A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Women's ski jumping event likely to win a spot in Sochi
WINTER OLYMPICS: A NUMBER of new events are likely to win a spot in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics when the International Olympic Committee’s powerful executive board meets in London next week.
Women’s ski jumping, which had campaigned but failed to win a place in last year’s Vancouver Games, is one of seven events requesting inclusion at the event in Russia’s Black Sea resort.
The board will meet on April 5th-6th and IOC president Jacques Rogge has been instructed to take a final decision after postponing a ruling late last year to monitor the respective world championships during the 2010/11 winter season.
The inclusion of new events of existing Olympic sports does not require a ratification by the IOC session as is the case with new sports and the board, which has handed the final say to Rogge, has already said it was “looking favourably at the inclusion”.
Apart from women’s ski jumping, the other events up for consideration are ski halfpipe (men and women), ski slopestyle (men and women), snowboard slopestyle (men and women), biathlon mixed team relay, figure skating team event and luge team relay.
The IOC will also be discussing its London 2012 Games guidelines for disorders of sexual development to avoid any embarrassing incidents similar to the South African runner Caster Semenya case that rocked the 2009 world athletics championships.
Lorenzo ready to return 'home'
MOTO: REIGNING MOTOGP champion Jorge Lorenzo is ready to return to the front this weekend as he prepares for his home race in Jerez. The Spaniard spent winter testing watching the Repsol Hondas of Casey Stoner and compatriot Dani Pedrosa dominate but managed to split the pairing at the opening race in Qatar to claim second spot.
Now the Yamaha rider is confident of another strong display at his home circuit and a repeat of the win he savoured there last season. He said: “I am ready to come back to Jerez. We started the championship so well in Qatar and I believe it is a great moment to ride for my people and my fans here in Spain. Jerez is a special place for me, maybe the best track in the world. When I was only 15, the day right after my birthday, I raced for the first time in front of 100,000 people there.”
Phelan to face Scotland's Holts
BOXING: KILDARE FLYWEIGHT Chris Phelan has been named in a nine-man Ireland squad to meet Scotland at the National Stadium in Dublin this evening. Phelan, who reached February’s Elite 52kg final, meets Liam Holts over three, three-minute rounds.
Davey Joe Joyce, Fergal Redmond and Tyrone McKenna will also be in action, along with Danny Coughlan, Patrick O’Shea, Jason Conroy, Stephen Carroll and Myles Casey, a brother of Willie Casey.
Boxing begins at 7.45pm.
Meanwhile, Ireland are guaranteed at least six bronze medals at the Pavlyukov Memorial Youth Multi-Nations in Anapa, Russia following a hat-trick of quarter-finals wins yesterday.
Christy Joyce, George Bates and Kieran Forde had their hands raised in victory. Michael Nevin was also in action but lost out to Russian light-flyweight Ivan Lohmotkinivan.
The Irish trio join Cork’s David Roche – who beat Cuban lightweight Yoangel Moyagibert in Wednesdays quarter-finals – Stephen Broadhurst and Gary Sweeney in today’s last-four deciders.
Sharapova reaches decider
TENNIS: Russia’s Maria Sharapova reached her first final in seven months with a 3-6 6-0 6-2 victory over Germany’s Andrea Petkovic at the Sony Ericsson Open last night.
After the first set, the match turned into a one-sided affair with the Russian showing the kind of form that once made her world number one.
The Russian will face the winner of the other semi-final – between compatriot Vera Zvonareva and Belarussian Victoria Azarenka.
Change of dates for Pakistan ODIs
CRICKET: CRICKET IRELAND has been forced to change the dates of the upcoming RSA one-day series against Pakistan due to flight connection issues, writes Emmet Riordan.
The two One-Day Internationals at Stormont in Belfast, originally scheduled for Friday May 27th and Sunday May 28th, will now take place on Saturday May 28th and Monday May 29th. Both games will start at 10.45am.
Pakistan, who were knocked out of the World Cup by India in Wednesday’s semi-final, will be making their first visit here since 1987 and it will be just the second meeting between the sides in an ODI after Ireland famously knocked them out of the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.
Robertson bows out in China
SNOOKER: WORLD CHAMPION Neil Robertson bowed out of the China Open to continue his poor run in the country. The Australian has yet to reach the quarter-finals of the competition after being knocked out for the second successive year by Peter Ebdon, 5-1.
Ebdon won the first three frames and rolled in a 42 to close out a scrappy fourth frame, but the current World Champion got a clean sweep before the interval.
After the break, Ebdon went 29 points clear in the sixth before Robertson reduced the deficit to three with four snookers on the green. But Ebdon fluked the green and wrapped up the frame 78-57 to set up a quarter-final with Judd Trump, who beat Mark Davis 5-2.
Li Hang was unable to complete a third victory over a former world champion. Li, who had already seen off Ken Doherty and Graeme Dott, lost 5-4 to Shaun Murphy despite starting strongly.
The first player to make sure of a place in the last eight was Stephen Lee who beat Wales’ Ryan Day 5-2.
