London Olympics 2012

LONDON, July 17: Beijing Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra was the first Indian shooter to enter the London Olympic Games Village along with the 10-member archery squad and a four-member weightlifting squad.

The archers and the lifters entered the Games Village first while Bindra joined them a little later, on Monday evening.

“They have settled down and are looking forward to carry out their workouts at the training venues,” Brigadier P K Muralidharan Raja, Deputy Chef de Mission of the Indian Contingent, said.

The sprawling Games Village consists of 2,818 townhouses and apartments which can accommodate 15,000 residents.

The Indian contingent of 81 athletes and 51 officials have been provided accommodation in the Seaside Building S1, named as Titan.

The organisers have arranged for volunteers for each contingent. The Indian Contingent has got seven volunteers, who are all Indian by origin but working in UK.

The official welcome ceremony for the Indian Contingent is scheduled to be held at Games Village on Sunday.

The Indian delegation had requested the organisers to consider a change of date to July 22 but the ceremony could not be re-scheduled as no time slot was available. Agencies

Sonepat, July 17 : Doing an encore in London is not something that Sushil Kumar wants to lose his sleep over, but the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist has assured to put in the hard yards to ensure a podium finish in the upcoming Olympics.

"I don't want put any unnecessary pressure on me by thinking about the medal. It will hamper my performance in the Olympics. If you think about medal, you are bound to feel the pressure. My aim is to give my best on the mat," Sushil told during an exclusive chat at the SAI Centre here.

The grappler, however, added that he has gained in experience since the last Olympics and wants to improve upon his previous showing.

"The bronze medal at Beijing, four years ago, has certainly added to my confidence and I am determined to improve my previous Olympic record," said Sushil who denied reports of retirement after the London experience.

"As long as my body supports me, I'll keep on performing for my country."

Sushil said the camp at Colorado Springs has helped the wrestlers improve their speed and stamina.

"The camp at Colorado Springs was very helpful as far as our preparation for the Olympics is concerned. Two-three top European nations were there and we got to test our skills against them. The camp is situated at a high altitude so that also gave us an added benefit as far our training was concerned. We focused on speed, stamina, endurance and foot movement. I am feeling physically and mentally fit for the Olympics. The camp happened at the right time for the Olympic-bound wrestlers," he added.

Talking about their upcoming conditioning–cum-training camp at Belarus ahead of the London Games, the 66-kg freestyle wrestler said, "In the upcoming camp, the focus would on improving the technical aspects of the game."

Asked how it feels to be leading the Indian contingent at the Games, Sushil said, "I am happy that I have been given the responsibility of carrying the tricolour during the opening ceremony.

"This will definitely raise the profile of the game in the country. This is the first time that a wrestler will shoulder the responsibility of carrying the national flag and I am feeling really proud about it. This will also inspire the future generation of wrestlers to come," he insisted. Agencies

Sydney, July 17: Australia’s medal tally from Beijing Games to London will be bad to worse, a new study has revealed. A study conducted by the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, in the US, says Australia will win fewer Olympic gold medals, and fewer medals overall, than it did at either Beijing, Athens or Sydney. The study, however, predicted that host nation Britain can hope for a good medal haul.

The study used the formula developed by professor Andrew Bernard. The formula was also used to predict the overall medal count at 2000 Sydney Games and 2008 Beijing with 95 per cent accuracy.

The formula uses economic principles such as income per person, population and prior Olympic success on a country level as the indicators rather taking into account the history of the athletes competing in the Games.

The study said that Britain are expected to move up the gold medal tally from fourth to third, with 25 gold medals and will overtake Russia with 21. China is expected to top the medals tally with 48 gold, followed by the US with 35. IANS

LONDON, July 17: Dutch legend Roelant Oltmans, one of the most successful hockey coaches in the world, feels a semifinal berth at London Olympics will be fantastic for the Indian team but a more realistic finish would be in top eight.

“Sure a top-six will be great, but I am not too sure about a semifinal finish,” said Oltmans, who is here at the Olympics, not as coach of the Dutch hockey team, but as overall technical delegate with the Dutch Olympic contingent.

