syria’s Mohammad Hasan in the 81kg category in Astana on Wednesday. The bout barely lasted a few seconds. He will take on Mandakhbayar of Mongolia and even a silver would set him on the road to Beijing.

KTT Singh crashed out in the second round, losing 4-9 to Turkmenistan’s Hudayberdiev Serdar in the 60kg category.

Sunitha in last 8

Noida: Sunitha Rao advanced to the quarter finals of the $15,000 ITF women’s meet on Wednesday while Sanaa Bhambri bowed out in the second round. The second seed disposed of Serb Teodora Mircic 6-2, 6-2 in her second-round match. Sanaa put up a good fight but ultimately lost 5-7, 4-6 to Vlada Ekshibarova. Sunitha next faces seventh seed Sandy Gumulya of Indonesia, who beat China’s Sheng-Nan Sun 6-4, 6-2.

Ankle surgery for Ruud

Madrid: Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is expected to miss six weeks after having surgery on his injured right ankle Wednesday. Van Nistelrooy travelled to a clinic in The Netherlands to have arthroscopic surgery in a bid to stop inflammation in the ankle joint, Real Madrid said in a statement on their website. Van Nistelrooy could still return for the club’s final four Spanish league matches. He is expected to be available for the European Championship in June.

Birmingham raid

Birmingham: British police raided Premier League club Birmingham on Wednesday as part of an investigation into soccer corruption. The City of London Police said that they visited Birmingham early in the morning to execute a search warrant, but did not give further details. Birmingham said that it was cooperating with police, but that the inquiries “relate to an unconnected third party or third parties”.

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