THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 SPORTS

Bolt to run in London Evans rape appeal Klitschko hopes to box Olympic Stadium verdict due in April for Olympic gold in Rio LONDON: Usain Bolt will prepare for the Rio de Janeiro LONDON: The outcome of British footballer Ched Evans’s appeal against his conviction for raping a 19-year-old : Former world champion Wladimir Olympics by returning to the site of the last games Klitschko hopes to box for a second Olympic gold in Rio for the London Diamond League meet. The woman is due to be announced in April, said judges at London’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday after a two-day de Janeiro, if the timing of his rematch against Tyson Jamaican will compete in July’s Anniversary hearing. The former Wales striker was released from prison Fury allows. -based Klitschko turns 40 on Games, four years after winning three Olympic in October 2014 after serving half of a five-year sentence Friday and would relish the chance to box for more gold medals in the Olympic Stadium in the 100, for raping the woman in a hotel room in Rhyl, north Wales Olympic medals having won the 200 and 4x100-meter relay races. Organizers say in May 2011. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal gold for Ukraine at the 1996 Games. Professional Bolt will appear on July 22, but didn’t specific in by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which boxers are set to be eligible to compete at the Rio which races. In a statement, Bolt says it’s “one of my investigates possible miscarriages of justice in England, Olympic Games this August under radical pro- last races before the Olympic Games in Rio. It will be Wales and Northern Ireland. The CCRC announced last posals being pushed through by the world gov- good to return to the Olympic Stadium on October that it had unearthed new evidence that could erning body, AIBA, and set to be voted on in the Friday night and get more of the have supported Evans’s defence. This week’s hearing saw June. But Klitschko, who has won 64 of his 68 Court of Appeal judges consider the safety of his convic- bouts since turning professional in 1996, says special atmosphere that the fans always tion, but details of the legal argument cannot be reported his priority is to win back the WBA, WBO, IBO produce.” The stadium is being redevel- under English law. However, it can be reported that, if and IBF belts he lost on points to Britain’s oped to accommodate Premier League Evans wins his appeal, the prosecution will seek a retrial. Fury in Duesseldorf last November. A date for club West Ham from August while Evans was present in court for both days of the hearing, their rematch has yet to be confirmed.—AFP retaining athletics facilities. —AP with girlfriend Natasha Massey by his side.—AFP Prototype headband to track athletes suffering concussion

SYDNEY: A prototype headband to record fit to remain on the field after a big tackle or ly harmless contact, he said, as the device has record the smaller knocks that can have a ing more about repeated concussions could brain trauma is being designed in Australia, head clash is a subjective matter debated on LED lights to indicate the severity of an cumulative impact. help prevent damaging injuries at every level researchers said yesterday, as sports such as the sidelines. “That’s at the elite level but at impact. “It’s not necessarily the one or two big hits of the game. football and rugby around the world grapple the non-elite level... there’s no one there to “So the idea is that for weekend warriors if but it’s those constant, repetitive knocks to the Rugby union star Israel Folau, who with how to manage knocks to the head. really assess them properly,” Pearce, from the they get a head knock they can actually take head that don’t actually cause any symptoms switched to the sport following stints as a rug- The experimental brainBAND technology Swinburne University of Technology, told AFP. that data... to the hospital and the emergency that are leading to the long-term problems by league and Australian Rules football player, has sensors to record the impact on players of “Using the device can notify in real time physician has some objective data to make a that a lot of the players are having,” he said. said he believed he had been lucky to avoid hits on the field. It aims to transmit that data in that a player has had a head knock so we have more accurate diagnosis,” he said. Pearce, who worked with industrial design- concussion so far in his career. But he told real time to medics, coaches and referees. an objective measure for them to come off the The headband prototype, which has been er Braden Wilson and Samsung on the device, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that “raising aware- Neuroscientist Alan Pearce said currently field.” The headband could also alert medics to tested in Australia by amateur rugby union said much more testing needed to be done. ness about the subject of concussion in sport the question of whether a player is considered trauma sustained from a glancing or seeming- players to fine tune its design, could also But he said the hope was that understand- is only ever a good thing”. —AFP Australian boxer Browne ‘devastated’ by positive test