“India is up against the Netherlands in the very first match. That should be interesting, because I feel the Dutch are among the favourites,” he added.

The 52-year-old understands how important India is for world hockey. “It is a sport with a lot of tradition and following and the hockey world needs India to do well.”

“Of course I will follow hockey, but my role is larger here, but I am very much in touch with hockey,” he said while waiting for his team members at the Stratford Station near the Olympic Park.

“Some of us are not staying at the Olympic Village and I am waiting for some of the boys.”

He also had a word of praise for Michael Nobbs, the coach of the Indian team.

“Nobbs is a good guy. He has done a good job so far. Getting India to the Olympics after missing out last time and this time they were convincing while qualifying,” he said.

Oltmans was here in India earlier this year as the coach of the Delhi team in World Series Hockey where the Indian probables did not take part.

But he has seen most of the boys who are in the current Olympic squad.

Oltmans was very successful with both men’s and women’s teams. He was with the women’s team from 1989 and 1993 and coached the World champion team in 1990.

In 1993 Oltmans moved to the men’s team and in 1996 the Dutch won the gold medal at Atlanta with Oltmans as the coach and also in 1998 in Utrecht they won the World Cup. Agencies

Nairobi, July 17 :Kenya are looking at seven gold medals from the 48 athletes they are sending to the London Olympics. Of the 43 track and field athletes, two boxers, two swimmers and one weightlifter, there are seven events in which the Kenyans can strike gold.

In the last Olympics in Beijing, Kenya won six gold medals, all in middle and long-distance running events, thereby making it Kenya’s best Olympics outing ever.

Probably the top favourites are current 800m world record holder David Rudisha; world 5,000m and 10,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot; London marathon winner Mary Keitany; two time marathon world champion Abel Kirui; Olympic 800m champion Pamela Jelimo and Olympic and world 1500m champion Asbel Kiprop. Agencies

New Delhi, July 17: Teenager Soumyajit Ghosh knows he is not India’s best table tennis player to have qualified for the London Olympics. But now that he has, the Silguri-born paddler thinks if he can pull off an upset, it would make his Olympic debut worthwhile.

Like 18-year-old boxer Shiva Thapa, Ghosh had set his sights on the 2016 Olympics. But the 19-year-old realised his dream four years earlier after beating higher-ranked compatriot Anthony Amalraj at the Asian Olympic qualifier in Hong Kong. He became one of the two players to secure the coveted Olympic berth alongside Ankita Das.

“Honestly, I was surprised when I qualified ahead of seniors like Sharath Kamal and Amalraj. But I am very happy that I could qualify and I want to use the opportunity as a learning experience,” Ghosh told IANS from China’s National Training Centre, Zhengding, where he is preparing for the London event beginning July 27.

Ghosh has a world rank of 206, lower than Sharath’s 63 and Amalraj’s 155. India’s chief coach Leszek Kucharski is impressed with Ghosh but after the qualifiers he had no qualms in saying that Sharath was still the lone world-class player in the team. IANS

WASHINGTON, July 17: American President Barack Obama waded into the USA Olympic basketball debate on Monday, saying the 1992 Dream Team with Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley would have beaten the 2012 Olympic team.

Obama said on Monday he remembers a 1992 gold-medal winning USA team that looked unstoppable from the very first game.

“I got to go with the original Dream Team,” said Obama during a halftime interview of the USA against Brazil exhibition game with American broadcaster ESPN.“I suspect that Michael and Sir Charles would point out they were never down at any point in any of their games but this is a great team.”

Obama got a bird’s-eye view of the current USA national team on Monday, sitting courtside at the Verizon Centre arena with his family and Vice President Joe Biden.

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant launched a debate recently when he said this year’s Olympic team could have beaten the 1992 version which is known as the Dream Team because it included 11 future Hall of Fame players.

Jordan then scoffed at Bryant’s boast, by saying “I absolutely laughed. For him to compare those two teams is not one of the smarter things he ever could have done.”

Obama said the current team with Bryant and NBA finals MVP LeBron James would make its own mark on the Summer Games. “This is a great team with unbelievable talent,” Obama said. “Kobe is a competitor so you expect him to do a little trash talking whenever the opportunity arises.”

