A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Dixon holds a one-shot lead
GOLF: David Dixon stormed into the lead in the European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage after a five-under-par fifth-round 67, which included seven birdies.
That score took him to top spot which English compatriot Sam Hutsby had occupied for the previous four days.
Dixon, whose sole European Tour win came at the Saint-Omer Open in 2008, overcame a bogey on the second hole to card four consecutive birdies from the third hole, followed by another on the eighth to reach the turn in 32, four under par.
While the experienced Englishman did hold a three-shot lead at one point during the day, five consecutive pars after the turn, followed by a birdie and a bogey at the 15th and 16th, opened the door for Bernd Ritthammer to join him at the top temporarily. However, he regained the lead on the 17th hole as he heads into the final day of the gruelling six-day marathon at PGA Catalunya Resort near Girona.
Khan insists he was 100 per cent focused on Peterson
BOXING: Amir Khan maintains he was fully focused on Lamont Peterson going into last weekend’s bout in Washington – and that he is now thinking only of a rematch at a neutral venue early next year.
Khan lost both his WBA and IBF light-welterweight world titles in a controversial split decision defeat to local fighter Peterson.
The Bolton star had hoped to move up to welterweight after the contest, with a view to taking on the likes of the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Those plans are now to be put on hold, and while he still intends to pursue them at a later date, Khan is adamant he was not preoccupied in the run-up to the Peterson clash by thoughts of the future.
“We were focused on Lamont Peterson 100 per cent,” said Khan.
Initially there was talk of a rematch in the UK, but Khan expressed doubt at that prospect and suggested that meeting at a neutral venue such as Las Vegas would be preferable anyway given his grievances over what happened.
Dravid calls for day-night Tests
CRICKET: Veteran India batsman Rahul Dravid has backed calls for the introduction of day-night Tests to revive interest in the five-day game. Speaking at the annual Bradman Oration in Canberra, ahead of India’s four-Test series against Australia, Dravid urged cricket administrators to protect the “gold standard” version of the game.
The 38-year-old, the second-highest runscorer in Test history, also called for a reduction in the volume of “meaningless one-day cricket” which had created a “mad merry-go-round” of international fixtures. “Test cricket deserves to be protected, it is what the world’s best know they will be judged by,” he said. “Cricket must find a middle path. It must scale down this mad merry-go-round that teams and players find themselves in – heading off for two-Test tours and seven-match ODI series with a few Twenty20s thrown in.”
Torro Rosso clear their decks
FORMULA ONE: Toro Rosso have surprisingly cleared their decks ahead of the 2012 Formula One season by dropping Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.
For the first time since the team’s 2006 debut, Toro Rosso will start a campaign with an all-new line-up, of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne – both products of the Red Bull Junior Driver programme.
After wielding the axe, team principal Franz Tost said: “I am pleased we have been able to reach an early decision on our drivers for next year because it means we can all give our full attention to 2012 without any distractions.
“Over the past year both Daniel and Jean-Eric have proved their worth and I expect them to make a significant contribution to the team’s performance next year.
“Daniel has the benefit of having actually raced in grands prix for much of this year.”
Wahlin leads from Brewerton
GOLF: Sweden’s Lotta Wahlin fired a six-under-par 66 to earn a one-stroke lead from Wales’ Becky Brewerton after the first round of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. With father Mats on the bag, Wahlin started at the 10th and picked up shots at the 12th and 13th over the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club, before dropping a stroke on the par-four 16th. She then reeled off birdies at the second, fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth holes.
Nevin lines out for Paris United
BOXING: Two-time AIBA World medalist John Joe Nevin will make his first appearance of the season for Paris United versus the Leipzig Leopards in Germany tomorrow night.
The Cavan BC bantamweight (56kg) meets Rashid Kaseem of Denmark at the World Series of Boxing lightweight limit (57kg to 61kg).
Kaseem was controversially adjudged to have beaten Nevin’s Irish team-mate David Oliver Joyce when the Leopards beat Istanbul Bosphorus almost two weeks ago.
Joyce, who had won three fights in a row for the Turkish side up to that point, lodged a protest following that decision. The protest is expected to be decided before Christmas.
Joyce, meantime, will line out for Bosphorus against China’s Zhimin Wang when the Beijing Dragons visit Istanbul tomorrow.
Neither Ken Egan nor Con Sheehan will be in action for the Leipzig Leopards for the visit of Paris United.
