Australia committed to CWG

Melbourne: The Australian Commonwealth Games Association has defied fresh terror threats issued against foreign players’ participation in sporting events in India and said the nation remains committed to sending a team for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. “That threat does not affect our current position of going to the Games. We are committed to going. You can’t be uncertain on that…” ACGA chief executive Perry Crosswhite said. First among those events is the hockey World Cup and New Zealand and Australia have decided to reassess the security measures in place for the event.

Guus move

Istanbul: Guus Hiddink has agreed to coach the Turkish national team with effect from August 1, the Turkish Football Federation said in a statement on Wednesday.

Nominations

Johannesburg: Former winners Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o have been nominated along with Michael Essien for the 2009 African Footballer of the Year award, the Confederation of African Football said on Wednesday.

Chirag in semis

Kannur: Chirag United beat Lajong FC 2-0 to enter the semi-final of the third EK Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup football tournament Wednesday. Brazilians Edmilson Marques and Joshimar scored for the victors.

Poor finish

Vancouver: India’s disappointing performance at the Winter Games continued with Armyman Tashi Lundup finishing a distant 83rd in the men’s 15km Free Cross-country Skiing event.

Mahesh exit

Memphis: Top seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi made a first round exit from the Memphis Open following a 4-6, 4-6 defeat to the unseeded pair of Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram.

Prakash up

New Delhi: Prakash Amritraj and James Cerretani came from behind to beat Karol Beck and Jiri Krkoska 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 in Round I and book a last-eight berth in the doubles event of the ATP Challenger event in Belgrade.

Media issue

New Delhi: The News Media Coalition Wednesday asked the Indian Premier League authorities not to alienate the international media and address the widespread concerns about coverage of the T20 league, saying the “terms on offer from the IPL raise serious issues of press freedom…”

CAB plan

Calcutta: The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will be spending Rs 34 lakh to hire eight high-power generator sets from a Hyderabad firm for the upcoming matches of IPL-III. Each generator will be hired at a cost of Rs 3.5 lakh for 40 days.