Iran's diving team will prepare for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games in Kuwait.

TEHRAN, Dec. 16--Ten Iranian divers will travel to Kuwait on Tuesday.
The diving team will prepare for the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games.
“The 2010 Asian Games is the final stop. We are going to hold the joint preparatory camp with the Kuwaiti team. Kuwait has suitable equipment and our athletes can provide well-organized training,“ Hossein Heidarpour, technical manager of the diving team, said in a statement faxed to IRNA.
The divers will attend the 12-day camp.
The team will be accompanied by Mehrdad Hajir and Hossein Ja’fari-Rad as coaches and Gholamreza Khanlari as supervisor.

KarateÕs qualifying matches will be held with 54 players in the five weight categories.

TEHRAN, Dec. 16--Iran’s women karatekas will take part in Morocco’s International Karate Tournament with a full team.
Eshrat Shah-Mohammadi, Iran’s Karate Federation’s vice chairman, told IRNA on Saturday Morocco’s tournament is one of the most creditable events in the world.
“Iran will participate in the kata and kumite categories,“ she said, noting that the country bagged one silver and three bronze medals in the previous tournament and hopes to get a better result in the upcoming event.
She said 30 teams are expected to participate in the competitions.
“The qualifying matches will be held with 54 players in the five weight categories and the top two competitors in each class will eventually proceed to the event,“ she said.
Morocco’s karate tournament will kick off in Rabat in February 2008.

TEHRAN, Dec. 16--Iranian badminton player, Kaveh Mehrabi, improved his ranking from 94 to 84 in the latest International Badminton Federation’s ranking.
According to IRNA, Mehrabi was also among the 16 top players in the recent International Badminton Championships in Russia, maximizing his chance of gaining a berth in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Mehrabi would be the first Iranian badminton player to advance to the Beijing Olympic Games, if he maintains his record.
Another Iranian badminton player, Ali Shah-Hosseini, ranks 127th in the ranking after climbing nine places.

TEHRAN, Dec. 16ÑHead of Iran’s Golf Federation said men’s and women’s national golf teams will participate in the 2008 World Golf Championship in Australia.
Isa Es’haqi also told IRNA that five preparatory events have been scheduled ahead of the tournament in Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Pakistan and Turkey.
Es’haqi further said Iran’s Golf Federation has trained 14,000 people so far, compared to the 2004 figure, which was 200.In 2004 Jenkins was coach by Trevor Graham. Graham is awaiting trial on charges of lying to federal law enforcement officials in the BALCO steroid case.

DUBAI, UAE, Dec. 16-- The Indian Masters in February will be a tri-sanctioned tournament, organizers announced on Sunday.
“The $2.5 million tournament will bring the European Tour, Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) together,“ an official said about the event which will be held at the Delhi Golf Club from Feb 7-10, Reuters wrote.
He said that a minimum of 25 spots will be allocated to Indian players in the 120 strong field headed by world number five Ernie Els

NEW YORK, Dec. 16-- Martin Hansal contributed a goal and three assists to lift the last-placed Phoenix Coyotes to a 4-1 upset win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Fredrik Sjostrom had two goals and an assist and Radim Vrbota a goal and two assists as Wayne Gretzky’s Coyotes overwhelmed the Atlantic Division leaders, Reuters said.
Phoenix is now 9-8 on the road but is still struggling in the standings because of a mediocre 5-8 home record.
“This was huge for us,“ Sjostrom told reporters.
The Devils lost for the third time in four games after winning nine straight, a run in which they have scored just six goals. The loss also snapped the Devils’ five-game home winning streak.
Goaltender Mikael Tellqvist made his first start since November 12 a good one, losing a shutout bid when Zach Parise scored a shorthanded goal with six minutes remaining. The Coyotes already had a 3-0 lead at that point and Hansal sealed the victory with a shorthanded score with 2:50 left.
The Coyotes fired 38 shots at Martin Brodeur in the New Jersey goal.
“It’s just a tough one. You try to forget it and move on,“ Brodeur said after playing for the 14th time in the last 15 games and giving up four goals for the first time since November 14. “They’re a team that works hard,“ he added. “They’re competing real well.“
Sjostrom scored the only goal of the second period and the visitors took their 1-0 lead into the third. Vrbata then scored on one of eight Phoenix powerplays and Sjostrom, who had to be helped off the ice midway through the second period after a hit behind the net, scored again at the 9:08 mark for the 3-0 lead.

NEW YORK, Dec. 16-- Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets was suspended without pay for one game on Saturday after hitting Melvin Ely of the New Orleans Hornets in the head with his elbow on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, the ban, which Martin served in Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, was announced by the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson.
Martin is averaging 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this season. He had played in 20 of the Nuggets’ first 22 games, all as a starter.

