TEHRAN, July 1--Iran’s youth side finished runner-up in an international judo tournament in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, Friday.
According to MNA, Iran snatched two gold and three bronze medals while South Korea stole the show with three golds and the third title went to Mongolia with one gold medal.

SAN CRISTOBAL, Venezuela, July 1--Host Venezuela secured its first Copa America victory in 40 years as it defeated Peru, 2-0, to go to the top of Group B, reported AP.
Alejandro Cichero opened the scoring, while Daniel Arismendi rounded off the victory late in the second half, giving the host nation four points following its opening-day draw with Bolivia.
Peru and Uruguay are now level in second place with three points, but Julio Uribe’s side has a better goal-differential after it defeated the Charruas, 3-0, in the opening match.
Both sides had chances in the opening exchanges as striker Fernando De Ornelas came close when his shot flew past the wrong side of the post.
Peruvian Pedro Garcia became the first player in the tournament to be sent off when he was shown the red card in the 15th minute after elbowing striker Giancarlo Maldonado in the face.
“Pedro Garcia’s sending off changed the result,“ Uribe said. “That was what determined the match, even though Paolo Guerrero had clear chances to score. Against Venezuela, we had five or six clear opportunities to score, sadly Guerrero failed. The team never felt the pressure, but now we have to work ahead of the next game.“
After the half-hour mark, De Ornelas had a golden chance to open the scoring, but his shot just brushed the post to go wide.
Goalkeeper Butron kept the score level when he denied Maldonado’s long-range effort. But the hosts broke the deadlock as Cichero headed home Maldonado’s corner in the 49th minute.
“This result has made history,“ Venezuela coach Richard Paez said. “For seven years, we have been fighting for everybody’s respect, and today we achieved it. We were patient and we broke their five-man line that had been so successful against Uruguay. With Andres Rouga, we had a good defence and Pedro Garcia’s sending off changed the game.“
Instead of pushing forward, Venezuela sat deep after the goal and Peru started to control the play more and created chances. Paez was dismissed 12 minutes before full-time when he saw his second yellow card.

TEHRAN, July 1--The football team will leave here for the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur Wednesday to represent Iran in the 14th Asian Cup.
According to MNA, Iran has been drawn with Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and China in Group C. The Asian competitions will be co-hosted by Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam from July 7-29.

Evander Holyfield

EL PASO, USA, July 1--Four-times heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Lou Savarese on Saturday and vowed not to quit until he won a fifth title.
Holyfield, 44, knocked Savarese to the canvas in the fourth round of the non-title fight with a right to the body, and nearly finished him at the end of the ninth with a left hook.
Savarese, three years Holyfield’s junior, was reeling in the 10th but hung on to see out the round.
“Lou is a veteran and a very difficult fighter,“ Holyfield told reporters. “He was hitting me with uppercuts, and hurt me with a few of them.“
Holyfield, just 4-3 in his last seven bouts, improved his record to 43-8-2 and rejected talk he was over the hill. “Age is just a number,“ he said.
“I think I proved that today. I am still determined and I’m happy with my performance. I give myself 70 out of 100.
“But I will not quit until I am a five-times world champion.“
Holyfield took the opening two tentative rounds with his jab, but Savarese stormed back in third, buckling the former champion’s knees with an uppercut.

Ferrari F1 driver Felipe Massa from Brazil practices for French Grand Prix on Saturday.