Obama and Biden sat down in their chairs to chants of “U-S-A” at the contest against Brazil. The game is a tune-up before the start of the London Games later this month.

Obama predicted the current Dream Team, even with all the injury problems they have had, would win the gold medal in London. Agencies

Buenos Aires, July 17: Argentinean tennis star Juan Martin Del Potro says bringing home a medal from the London Olympics would be as good as winning a Grand Slam tournament.

In an interview with local daily Clarin Monday, the World No. 9 said: “Undoubtedly, to win a medal would be a great achievement, a marvellous, beautiful and historic achievement ... considering the quality of my rivals. It would be almost like winning a Grand Slam.”

Del Potro said he hoped to enjoy the summer games as “a unique experience,” because “it’s something that happens (only) every four years.”

“It would be fantastic to win a medal at the upcoming Games,” said Del Potro, but added “it will be very difficult because there are only three podium spots. Those high in the ranking are the favourites, the ones with the most chances to win. My goal is to grab a medal from them,” he said.

Besides the singles event, Del Potro will compete mixed doubles with compatriot Gisela Dulko. The 23-year-old tennis player, born in Tandil in the east central province of Buenos Aires, has won 11 tournaments in his career.  (IANS)

Rio de Janeiro, July 17: Brazilian coach Mano Menezes has confirmed plans for attacking with three strikers at the London Olympics’ football competition.

Menezes said forwards Neymar, Hulk and Leandro Damiao would all start in Brazil’s Olympic warm-up friendly against Britain at Middlesbrough Friday, Xinhua reports.

The trio featured in Brazil’s Olympic team in a practice match against the squad’s reserves on the final day of a pre-Games training camp here on Sunday.

The first-choice formation also included Chelsea target Oscar in the role of playmaker in place of Santos starlet Paulo Henrique Ganso.

“The team that will begin the friendly is the same that started in the practice match on Sunday,” Menezes said before the team’s departure for London.

Brazil’s squad received a visit at its hotel from Botafogo star Clarence Seedorf, who wished his former AC Milan teammates Alexandre Pato and Thiago Silva luck for the competition. IANS

LONDON, July 17: London Olympics chief organizer Sebastian Coe on Tuesday played down talk of transport problems at the Games after a US athlete complained of a nightmare journey across the British capital.

Two-time world 400 metres hurdles champion Kerron Clement said that on the first day of arrivals on Monday, the bus ferrying him and his US teammates from Heathrow Airport to the Athletes' Village had taken four hours.

"I don't think we should get out of proportion some of these issues," Coe told a press conference at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London.

"We had a tweet yesterday talking about a four-hour delay when it was actually two-and-a-half hours. We had a driver that missed a turning. Well, out of 100 coach journeys that is likely to happen."

Coe added: "The majority of athletes got in in good shape and on time. When they were met by our village mayor and chief executive they were busily tweeting saying how much they were enjoying village life.

"Getting in from the airport and to the village is important and 98 percent of those journeys went without any hitch at all yesterday."

Transport has been a major worry for the 2012 host city in the run-up to the Games, which start on July 27, and there were mixed reactions from athletes arriving on Monday.

Clement tweeted: "Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London... Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please."

A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said that despite having one of the busiest days in its history, the longest queue at passport control at Heathrow was just 25 minutes long on Monday.

"Clearly, people who are part of the Games family and the athletes coming through are able to get through much quicker than that," the spokesman told reporters.

"We put extra resources in place and we are dealing with what is a very challenging period at Heathrow." Agencies

NEW DELHI, July 17: Keeping sentiments aside, Team India will prepare itself for the three-match ODI series with Pakistan that is scheduled to be held in December later this year, said Indian skipper MS Dhoni after the end of the two-day camp in Chennai ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.

"Now that the series has been announced, we will be ready for it," he said. "As professional cricketers that is what we are supposed to do.

"The country's name is at stake. We will try and win every game, especially if it is against Pakistan."

