Taylor now faces Chalaya
WOMEN'S BOXING: Irish amateur technical manager Gary Keegan reckons that reigning women's lightweight world champion Tatyana Chalaya from Russia will have learnt a lot from the last time she fought and lost to Irish star Katie Taylor.
Taylor, from the St Fergal's club in Bray, claimed at least a bronze medal at the World Championships in India yesterday after stopping Romania's Florianna Pop on the 15-point rule (20-5) in round two of their quarter-final in New Delhi.
The 20-year-old Irish woman, ranked number one in the world, will now meet Chalaya in today's semi-final which will go ahead around 1.30pm Irish time.
Today's showdown is a repeat of September's European final in Warsaw which Taylor won after stopping Chalaya.
WTA announce overhaul
TENNIS: An overhaul of women's tennis will be completed by 2009, the WTA Tour have said. A final decision on a new tournament schedule aimed at shortening the season and getting the top players facing each other more regularly should be agreed by March.
The announcement follows a decision taken by the Tour board at the recent championships in Madrid to launch a tournament selection process as part of its "Roadmap 2010".
"Today marks a shift into the implementation phase of the Roadmap 2010 that will deliver to fans the stars and rivalries they want to see, and that addresses the issue of player withdrawals caused by a season that is simply too long and gruelling," WTA chief Larry Scott said.
Olympic Park costs hit roof
OLYMPIC GAMES 2012: The cost of London's 2012 Olympic Park has rocketed by £900 million (€1.3m), British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has confirmed.
The new £3.3 billion figure, up from £2.375 billion, includes an extra £400 million to pay the delivery partner consortium CLM. Their job will be to try to ensure the 2012 Games come in on budget and on time.
Britain's National Audit Office, the Whitehall spending watchdog, has also been brought in to "work closely" with organisers on the finances, she told a House of Commons sport Committee.
The increase in the park costs was blamed on the doubling in the price of steel and a decision to revise transport costs to take into account inflation in the run-up to 2012.
Botha is cleared to resume
CRICKET: South Africa off spinner Johan Botha has been cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resume bowling at international level.
The 24-year-old was suspended in February for having an illegal bowling action but, after extensive remedial work, he has had his action re-assessed twice in the past four months.
The ICC said yesterday: "Improvements had been made to the bowling action for both the off break and 'doosra' deliveries and Johan was capable of bowling within ICC levels of tolerance."
A decision on the appeals of Pakistani fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif against their doping bans will be given by next week, the Chairman of the Appellate Commission said yesterday.