SYDNEY: Australian boxer Lucas “Big VADA, which provides anti-doping pro- Daddy” Browne protested his innocence grammes for boxing and mixed martial and said he was “devastated” yesterday arts, has said that Browne will have to pay after failing doping test in wake of his vic- for his “B” sample to be tested. tory in a world title fight two weeks ago. Browne said he was seeking legal The 36-year-old former bouncer won advice. the “regular” version of the World Boxing “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself Association (WBA) heavyweight title when deep down if I knew that I had cheated and he knocked out Russian Ruslan Chagaev in tried to get away with it, sort of thing. I Chechnya on March 5. know I’m innocent and that’s all that mat- A letter from the Las Vegas-based ters,” he added. Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) Trumpeted in the Australian media as confirming that Browne’s “A” sample had the country’s first heavyweight world contained traces of Clenbuterol was leaked champion, Browne would have been hop- to ESPN on Tuesday, however. ing that his victory over Chagaev would “I would like to assure all my fans, the have earned him a fight against Briton whole of the boxing world and all of Tyson Fury or . Australia that I’m not a drug user or a drug Fury is considered the WBA world cham- cheat,” Browne (24-0-0) told reporters in pion as he also holds the World Boxing Perth on Wednesday. Organisation (WBO) title, while Cuban Ortiz “The news of this positive test has holds the “interim” WBA world heavyweight shocked and devastated me and I’ll be title. fighting for as long as it takes to clear my The WBA, which will change the result of name.” the Browne-Chagaev fight to a “no-deci- Clenbuterol is a performance-enhanc- sion” if Browne’s “B” sample confirms the ing substance sometimes found in weight- positive test, said their tournament involv- loss pills that is on the World Anti-Doping ing the three fighters to “recognise one Agency (WADA) banned list. world champion” was “on hold”. — Reuters Hield’s 36 points lead Oklahoma past VCU 85-81 OKLAHOMA CITY: Buddy Hield let points and Michael Gilmore matched a career Egypt’s El Shorbagy starts Oklahoma’s fans witness one last vintage hot high with 12 for VCU (25-11), which was try- streak. Playing at Chesapeake Energy Arena, ing to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time just a half-hour drive from campus, the senior since its Final Four run in 2011. guard scored 19 of his 36 points in the final “It was a win-win situation. Everyone pret- British Open title defence eight minutes to help the second-seeded ty much counted us out, so our backs were Sooners hold off No. 10 seed VCU 85-81 against the wall, and when your back is Sunday in the second round of the NCAA against the wall, all you’ve got to do is fight,” KINGSTON: Mohamed El Shorbagy admits he failure to get past the third round of the World Swedish Open title last month, overcame his Tournament. Johnson said. Hield scored seven points on 2- got exactly what he didn’t want to begin the Championships at Washington in November. compatriot Omar Mosaad, the fourth seed, in Hield, the nation’s No. 2 scorer, posted at for-8 shooting in the first half, sitting the last defence of his British Open title, but managed to “When I got to world number one I placed a four games. least 30 points for the 11th time this season. four-plus minutes with two fouls. Lewis handle the discomfort anyway. lot of pressure on myself and I didn’t enjoy it at Mosaad failed to capitalise on leads of 7-5 As he stood at the free-throw line late in the scored 13 points in the first half to keep the The world number one from Egypt’s well-tak- all,” he admitted. “But when I lost it for a month I and 9-8 in a pivotal third game and gradually game, the fans stood and chanted, “Buddy! Rams within range. Johnson, who struggled en 11-7, 12-10, 11-4 win over Nicolas Mueller, realised what I had - and I appreciated getting it slipped to a 11-13, 11- 7, 14-12, 11-4 loss. Buddy!” in the first half, sparked the Rams in the sec- the former top-20 player from Switzerland, sug- back. “It relaxed me and made me thankful. Not Gawad now faces another Egyptian, Fares “This is the big stage,” Hield said. “It’s win ond half with two quick 3s. gested he has been developing the knack of many people have the opportunity to be where I Dessouki, a former quarter-finalist here, in a sec- or go home. It’s my senior year. NCAA The Rams led 65-63 before Hield scored keeping the mindset he needs. am. I know I have already won the British Open tion in which Mathieu Castagnet, the eighth- Tournament. Everybody is watching. You eight points in just under two minutes, “I said to my brother (Marwan) that Nicolas and it makes me more relaxed - and I think it seeded Frenchman, has also departed - beaten don’t get these moments very often, so you including two 3-pointers, to put the Sooners Mueller was the one guy I didn’t want in the first shows.” in four games by Indian Saurav Ghosal. go out there, you’ve got to bring it.” ahead for good. Even with Hield’s closing flur- round - and I got him,” El Shorbagy admitted. “He Earlier three of the women’s front-runners Hield didn’t score for more than 10 min- ry, the Rams remained in the game until the can be very dangerous and today