IN BRIEF (Page 11)

Tennis

Belgrade on ATP calendar

LONDON: Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has succeeded in his bid to stage an ATP tournament in his home town of Belgrade from 2009.

"I am very excited that we are able to create an opportunity in Serbia to be a part of the ATP World Tour," the world No 3, who backed the bid in conjunction with his management group, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Tennis is a very popular sport in my country and we are happy that having (an) ATP ... event will help us show the world the beauty of my home town Belgrade and of Serbia."

Boxing

'Real McCoy' walks free

LONDON: Former world boxing champion Scott Harrison was released from jail on Wednesday in time to celebrate the New Year.

The 31-year-old, twice the WBO featherweight champion, served four months in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, having pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting his girlfriend and a police officer.

He was imprisoned on September 2 for a total of 10 months, but had his sentence cut to eight months earlier in December and was let out having served half his sentence.

"He will be delighted that he is out before the end of the year so he can start rebuilding his life in 2009," the boxer's lawyer Massimo Franchi said.

"He will want to start afresh and he has got the support of his family there."

Harrison, nicknamed The Real McCoy, has won 25 of his 29 professional fights, including 14 by knock-out.

Basketball

Barkley in trouble again

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona: Retired NBA star Charles Barkley was arrested Wednesday on a charge of suspicion of driving while impaired.

Barkley, who now serves as a television commentator, failed to stop his vehicle at a stop sign in this Phoenix suburb at 1:30 am local time. He was cited by police and released.

The former Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns star played 16 seasons in the NBA and retired as one of only four players in league history to have 20,000 points plus 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists.

Wushu

Kung fu masters

China's first traditional wushu professional alliance - the Wushu Masters Alliance (WMA) - was officially launched on Tuesday in Beijing.

On March 6, 2007, CCTV's main sports channel and the China University Sports Association launched the Wushu Masters program.

The four member clubs of the WMA, announced by the CCTV Sports Promotions Corporation of China, are Shandong Xianglong-Xingwutang, Guangdong Boniu, Hebei Feilong and the Shaanxi Honglang Wushu Club.

The alliance will work to help develop China's wushu athletes along more professional lines.

Jiang Heping, director of the CCTV Sports Center and Yang Liguo, secretary-general of the China University Sports Association, attended the launching ceremony.

Miscellaneous

Sports corp's new task

China's up-and-coming sports promotion company, the CCTV Sports Promotions Corporation, will now contribute to China's external publicity after it signed a strategic partnership with CCTV International (CCTV-9).

The corporation will represent the channel in all its commercial development deals, with an aim to expand its home and overseas market, upgrading its international image, and promoting China.

CCTV-9 is the English language 24-hour news channel of China Central Television, China's largest national TV network. Launched on Sept 25, 2000, CCTV-9 is dedicated to reporting news and information to its global audience, with a special focus on China.

(China Daily 01/02/2009 page11)