Cricket ties have been the subject of discussions between the governments of both nuclear-armed countries, who have been holding regular meetings in a bid to improve ties and eventually thrash out a peace agreement.

The countries -- where cricket is hugely popular -- have fought three wars since independence in 1947.

The Indian and Pakistani cricket teams have only met in international tournaments since 2007.

They clashed in the World Cup semi-final in the north Indian town of Mohali last year, a high-profile game that was attended by the prime ministers of the two countries.

They also played during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March. Both matches were won by India.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday agreed to host the series--three ODIs and two T20 games -- beginning in December-end this year.

The arch rivals have not played a series since Pakistan's tour of India in 2007, after cricket ties were snapped following the 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai, which were carried out by militants from Pakistan. Agencies

CARLSBAD, July 17: While Stanford champ Serena Williams shifts her focus to the London Olympics, runner-up Coco Vandeweghe is poised to continue her breakthrough season at this week’s WTA Carlsbad event.

Williams, who earlier this month won her fifth Wimbledon crown, beat the 20-year-old Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-3 for her second straight WTA Tour title at the Stanford tournament.

The world number four is not in competition this week after winning Stanford for a second straight year, and will soon head to Europe for the Summer Games, which open a week from Friday.

“(A gold medal) would mean a lot to me, but I can’t put all my hopes and dreams on just that,” said the 30-year-old Williams, who has twice lifted Olympic doubles gold with her elder sister Venus. “But it would mean a lot and I’d like to try to get one,” said the winner of 28 of her last 29 matches and holder of four 2012 titles.

Vandeweghe, who rebounded from a lucky loser start at Stanford to make the first title bid of her career, opens this week in the first round at the La Costa resort in Carlsbad against South African sixth seed Chanelle Scheepers.

The blonde right-handed Californian rose from a ranking of 120th to 69th as a result of her hardcourt run. She credits a serve improved under the tutelage of former ATP player Jan-Michael Gambill with lifting her game.

“It has been coming in clutch,” she said of her new, improved delivery. “I’ve worked hard on my serve, it’s a big weapon for me. I’ve been making a lot of first serves and I can put pressure on an opponent by serving consistently well. I’m hitting my spots and doing very well.”

The young American said that her work with Gambill had resulted in a new emphasis on fitness, which was key in allowing her to hang in against the huge Williams attack. Agencies

KARACHI, July 17: Praising the efforts of the two countries' cricket boards in reviving bilateral series, former Pakistan skipper and all-rounder Shahid Afridi said the popularity of India-Pakistan series is bigger than the Ashes.

Besides Afridi, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said that fans from both sides of the border are always eager to watch cricket matches between the two arch-rivals.

"The series between Pakistan and India is more popular than the Ashes series between Australia and England," Afridi was quoted as saying by The News. "The matches between Pakistan and India are widely followed and people throughout the world are greatly interested in their matches," he added.

"The pressure is great when we play against India but it is also more thrilling," Afridi said.

"It will be a great a spectacle for the cricket fans when the two sides face each other," Misbah said. IANS

Nairobi, July 17: World 1,500m champion Asbel Kiprop will briefly interrupt his training to compete at the Monaco Diamond League Friday to gauge himself before moving on to London for the Olympics. Four years ago, Kiprop settled for silver at the Beijing Olympics, having been edged out by a devastating sprint by Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain.  But this time in London he will have a good chance of winning gold with his rival Ramzi testing positive for Erythropoietin (EPO).

"I want to win gold in London. I know I can be an Olympic champion, but that took so long to come and I have the chance to rectify that in London Games," he said.

"Everyone goes to the Olympics eying nothing but victory. But Kenya has a strong team, we have been consistent and now it is another opportunity to prove to the world what we can achieve," he added. Agencies

NEW DELHI, July 17: Suresh Kalmadi might be facing intense pressure from various quarters to cancel his London Olympics trip, but the International Athletics Federation said that it is not going to stop him from attending the IAAF Council meeting in the British capital.

IAAF Deputy General Secretary Nick Davies said that the world body does not see anything wrong in Kalmadi attending its Council meeting in London.

