Tennis: The Irish Open women's championships, said to be the oldest in the world, get underway at Riverview this morning with players from as far away as Australia and as near as Dublin poised to do battle, not only for a share of the $25,000 prize money on offer but also for some of the WTA world ranking points that are available, round by round.
The top seed is South African Surina De Beer whose ranking has slipped recently to 174, while Britain's Karen Cross is seeded to meet her in Saturday's final. Lucie Ahl, the holder, is seeded three. She faces a talented French entry in Stephanie Testard.
Irish players have claimed places in the main draw through the wildcard system and qualifying. Kelly Liggan, the Spanish-based Irish Fed Cup player, could claim to have the best current credentials to make the biggest impact due to her consistency on the satellite and challenger circuits world wide.
Gina Niland's return to the circuits bodes well for her chances of putting in a worthwhile challenge and the same applies to Yvonne Doyle, a loser to Niland in the recent Irish Close Championships. Remarkably, they have drawn each other in the first round.
Athletics: Sri Lanka courted controversy yesterday by entering controversial sprinter Susanthika Jayasinghe for the World Championships in Seville, Spain, next month.
Sri Lankan athletics officials said they were entering Jayasinghe in her favourite 200 metres event - in which she won silver two years ago to grab international attention as Asia's fastest woman.
Jayasinghe, 24, tested positive for a banned steroid last year and was immediately suspended, but in August, a Sri Lankan appeals panel cleared her of drug use.
The sport's world governing body, the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF), who were unhappy with the panel's decision, have recommended a two-year ban be imposed and set up a new board to re-open the case.
Jayasinghe's name will also be entered for the South Asian Federation Games later this year in Nepal - but if the arbitration committee finds that she did, in fact, use steroids in 1998, she will have to return any medals she might win.
