A member of IranÕs Goalball Team in action during the World MenÕs Goalball Competition in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

TEHRAN, Aug. 8--Iran has gained another international honor, the third place at the world men’s goalball competitions in Sao Paulo, southern Brazil.
According to Mehr, the Iranian side bagged bronze by winning host Brazil 8-7.
Spain stole the show as it defeated Finland 9-8 in the final showdown.
Champion Spain, Finland, Iran, Brazil, and Belgium qualified for the 2008 Paralympics Games in the Chinese capital Beijing.
Goalball is a team sport designed for blind athletes. It was devised by an Austrian, Hanz Lorenzen, and a German, Sepp Reindle, in 1946 in an effort to help in the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Aug. 8--AFC’s Vision Iran project is set to take a big leap forward with the launch of provincial leagues in Isfahan and Fars on August 10 and 11 respectively.
Top AFC officials including General Secretary Dato Paul Mony Samuel and Vision Asia Acting Director Brendan Menton will attend the launch ceremony, reported AFC.
The Isfahan Provincial League (IPL) comprises 12 clubs and will kick off on August 10, a day before the Fars Provincial League (FPL), which features 14 clubs, gets underway at the Takhti Stadium.
Two rounds will be played in both the leagues on the basis of Club Regulations provided by Vision Asia. The criteria to be used for this purpose are the club’s administration, legal, finance, facilities, community links and sporting development capabilities of the clubs.
The leagues are expected to provide a high level of competitive football for the clubs in Isfahan and Fars.
The format of the competition is home-and-away and the clubs have to employ coaches holding at least an AFC ’C’ certificate.
“These two leagues will create opportunities for football players in Isfahan and Fars to play at a higher standard,“ said Menton.
“Iran is full of football talent and I am sure concentrating on the Vision Iran program will provide a higher platform for players, clubs, coaches, referees and officials to be successful.“
To help the grassroots and youth segment, an u-11 Schools Leagues will be launched in October this year.
Prior to this, AFC will organise a grassroots and youth workshop, introductory coaching and Class 3 refereeing courses.

LONDON, Aug. 8--DaMarcus Beasley says he had problems while with PSV Rangers and has urged Fifa and Uefa to take action after he was subjected to racist taunts during the 1-0 victory over Zeta.
Aacording to BBC, teammate Jean-Claude Darcheville was also verbally abused by some home fans in the Champions League qualifier.
Uefa’s delegate at the match has included the incident in his report and Zeta could face heavy punishment. And Beasley, who hit the 81st-minute winner, said: “That’s something Fifa and Uefa must fight with and solve.“
Beasley says he suffered similar abuse when playing for previous club PSV Eindhoven. “This is the 21st century and we are still having trouble with it,“ he added. “I’ve faced that kind of situation throughout my whole career in Europe, not so much during my playing days in England, but even in Holland I’ve had similar problems.“
I feel strongly about it and we will decide if we should file a complaint.
DaMarcus Beasley Uefa will also consider incidents in which bottles were thrown from a stand containing home supporters when Zeta were denied a penalty in the second half--and an incident of Rangers substitute Charlie Adam being struck by a lighter.
Red Star Belgrade could be the next opponents for Rangers in the Champions League. The Serbian side lead Levadia Tallinn 1-0 after the first leg and face a tricky test in Estonia on Wednesday evening. But Beasley recalled a Champions League qualifier he played for PSV against Red Star in August 2004, when he also came in for abuse.
“I remember playing against Red Star Belgrade, and I mention them as they could be our next opponents in the Champions League, and I still remember some racist chants at that away match,“ he stated.
“I will discuss the situation with Rangers because I feel strongly about it and we will decide if we should file a complaint.“
There were no reported incidents of Rangers supporters misbehaving during the game.

MONTREAL, Aug. 8--Scotland’s Andy Murray made a triumphant return to the ATP Tour after being sidelined nearly three months with a right wrist injury, advancing Tuesday at the Montreal Masters tournament.
According to AFP, Murray played cautiously as he tested out American Robby Ginepri, picking his spots with care to produce a 6-4, 6-4 victory.
“It was 12 weeks today since I hurt the wrist. At the start it went slowly and then the weeks just passed by. Sometimes it didn’t feel like it was healing,“ Murray said.
The 20-year-old Scotsman last played in Hamburg on May 15 when he injured tendons in his right wrist. “I thought I played pretty well and expect to get more confidence with more matches,“ Murray said.
“I started well and got the early break. I didn’t felt anxious at all going onto the court. There was no pressure on me and I was not putting any on myself.“
Recovery caused him to miss both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with his North American return delayed several times over recent weeks.
But a fit-looking Murray got straight back into harness as he iced the first-round victory in hot summer conditions with a sixth ace.
Ginepri, who had the best season of his career in 2005, has won just six matches this season and has not gotten past Murray in three career attempts.
Murray next faces a test against Italian number 138 Fabio Fognini with top seed Roger Federer all but certain to be facing the winner in the third round.
Federer will play his first match against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who beat Max Mirnyi in a battle of big servers 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). Despite his three-month absence from competition, Murray improved his season mark to 25-7 with a San Jose title and a Doha final in 2007.
“I knew it would be tough as I had not played for a while,“ Murray said. “I just used the shots that I’d been practising. I came to the net and served well. I’m happy with the way that I played.“ Third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic, playing for the first time in five months on hardcourts, held off German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-3.
American James Blake advanced over Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) while German Tommy Haas, in his second event back after an abdominal pull forced him out at Wimbledon, put out Argentine Agustin Calleri 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).
Blake, a finalist on cement this summer in Los Angeles and quarterfinalist at Indianapolis, was pleased to go through.