"Kalmadi is an elected member of IAAF Council so logically, he is invited to attend the Council meeting in London," Davies said when asked about IAAF's comments on the controversy generated in India over Kalmadi being allowed to attend the Games.

"As far as we are aware, his legal case is on-going and he has not been convicted of any wrong-doing," he said.

Davies said that two IAAF Council meetings are being planned in London during the Olympics -- on July 31 and August 10.

A Delhi court's permission for Kalmadi's visit to London from July 26 to August 13 had kicked up an uproar here with the Sports Minister Ajay Maken asking him to desist from doing that and a body of former athletes even writing to the International Olympic Committee to cancel his accreditation.

Asked if an IAAF accreditation will give Kalmadi free access to all Olympic venues and Games Village, Davies said, "I have not seen the IAAF Council accreditation, for sure it will give access to the Athletics' venues, not necessarily anything else." Agencies

DOHA, July 17:  Title favourites and top seeds Egypt overwhelmed India 3-0, but not before surviving a tough fight in the semi-finals of the World Junior squash team championship here on Tuesday.

Egypt now take on second seeded Pakistan who prevailed over third ranked England 2-0 in the other semi-final.

Bidding for a 10th final in 11 editions of the championship, Egypt were off to a good start as double individual champion Marwan El Shorbagy beat Indian number one Mahesh Mangonkar 9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5 win in 72 minutes.

Mangonkar took the first game, and almost the second too, and it wasn't until the latter part of the fifth game that Shorbagy started to look completely at ease as he completed a hard-fought win.

In the second match, Egypt were able to field Mohamed Abouelghar, the world's number two junior, who contested the last two World junior finals with Shorbagy.

Again, though it was the Indian camp that was happier at the start as Abhishek Pradhan took the first game, before Abouelghar came back strongly to take the next three for a 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 11-5 win in 33 minutes.

In the dead rubber, Mazen Hesham defeated Vrishab Koitan 11-9, 11-4 in 21 minutes to provide Egypt a flattering 3-0 result.  (IANS)

BASSETERRE, July 17: Mystery off-spinner Sunil Narine’s fifer bowled West Indies to a 20-run victory over New Zealand in the fifth and final One-Day International and with it to wrap up the series 4-1.

The right-armer, adjudged Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series, finished with five for 27 from his ten overs as New Zealand, chasing 242 for victory, were dismissed for 221 off the last ball of the innings at Warner Park here on Monday.

Batting first after winning the toss, the West Indies rallied to reach 241 for nine thanks to another exciting cameo from Andre Russell who struck an unbeaten 59 to bolster the lower order.

The West Indies had slumped to 180 for eight in the 44th over before Russell’s stroke-filled 59 off 40 balls gave them a challenging total.

Russell smashed six fours and three sixes, two of which came in the 46th over off pacer Andrew Ellis.

Dwayne Bravo added a patient 53 while Marlon Samuels stroked 43.

Opener Chris Gayle (5) failed for the third straight innings when he cut Mills hard to Rob Nicol at point at 23 for one in the fifth over.

Samuels and Bravo then repaired the innings with a cautious 60-run, fourth wicket partnership off 101 balls.

While Samuels hit four fours and a six off 59 balls, Bravo counted three fours and a six off 93 balls.

The stand was broken when Samuels was brilliantly taken by Martin Guptill diving low to his left at cover off Southee. Bravo put on 53 for the sixth wicket with gloveman Devon Thomas, who scored 20 before holing out to square-leg off Ellis at 157 for six in the 38th over.

Wickets then tumbled regularly but Russell’s clean hitting gave the Windies a total at which to bowl.

After losing opener Nicol cheaply, Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum both stroked 33 in a 62-run second wicket stand to repair the damage, before Narine prised out both to send the visitors tumbling to 77 for three in the 18th over.

Captain Ross Taylor stroked 28 but was one of three wickets to fall in quick time as the Kiwis slumped to 140 for six.

Kane Williamson then produced a responsible 69 from 84 balls with five fours and a six, in a 68-run, seventh-wicket partnership with Ellis, who got 28. Narine’s return for his final spell saw Williamson depart to a superb one-handed catch by Gayle at mid-wicket at 208 for seven in the 46th over and the resistance was over four runs later when Ellis was bowled by Narine.