PARIS, July 1--Ferrari’s Felipe Massa starts Sunday’s French Grand Prix in pole position after beating McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton into second in Saturday qualifying, said AP.
Massa’s teammate Kimi Raikkonen is third but Fernando Alonso’s McLaren was hit by mechanical problems will go off 10th when the race starts at 1300 BST.
Brazilian Massa clocked one minute 15.034 seconds for the 4.411km circuit, just 0.070secs ahead of Hamilton.
Hamilton leads the standings by 10 points from Spanish team-mate Alonso.
Massa’s pole was his fourth of the season and seventh of his career, suggesting Ferrari are becoming a real threat again at Magny-Cours.
But the biggest story of the day surrounded Alonso, who suffered his lowest qualifying position since September’s Italian Grand Prix. The Spaniard endured a troubled morning as he spent most of the hour in the garage as mechanics had to replace the brake-sensor system.
It was not until the dying minutes he finally emerged on track, so when a problem occurred at the start of Q3, it was clear the gremlins had bitten again.
It appears his best chance of making his way though the field on Sunday is if conditions are wet at Magny-Cours.
“I will pray for rain tonight,“ said the 25-year-old. “We know wet conditions are difficult and produce mixed results. “But if you are quick in the dry, you can be two or three tenths quicker than the guy in front.
“If you are quick in the wet, maybe it’s two seconds so you can make up places much, much quicker. “So I really hope it’s wet tomorrow because it might lead to some uncertainties we might be able to benefit from.“
In contrast, teammate and championship leader Hamilton was in upbeat mood despite missing out on pole. “You can’t be perfect all the time but the team has done a fantastic job,“ said the 22-year-old Briton.
“I had the car for pole but I lost a bit of time at turn 15, but I’m very happy.
“We are on the front row and we’ve got a good strategy for tomorrow. I’m sure we will be very competitive.“
Even Ferrari’s apparent revival failed to faze Hamilton. “Everyone makes improvements and steps forward,“ he said. “Ferrari have done that, but I still believe we have the best car and we just have to prove that tomorrow.“

WIMBLEDON, UK, July 1--Maria Sharapova just wanted it to end. Raindrops were falling, her opponent was complaining, and Sharapova suddenly encountered some trouble as she tried to close out her third-round match at Wimbledon, said AP.
Showers wiped out most action at the All England Club on Saturday, and it was drizzling when 2004 champion Sharapova finally finished her 6-3, 6-3 victory despite the No. 26-seeded Ai Sugiyama’s animated protests it was too slick to play.
“I was starting to get agitated. I saw the rain in the middle of the second set, and I knew, if it keeps going, obviously the grass is going to get wet,“ Sharapova said. “I didn’t want it to be too dangerous to play out there. But it worked out well in the end.“ Well, for her, anyway.
There was, not surprisingly, a different take on things from Sugiyama, whose best showing in 15 Wimbledon appearances ended with a loss to Sharapova in the quarterfinals three years ago.
“It was very wet at the end,“ Sugiyama said. “Last two games were really slippery.“ In the only other singles match completed, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo beat No. 28 Mara Santangelo of Italy 6-1, 6-2 in 57 minutes to reach the fourth round. Seven men’s and women’s singles matches were suspended in progress, and seven men’s matches were postponed entirely until Monday--when the forecast calls for more precipitation. The two-week tournament traditionally takes the middle Sunday off, and while rain-created backlogs in the past forced organizers to schedule matches on that day--most recently in 2004--the referee’s office announced Saturday that wouldn’t be necessary this year, even though five of six days so far have been interrupted.
So three-time champion Venus Williams could have not one but two sleepless nights pondering her second-set struggles against 71st-ranked Akiko Morigami of Japan. Williams won the first set 6-2 but was trailing 1-4 in the next when play was halted. The winner meets Sharapova for a quarterfinal berth.
In other matches carried over to Monday, French Open runner-up Ana Ivanovic, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 11 Nadia Petrova, No. 12 Elena Dementieva and No. 14 Nicole Vaidisova each was up a set.
No. 7 Tomas Berdych took the first set of the only men’s match that got under way. Among those who didn’t play a point in their third-round matches Saturday: three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 2002 Wimbledon winner Lleyton Hewitt.

