A round-up of today's sports news in brief
India in shock as hockey team fail to qualify for Beijing Olympics
INDIA REACTED with shock and dismay after their men's hockey team were eliminated from the Beijing Olympics competition, the first time the former eight-time winners would not compete in the games.
India, who have never missed an Olympics since they sent their first team in 1928, lost 2-0 to Britain in the final of the qualifying tournament in Chile with only the winner advancing to the 12-team event at the Beijing Games in August.
"It is a very, very big disaster in Indian hockey," said Ashok Kumar, a member of India's 1975 World Cup-winning side. "It felt like there was a death in the family."
Kumar, son of late Indian hockey great Dhyan Chand, blamed the federation for not doing anything to halt the slide in the national game. "It is not one day's story. It has been happening in the last decade," he said. A senior IHF official rejected criticism of the federation. "We created the right atmosphere, we don't know whom to blame," IHF secretary K Jothikumaran said yesterday.
Former captain Vasudevan Baskaran, who led the team to their last gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, hoped there would be a positive analysis of the setback to find a way forward.
Simmons gets boost ahead of ODI series
IRELAND COACH Phil Simmons is confident his side's comprehensive nine-wicket Intercontinental Cup victory over the United Arab Emirates will provide the perfect springboard for next week's One Day International series against Bangladesh, reports Emmet Riordan.
Ireland moved into second place in the table after picking up a full 20 points in the Abu Dhabi clash. They trail Kenya by 17 points, but have a game in hand over the African side.
Although some stubborn rearguard batting from the UAE brought the game into the final session, Simmons believes it will stand to the players.
"The main thing was to win the game, which we achieved," remarked Simmons. "It was a good test for us ahead of our important series in Bangladesh. It's good for the bowlers to get overs under their belts out in the middle and we'll benefit from this tough test."
Ireland will play two 40-over friendlies before they depart for Dhaka, taking on an Abu Dhabi XI under light tomorrow, before a game against Essex, who are holding their pre-season training camp in the Emirate.
Skipper Trent Johnston is expected to sit out both games with a strained tricep muscle, while David Langford-Smith (ankle) and Andre Botha (leg) may also be rested.
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Doyle sets new junior record in Canada
LIMERICK SWIMMER Fiona Doyle knocked 2.5 seconds off the Irish junior record when she won a 200m freestyle event in Canada at the weekend.
The only Irish competitor at the meet in Calgary, she won a gold and four silver medals as she continues her build-up in a bid to be chosen on the Ireland team for the Beijing Olympic later this year.
A member of the National High Performance squad based at UL, Doyle won the freestyle in 2:35.26, which clipped four seconds off her personal best for the distance. The Limerick teenager, who will remain in Canada for a few more weeks, finished second in four other events, all of which were won by Canadian Erica Morningstar.