Brief Scores:

West Indies 241/9 off 50 overs

Batting: Andre Russell 59*, Dwayne Bravo 53, Marlon Samuels 43, Devon Thomas 20

Bowling: Sunil Narine 5-27, Dwayne Bravo 2-30, Tino Best 2-58

New Zealand 221 all out off 50 overs

Batting: Kane Williamson 69, Martin Guptill 33, Brendon McCullum 33, Andrew Ellis 28, Ross Taylor 33

Bowling: Tim Southee 3-37, Kyle Mills 3-40, Andrew Ellis 2-54. IANS

PAU, July 17: French rider Pierrick Fedrigo gave the hosts their fourth win of the Tour de France when he beat American Christian Vande Velde to win the 158.5 km 15th stage between Samatan and Pau on Monday.

Race leader Bradley Wiggins of Britain and the main peloton came over the finish line nearly 12 minutes behind a five-man breakaway that had fought hard to form in a frantic opening to the race.

Wiggins, who took the race lead at the end of stage seven, came under no threat during the undulating stage from the Gers department to the foot of the Pyrenees where the peloton will spend the race’s second rest day Tuesday.

The Team Sky leader still has a 2min 05sec lead over teammate Chris Froome, with Italian Vincenzo Nibali in third at 2:23 and Australian Cadel Evans fourth at 3:19.

Fedrigo attacked with 6.5 km remaining and after being countered by Vande Velde he dominated the Garmin rider in a two-up sprint for the finish.

It is his fourth victory in the race, but first since 2010 and his return to cycling after a six-month spell on the sidelines. It is also the second for his FDJ team after Thibaut Pinot won stage eighth in Porrentruy, Switzerland.

The race resumes on Wednesday when the mountainous 197 km 16th stage takes the peloton over two unclassified and two category one climbs to a downhill finish in Bagneres-de-Luchon. AFP

NEW YORK, July 17: Manchester United is the most valuable franchise in sports at $2.23 billion, according to Forbes magazine’s annual survey.

The English Premier League team, owned by the same American family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is ranked on top thanks to lucrative global sponsorship deals.

Second is Real Madrid, at $1.88 billion. The New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys are tied for third at $1.85 billion.

Rounding out the top five are the Washington Redskins at $1.56 billion.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New England Patriots are tied for sixth at $1.40 billion, followed by Barcelona at $1.31 billion, the New York Giants at $1.30 billion, and Arsenal at 1.29 billion. The Dodgers recently were sold for $2 billion, the most for any professional sports team.

All 32 NFL teams make the list of 50 most valuable franchises, with the Jacksonville Jaguars last among the NFL clubs at $725 million.

Seven Major League Baseball teams earned spots, with the Texas Rangers the lowest at $674 million, No. 50 overall.

The highest value for an NBA team belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers at $900 million, 35th overall. Only one other NBA franchise, the New York Knicks, make the list with $780 million, No. 43.

No NHL clubs made the survey, but two from Formula One racing were included: Ferrari at $1.1 billion to rank 15th, and McLaren at $800 million. AP

GROVE, July 17: Williams’ Formula One driver Bruno Senna collected the Lorenzo Bandini Trophy in the picturesque town of Brisighella, Italy, awarded to him for showing great promise at the beginning of his racing career.

In front of a large crowd of enthusiastic grand prix fans, the presentation ceremony on Monday saw Bruno presented with the trophy given in the memory of Lorenzo Bandini, the leading Italian driver at the time of his tragic death at the 1967 Monaco Grand Prix.

The trophy was presented to Bruno in an open air amphitheatre and is a ceramic replica of Bandini’s famous number 18 Formula One Ferrari and was first awarded to Ivan Capelli in 1992.

The event has become an annual pilgrimage for the fans who line the streets to pay tribute to the late Ferrari driver while also celebrating their new heroes. Past winners of the Bandini Trophy include Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica, David Coulthard, Alex Wurz, Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso.

