IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Motor sports

Dakar chiefs consider 2008 alternative

PRAGUE: Dakar Rally organizers are considering a race through central Europe this spring to replace the event that was cancelled due to security concerns, the head of the Czech KM Racing Team told AFP on Monday.

"According to the information I received from my friends and Hungarian colleagues, ASO (Amaury Sport Organization), are considering organizing a competition in May to run through Hungary and Romania," said Pavel Kubicek.

"It would be a nice gesture to those who sacrificed a year of their lives in preparation for the 2008 Dakar," said the KM Racing chief, who added that Hungarian Balazs Szalay, the representative of ASO for central Europe, had been pushing for several years for Budapest to host the start of the Dakar one day.

KM Racing boasts three motorbike riders - David Pabiska, Dusan Randysek and Ivan Figura and Josef Machacek, four-time Dakar winner in the quad bike category.

Olympics

CAS upholds IOC lifetime ban for Austrian skiers

LAUSANNE, Switzerland: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday upheld the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to hand life bans to Austrian nordic skiers Johannes Eder, Jurgen Pinter and Martin Tauber for their involvement in the 2006 Olympic Games doping scandal.

A fourth Austrian skier, Roland Diethard, 34, had his life suspension - handed out in April by the IOC - reduced to a ban from Olympic competition until after the 2010 edition in Vancouver, Canada.

The CAS panel found the four skiers guilty of "possession of prohibited methods" - material for blood transfusion - and of "complicity to violate anti-doping rules". Eder was also found guilty of "using a prohibited method".

While Diethard, who appeared before a seperate CAS panel, had his sanction reduced after the court decided he had not played a major role in the affair.

SOCCER

Skrtel set for Reds move

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia: Slovak international defender Martin Skrtel is set to join English Premier League side Liverpool, his agent Viktor Kolar claimed on Monday.

"The transfer is imminent," Kolar told the daily newspaper Sport.

Skrtel currently plays for Russian champions Zenit Saint-Petersburg.

The newspaper reported that the 23-year-old's transfer would be in the region of 10 million euros ($14.6m), adding that he could be in Merseyside by the end of the week.

Cricket

India undecided on tour future despite ICC action

MUMBAI, India: India's cricket board (BCCI) expressed satisfaction at the International Cricket Council's decision to drop umpire Steve Bucknor from the third test but has yet to reach a decision on the future of the Australia tour. "We are happy that this issue (umpiring) has been resolved, but the working committee will meet tonight (Tuesday) and decide on the future course," board secretary Niranjan Shah said yesterday.

On Monday, the BCCI suspended the tour pending the outcome of an appeal for banned spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was handed a three-test suspension by match referee Mike Procter for racially abusing Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second test in Sydney.

India reacted with anger and disappointment at the series of umpiring blunders that led to their second test defeat as well as the controversial ban on Harbhajan.

(China Daily 01/09/2008 page24)