CLEVELAND, USA, July 1--C.C. Sabathia has a dozen reasons why he should start the All-Star game, according to AP.
Cleveland’s ace left-hander became the majors’ first 12-game winner and Grady Sizemore drove in three runs to lead the Indians to an 8-6 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday night.
“It would be crazy to say he doesn’t deserve it,“ Sizemore said. “It’s incredible playing behind him. He gets better every time out.“
Sabathia (12-2) matched last season’s win total and is 7-1 with a 2.62 ERA in his last 10 starts, but says he doesn’t think about winning 20 or even being tabbed for his first All-Star start.
“It feels good to have 12 wins, but feels better to be in first place,“ Sabathia said. “The only start I’m concerned with is my next one at Detroit.“
That would be Thursday against the defending AL champion Tigers, who trail the first-place Indians by 1 1/2 games in the Central. A good outing in front of manager Jim Leyland, whose job it is to select the AL’s starter, could sew up Sabathia’s chances.
The Indians won for the fifth time in six games to improve baseball’s best home record to 29-12. The Devil Rays have lost six straight and 13 of 17.
Sabathia, a lock to make his third All-Star team when the clubs are announced Sunday, gave up two earned runs and six hits over seven innings to go to 9-1 in 12 home starts this year. He struck out eight without a walk for the second straight game and third time in June. For the month, he went 4-1 with three walks and 41 strikeouts.
“C.C. controlled the ballgame,“ Indians manager Eric Wedge said. “He had to work a little for it tonight, but what he did was pitch.
“He’s been a true No. 1 for a while now. The entire park has a different air when C.C. is pitching. ... I’d be in some kind of shock if he didn’t make the All-Star team.“
The Devil Rays threatened in the ninth. After Raul Casanova hit a two-run homer and Dustan Mohr followed with his first since being called up on June 22, Joe Borowski came on to get the final two outs on six pitches for his 23rd save in 25 chances.

SOUTHERN PINES, USA, July 1--World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa is still seeking her first major title, and she was in good position to do so when play was halted for the day during the third round at the weather-plagued United States Women’s Open on Saturday.
“I really like my position,“ said Ochoa, who was one stroke behind leader Ji-Yai Shin when play was stopped in fading light, shortly before a violent thunderstorm lashed the Pine Needles course, reported AFP.
Shin birdied the par-5 10th to go 5-under-par, with Ochoa (11 holes), Cristie Kerr (13 holes) and halfway leader Angela Park (10 holes) tied for second on 4-under.
Morgan Pressel was two shots behind after 11 holes in a tightly-bunched field, while Julieta Granada trailed by three, also after 11 holes.
American Michelle Wie withdrew from the major midway through the second round Saturday after struggling to an 82 in the opening round.
After an opening 11-over-par, Wie dropped six more shots Saturday before quitting. This was her third tournament since returning from a four-month hiatus due her injury, and she is a combined 52-over for 115 holes during the period.
Ochoa, who has won three LPGA tournaments this year, started the third round five shots off the pace, before making a swift move in perfect scoring conditions.
“It was a really good day,“ she said. “I made four birdies and had a lot of other birdie chances too. I like where I am right now. “I feel prepared to win a major. I’ve been working really hard and giving myself chances. Tomorrow is going to be a special day, but I’m going to take it one step at a time and really concentrate on what I’m doing.“
Kerr made the afternoon’s biggest move, picking up five shots, while Park dropped one shot in the calm weather. Shin could only kick herself for not being further ahead. Apart from a bogey at the par-4 second, she had birdie chances on nearly every hole, but could only convert at the two par-5s.
She was immaculate off the tee, splitting fairway after fairway with her trusty fade, and her irons were spot on as she peppered the pin time and again.

Florent Malouda

LONDON, July 1--France midfielder Florent Malouda insists he is determined to move to Chelsea, despite Lyon rejecting a £12m bid for him this week,, said AFP.
Malouda, 27, told French newspaper Le Progres: “It would be better for everyone if my transfer to Chelsea is finalised because I want to leave.
“I have made my choice. I have talked with the coach Jose Mourinho.
“The directors know I want to leave and in these conditions I can’t see me playing for Lyon anymore.“
Lyon have put a £17m price tag on the player and have already lost another French international, Eric Abidal, to Barcelona this week. Malouda, who has also been linked to Liverpool, added: “Even if another club is ready to offer more money, I am determined (to go to Chelsea) and have been for a while.“
If he does move to Chelsea, Malouda will link up again with Didier Drogba, with whom he enjoyed success at Guingamp in 2002-03.