IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Ice hockey

Judge nixes both bids

PHOENIX, Arizona: A US bankruptcy judge turned down both bids for the Phoenix Coyotes on the eve of the new National Hockey League season, nixing a relocation bid to Canada but leaving hope for an NHL takeover.

Redfield T Baum's 31-page ruling unveiled on Wednesday smacked down the efforts of Blackberry creator Jim Balsillie, a Canadian billionaire, to buy the team and move it to the Hamilton area.

Golf

Ochoa bids for 3rd win

PRATTVILLE, Alabama: World No 1 Lorena Ochoa makes her last of eight LPGA title defenses this year starting on Thursday (Friday morning Beijing time) at the $1.3 million Navistar LPGA Classic, hoping for a third win of the season.

Ochoa's only successful repeat crown so far this year came in her homeland of Mexico at April's Corona Championship.

She also won in March in Thailand and last week settled for second place at the CVS Challenge, boosting the 27-year-old star above $1 million in prize money for the year.

Cricket

Aussies reach semis

CENTURION, South Africa: Australia qualified for the Champions Trophy semifinals with a thrilling two-wicket win over Pakistan Wednesday at Super Sport Park thanks to a last-ball bye.

The defending champions, having won the toss and restricting Pakistan to 205-6 off 50 overs, appeared to be coasting home with 140 runs on the board, seven wickets in hand and almost 19 overs left.

But as the Pakistani bowlers came alive, wickets tumbled and Australia entered the final over needing five runs to win a match transformed into a thriller after being tedious to watch for so long.

Motor racing

Track saves F1 future BERLIN: The future of Formula One racing at Hockenheim's track has been secured until 2018 with the signing of a new deal on Wednesday.

The contract had been wrapped up by the Formula One Association (FOA), the mayor of Hockenheim and the company that runs the circuit to safeguard the future of the track which had been under threat having run at a loss.

"We will give no details of the contract but it looks like the expected loss of six million euros will not emerge on the 2010 balance sheet," said Hockenheim mayor Dieter Gummer.

Athletics

400m runnerup banned

KIEV: Ukraine's European indoor 400m silver medalist Nataliya Pigida has been banned for two years after failing a doping test, the athletics federation here announced on Wednesday.

Samples she provided when winning at the IAAF Grand Prix in Rheims, France, last July showed the presence of the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol.

Pigida won her silver at Turin last winter.

(China Daily 10/02/2009 page12)