IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Horse racing

Fallon's B sample positive, solicitor says

LONDON: Six-time champion jockey Kieren Fallon has had his positive drug test confirmed by a B sample, his solicitor said on Monday.

"I had a letter at the weekend that confirmed the positive findings," Fallon's solicitor Christopher Stewart-Moore said.

"The letter tells me that the Medical Commission wish to meet in January to consider the case. I have instructed our French legal counterparts to request all the relevant data before we decide on our next step."

Fallon, cleared of race-fixing at the Old Bailey earlier this month, tested positive for a banned substance at Deauville, France, in August. He has already served a six-month ban after another positive doping test in France last year.

Alpine skiing

Grange races to maiden slalom victory

ALTA BADIA, Italy: France's Jean-Baptiste Grange claimed his first World Cup victory in the men's slalom on Monday.

Slalom bronze medalist at the 2007 world championships, the 23-year-old clocked the fastest times in both runs for a combined 1min 36.12sec to finish 0.74sec ahead of Germany's Felix Neureuther.

American Ted Ligety finished third at 1.40sec.

Grange takes the overall slalom lead with 176 points ahead of Swiss Marc Gini (149) and Austrian Benjamin Raich (136). Raich crashed out in the first run when he missed a gate but holds the overall World Cup lead.

Moto sports

F1 driver Hamilton fined for speeding in France

PARIS: Formula One sensation Lewis Hamilton had his driving licence suspended for a month after being caught speeding on a French motorway, police said Tuesday.

The British driver was at the wheel of a Mercedes when he was clocked at 196 km/h near the northern town of Laon on Sunday.

Police stopped him, detained the car and fined him 600 euros ($860).

"He was very polite and cooperative," said a police spokesman, who added Hamilton had since had the car collected for him.

The McLaren driver, 22, finished runner-up in his rookie season to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 world championship.

Soccer

Liverpool owner Gillett backs Benitez

LIVERPOOL, England: Liverpool co-owner George Gillett insisted Monday that Rafael Benitez had his full backing to continue as manager of the English Premier League giants.

Benitez has become increasingly frustrated over what he fears may be a lack of funds to buy new players and tie down Javier Mascherano, currently on loan, to a permanent deal during the January transfer window.

And his mood would not have been helped by seeing his team slip to a 1-0 home defeat to arch-rival Manchester United here on Sunday.

Spanish boss Benitez claimed Gillett and fellow American co-owner Tom Hicks did not understand the European transfer market.

Cricket

India arrives in Australia in confident mood

SYDNEY: The Indian cricket team arrived in Australia on Tuesday full of optimism ahead of its four-test series.

India has never won a test series in Australia but held out for a 1-1 draw on its last visit four years ago. Captain Anil Kumble said they were hoping to go one better this time.

"It means a lot, we came pretty close to doing that the last time we came here," Kumble told reporters at Melbourne Airport.

"We did extremely well in the last test series, so it's going to be very crucial for all of us."

(China Daily 12/19/2007 page24)