I had to be Willstrop up next progressed, but with less trouble. Laura Massaro, utes to start the game, yet, as he often has end. “We’re tough, we’re gritty. We fight,” focused the whole match.” He may indeed need to show it again, the world number one from England, needed done, he eventually got going. He made 9 of Wade said. “We fight, fight, fight, fight, fight. Winning the second game, in which Mueller because his second-round match is against only 26 minutes to come through 11-2, 11-5, 11- 12 shots in the second half after going 2 for 8 We just didn’t have enough.” was only prevented from taking an 8-7 lead by El James Willstrop, the former world number one 6 against Olivia Blatchford, an American qualifi- in the first. “He’s done it so many times for us Shorbagy’s successful video appeal against the who was his conqueror in that sensational World er, while Raneem El Welily of Egypt, her prede- throughout his career, and especially this MANYANG OUT referee’s penalty point decision, was doubly Championship upset. cessor at the top, took five minutes less to win year, and again today,” Oklahoma coach Lon Oklahoma backup center Akolda Manyang important. The 32-year-old Englishman, now ranked 13, 11-5, 11-3, 11-3 against Nele Gilis, a Belgian qual- Kruger said. “It seemed like every shot that he was not available because of a death in the Not only did that prevent difficulties from proved again that on his day he can still beat ifier playing on a glass showcourt in a competi- had that we needed, he stepped up and family. A team spokesman said Manyang flew becoming prolonged, it assisted with El anyone with a 5-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-7 victory over tive match for the first time. made it. And it’s not that easy to do, especial- back to Minnesota on Sunday morning. Shorbagy’s need to preserve energy early in the Tarek Momen, the world number six from Egypt. Camille Serme, the British Open titleholder ly with the defense leaning on you and tar- Manyang, a 7-foot junior, averages 2.5 points tournament, ready for probable big battles later. from France, needed just a little longer to get geting you.” and 1.4 blocks in 8.0 minutes per game. He kept the pace high, his mind calm, and the PLAYING ON A GLASS SHOWCOURT past Fiona Moverley, a qualifier playing in her Hield scored 29 points in the second half. ball tight, and was prepared to play out the ral- “I approached playing Tarek like a final, put home city, 11-7, 11-6, 11-3 - but perhaps this was “Best player I’ve seen in college basketball,” ON THE RISE lies for as long as it took. Eventually Mueller, who everything into it and managed to pull out a not entirely surprising. VCU coach Will Wade said. Jordan Woodard Gilmore. The sophomore didn’t even play often attacked creatively, was pressured into performance,” he said. “I’m just thrilled to be able Serme is trying to find a way of dealing scored 17 points and Isaiah Cousins added 15 in the first round against Oregon State, but he landing three drop shots into the tin in the last to play a big match again against Mohamed.” with memories of here last year, the greatest for the Sooners (27-7), who advanced to the was needed to match up with Oklahoma’s four rallies of that pivotal game. The last match of the day produced the most day of her life. “I try to get into the same state Sweet 16 for the second straight year. size. It was only his second time scoring in It supported El Shorbagy’s contention that he significant exit of a seed so far. Karim Gawad, the of mind as then,” she explained. “But that’s not Melvin Johnson scored 18 of his 23 points double figures this season, and the fourth has continued to improve his mentality, some- 24-year-old Egyptian who rose to a career-high easy. Everywhere I go I see my face on a in the second half, JeQuan Lewis scored 22 time in his career. — AP thing which came under scrutiny again after his world number seven after capturing the poster.” — AFP Boubyan Bank sponsors trophy for banking sector employees

KUWAIT: The inauguration of Boubyan trophy was held The tournament will be played in league format fol- at Kuwait Cricket’s Sulaibiya turf ground amid much fan- lowed by the 4 semifinals and two finals. Nine bank fare in the presence of Chief Guest Qutayba Al-Bassam, teams divided in two groups will play a total of 22 match- Senior Manager, Corporate Communication, Boubyan es at the Sulaibiya ground. The nine participating teams Bank. Boubyan trophy is being organized by Kuwait are Ahli United Bank, Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Boubyan Bank, Cricket, the apex body of controlling cricket in Kuwait for Burgan Bank, Commercial Bank, Kuwait Finance House, bank teams affiliated to Kuwait Banks club. Kuwait International Bank, Gulf bank and National Bank Qutayba Al-Bassam officially inaugurated the tourna- of Kuwait. Qutayba stated that Boubyan Bank was always ment by cutting a cake along with Boubyan cricket team happy to promote and encourage the game of cricket for KUWAIT: Qutayba Al-Bassam, Senior Manager, Corporate Communication, Boubyan Bank officially inaugurating members and other dignitaries at Kuwait Cricket’s banking sector employees and wished all the participat- the Boubyan trophy by cutting a cake. Sulaibiya ground. ing teams the very best.