Commenting on the honour, Bruno said: “It’s a huge honour to be chosen to receive such a prestigious award. I’ve seen some of the names who have won this in the past and what they have gone on to achieve in their careers, so let’s hope this is just the start of greater things for me too.” IANS

MELBOURNE, July 17: Spanish giants Barcelona have recruited an Australian nine-year-old who made an instant impact with the club.

Zak Gilsenan was offered a contract when he was spotted by Barcelona and was asked to trial with the club. He stood out during a holiday coaching camp run by top English Premier League Tottenham Hotspur in Australia earlier this year.

Zak has made an immediate impact at the trial, scoring seven goals in one match, and has since been offered a place at Barcelona’s FCBE Academy, which has produced stars like Messi and Iniesta. Zak stole the limelight in a match between the top 16 players, scoring seven goals.

“I know Zak is young to be doing this but kids are like a sponge at this age. People say we are mad but in Barcelona he will be educated in the best footballing techniques. All we can do is go and see how it develops. We know it’s ruthless over there. We don’t want him turned into a machine, we just want him to enjoy it,” said Zak’s father Stephen.

“We were living in Australia when Zak was spotted by Spurs, who were running football camps over there. We came home with the intention of letting Zak go to Spurs, but in the meantime we had a call from Barcelona.”

“One of their former players saw him playing in Oz and recommended him. They offered Zak a trial in May and it was a great experience. It consisted of over 400 boys from all over the world. He was asked back in June when it was cut down to 90,” he said. IANS

ZURICH, July 17: FIFA President Sepp Blatter set out to mend his relationship with Germany on Tuesday by clarifying comments which appeared to suggest the country could have “bought” the right to host the 2006 World Cup.

The 76-year-old Swiss wrote a letter, explaining that what he was trying to say in an interview published on Sunday was that World Cup hosting decisions were always surrounded by suspicion.

In the interview with a Swiss newspaper, Blatter remembered that Germany were awarded the tournament ahead of South Africa in 2000 after the Oceania representative on FIFA’s executive committee, Charles Dempsey, abstained from voting. “World Cups being purchased? There I am reminded of the vote for the 2006 World Cup, where somebody left the room at the last minute. And so suddenly instead of 10-10, the vote stood at 10-9 in Germany’s favour,” said Blatter, although the actual final vote was 12-11. “I’m happy that I did not have to cast the decisive extra ballot. But, well, suddenly someone stood up and left. Perhaps in that case, I was also too well-meaning and too naive.” “No I don’t suspect (that the 2006 World Cup had been purchased). I’m making an observation.”

In Tuesday’s letter, Blatter said he wished to put his comments into context.

“I wanted to say that one can always find a pretext to doubt the legality of a decision,” he said.

“It shows that with a World Cup hosting vote, you can always find a pretext to spin a conspiracy theory. Even in connection with Germany, which delivered a perfect World Cup, a summer fairly tale of which the whole country can be proud.”

Blatter’s remarks caused outrage in Germany and prompted some politicians to suggest he be stripped of an honorary award he received in 2006 for services to the country. Reuters

NYON, July 17: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the obvious candidates. Leslie Davies, though, may raise a few more eyebrows.

UEFA has announced a 32-player list for its Best Player in Europe award in the 2011-12 season with a surprize name among the superstars.

Davies, a midfielder for Welsh Premier League club Bangor City, was nominated by a panel of journalists drawn from UEFA’s 53 member countries.

Each jury member submitted five names to create the 32-man slate which will be reduced to a three-player shortlist next month.

The winner will be decided when the same voting panel is polled in Monaco on August 30 when the Champions League groups are drawn.

Bareclona star Messi won the inaugural award last year. The 32 players nominated for the award are-

Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Gianluigi Buffon, Petr Cech, Leslie Davies, Cesc Fabregas, Joe Hart, Andres Iniesta, Vincent Kompany, Lionel Messi, Mesut Ozil, Andrea Pirlo, Raul, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres, Robin van Persie, Xabi Alonso, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Iker Casillas, Fabio Coentrao, Didier Drogba, Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Shinji Kagawa, Frank Lampard, Luka Modric, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Xavi. Agencies