NEW YORK, Dec. 16-- The champion San Antonio Spurs rode the scoring of Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto to a 102-91 home victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
Tim Duncan, who had missed the last four games with a sprained ankle, came off the bench to play 20 minutes, scoring eight points and grabbing eight rebounds to help the Spurs break a two-game losing streak, Reuters wrote.
San Antonio, still without guard Tony Parker due to an ankle injury, remained perfect at home (13-0) this season.
The Nuggets were missing starting forward Kenyon Martin who was serving a one-game suspension for a flagrant foul.
Finley and Oberto each registered a season-high 21 points, Oberto also grabbing 13 rebounds while hitting 10 of his 11 shots.
Allen Iverson led the Nuggets with 30 points and five assists but was also guilty of seven turnovers.
The Spurs led 92-68 after three quarters and held off a mild Denver charge in the final period.
*The short-handed Washington Wizards won their fourth straight game, beating the visiting Sacramento Kings 92-79. Missing point guards Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels due to knee injuries, DeShawn Stevenson had his second big game to lead the Wizards.
After scoring a career-high 26 points on Thursday, he had 17, including five three-pointers, on Saturday.

CHICAGO, USA,
Dec. 16-- American sprinter LaTasha Jenkins has successfully won her appeal of a doping charge after a pair of slip-ups by two different European testing labs.
According to AFP, in July 2006, Jenkins, who is believed to be the first to win an appeal against the US Anti-Doping Agency, tested positive for the steroid nandrolone. A three-member arbitration panel ruled in her favour after she complained that labs in Belgium and Germany did not follow proper World Anti-Doping Agency procedures during the handling of her samples.
The panel ruled that both labs erred by not using two different technicians to the run the tests.
Jenkins, 29, was awarded the bronze medal in the 200 meters at the 2001 World Championships when her American teammate and third-place finisher Kelli White was disqualified after revealing she used performance-enhancing drugs.
This is believed to be the first time an American athlete has won an appeal of a USADA doping charge, the newspaper said.
Jenkins said she hopes to resume training and compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Dec. 16-- Scotland’s Alex Arthur won a brutal clash against Steve Foster at the Meadowbank Arena to retain his interim WBO super featherweight title.
According to BBC, in a pulsating bout, Arthur survived an 11th-round knockdown which threatened to rob him of his title.
But he recovered his composure to see the fight out and claim victory by a unanimous decision over the Englishman.
Foster, deducted a point for illegal use of his head, also took a standing eight count in the ninth round.
Arthur admitted afterwards that Foster had caught him momentarily off guard in the 11th round.
“It was just stupidity on my part that he caught me,“ he said.
“He never hurt me all night and he didn’t hurt me with that punch. But he took me by surprise although I was up on my feet right away and my head was clear.
“I knew it was going to be a tough fight, he had a lot of support up with him and he’s a proud guy.“

European champion AC Milan forward Filipo Inzaghi (l) celebrates with Kaka the goal against Buca Juniors in the Club World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday.

YOKOHAMA, Japan, Dec. 16-- Brazilian Kaka propelled AC Milan to a 4-2 thrashing of Boca Juniors in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Kaka capped a virtuoso performance by scoring his side’s third goal and setting up two for Filippo Inzaghi as the Italians became the first European side to win the revamped tournament, Reuters wrote.
A slide-rule pass from the Ballon d’Or winner gave Inzaghi the simple task of firing Milan into the lead in the 21st minute.
Boca equalized moments later through striker Rodrigo Palacio’s header but defender Alessandro Nesta volleyed Milan back into the lead five minutes into the second half.
Kaka got on the scoresheet in the 61st minute, beating Boca goalkeeper Mauricio Caranta after a dazzling solo run. Ten minutes later, he squared to Inzaghi who scored his second goal.
Milan finished with 10 men after Georgian defender Kakha Kaladze was sent off in the 77th minute.
Boca had some consolation with a late own goal by Milan’s Massimo Ambrosini but it was too late to prevent the Italians from snapping Europe’s jinx at the Club World Cup.
San Paulo beat Liverpool 1-0 in the 2005 final and fellow Brazilians Internacional stunned Barcelona by the same score last year.
Milan won the tournament’s forerunner, a one-off match between the champions of Europe and South America, in 1969, 1989 and 1990. They lost to Boca on penalties in 2003.

SUOMUSSALMI, Finland,
Dec. 16--Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen has joined McLaren and will race alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
According to BBC, the 26-year-old, who scored 30 points in his maiden F1 season with Renault, has signed a “long-term contract“.
“I think Lewis and Heikki will be a formidable combination,“ said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh. “I am confident they’ll work well together.“
Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, who had been vying with Kovalainen for a race seat, will remain as test driver.
McLaren were left looking for a second driver after Fernando Alonso left the team to return to Renault following a turbulent season in which he fell out with boss Ron Dennis and Hamilton.
Norbert Haug, vice-president of McLaren’s engine partner Mercedes, said he was confident Hamilton and Kovalainen would form a strong partnership.
“Everybody in the team is looking forward to a very fruitful co-operation,“ he said.
“Lewis and Heikki will form one of the youngest driver line-ups, and I am convinced that both will be very strong and at the same time co-operative competitors.“