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52 Iranians Will
Compete in Olympics
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Official logo of 2008 Olympic Games.
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The list of Iran’s athletes who will take part in the 2008 Olympics Games has been unveiled. According to ISNA, 52 athletes in 12 categories will represent Iran. The Games begin on August 8. List of Iranian athletes are as follows:
Free Wrestling
Abbas Dabaghi (55-kg category), Morad Mohammadi (60-kg), Mehdi Taqavi (66-kg), Meysam Mostafa Jokaar(74-kg), Reza Yazdani(84-kg), Saed Ebrahimi (96-kg) and Fardin Masoumi(120-kg).
Greco-Roman
Hamid Sourian (55-kg category), Ali Mohammadi (66-kg), Saman Tahmasebi (84-kg), Qasem Rezaei (96-kg) and Masoud Hashemzadeh (120-kg).
Taekwondo
Reza Naderian, Hadi Saei and Sara Khoshjamal Fekri.
Judo
Masoud Haji Akhoundzadeh (-60-kg category), Arash Mir Esmaeili (-66-kg), Ali Maloumat (-73-kg), Hamed Malek Mohammadi (-81-kg), Hossein Qomi (-90-kg), Mohammadreza Roudaki (+100-kg).
Power Lifting
Hossein Rezazadeh (+105-kg category), Asghar Ebrahimi (94-kg), Mohsen Beyranvand (-105-kg).
Archery
Hojattollah Vaezi and Najmeh Abtin.
Track and Field
Ehsan Haddadi (discus thrower), Abbas Samimi (discus thrower), Sajjad Moradi (800-meter, 1500-meter run), Ehsan Mohajer Shojaei (800-meter run), Amin Nikfar (shot put).
Rowing
Homa Hosseini, Mohsen Shadi.
Cycling
Qader Mizbani, Hossein Asgari, Mehdi Sohrabi.
Table Tennis
Afshin Norouzi
Boxing
Morteza Sepahvand (69-kg category), Mehdi Qorbani (81-kg), Ali Mazaheri (91-kg).
Basketball
Javad Davari, Mohammadreza Akbari, Hooman Rezaei, Hamed Sohrabnejad, Amir Amini, Aren Davoudi, Mehdi Kamrani, Saeed Davarpanah, Jaber Roozbahani, Hamed Haddadi, Asqar Kardoust, Iman Zandi, Hamed Afaq, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami.
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Real, Man Utd to Meet Over Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo
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Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon and Manchester United chief executive David Gill will hold talks in Switzerland next week over Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, the Spanish sports daily AS reported Saturday.
The private talks will take place on Monday at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on the sidelines of a wider meeting of European clubs, AS said.
United on Friday moved to quell further talk that their prize asset was about to link up with the Bernabeu club, saying the rumors were “utter nonsense and totally laughable. Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale“.
Manchester United has repeatedly said the player whose contract runs until 2012 is definitely not for sale.
Last month the club reported nine-time European champions Real to UEFA for trying to unsettle Ronaldo, though the global governing body has yet to make their decision known.
Ronaldo, currently an injury concern, is not scheduled to join the club on their pre-season tour of South Africa which begins on July 18.
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Kovalainen Grabs
British GP Pole
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Heikki Kovalainen
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Lewis Hamilton could only qualify fourth for the British Grand Prix as his McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen grabbed pole position.
The Finn, who has looked quicker than Hamilton all weekend, posted a stunning lap to beat surprise second-place man Mark Webber of Red Bull, BBC reported.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest but he was nearly 0.7 seconds off Kovalainen’s one minute 21.049 lap.
BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld was fifth ahead of Renault’s Fernando Alonso.
World championship leader Felipe Massa was down in the ninth place, behind Alonso’s teammate Nelson Piquet Jr and Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel.
Kovalainen, for whom this was a first pole position of his F1 career, said: “It’s not going to be easy tomorrow, but my pace has been good all week, and I am confident our strategy will be a strong one as well. The target is to win the Grand Prix. It was quite a difficult situation. At the start of the final session, the wind picked up and I was all over the place. But it went much better on the second run.“
Hamilton made a mistake on his first run in the final part of qualifying, running off the track at the Priory corner towards the end of the lap.
He was on a faster lap at the end of the session, but got his car sideways coming out of Abbey corner, and was not able to make up the time.
The disparity in the times between the top few drivers, as well as the presence of Webber on the front row, suggests the teams are running different fuel loads as they anticipate their tactics for what is expected to be a wet race on Sunday.
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Venus Downs Serena
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Venus Williams
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Thrilled as she was to win her fifth Wimbledon singles championship, Venus Williams dialed down her celebration.
No hopping in place and skipping to the net after match point, the way she’s done so often on that Centre Court lawn. No giddy laughter and whoops of joy, as she’s let out in the past.
This title was different from her previous successes at the grass-court Grand Slam.
This title came at the expense of her younger sibling, Serena, AP said.
Reprising their Sister Slam Show in the Wimbledon final after a five-year hiatus, Venus and Serena Williams smacked big serves, hit hard strokes from all angles and chased down seemingly unreachable balls, like no one else does. Overcoming an early deficit, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her second consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh major championship overall.
“I’m definitely more in tune with my sister’s feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose,“ the No. 7-seeded Venus said. “You could never detract from winning a Wimbledon, so of course it doesn’t detract from that. But I’m definitely thinking about my sister’s feeling.“
No. 6 Serena, meanwhile, was sullen as could be afterward, as though she had just finished losing to a stranger. Which, it turns out, was the way she tried to view Venus. That the champion’s trophy stayed in the family did not ease the pain of defeat.
“It’s definitely not any easier,“ Serena said. “I just look at her as another opponent at the end of the day.“
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Torres Praises Benitez
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Fernando Torres
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Fernando Torres on Saturday said that Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez was the inspiration behind his goal-scoring exploits which helped Spain to Euro 2008 glory.
Torres netted 33 times in a blistering first season for Liverpool breaking Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record for goals scored by a foreigner in a debut Premier League campaign.
The 24-year-old said that Benitez’ relentless quest for improvement since he joined from Atletico Madrid has been a catalyst for his career.
“There are days when you think: My God, this guy (Benitez) doesn’t let you breathe,“ Torres told the club’s website.
“At a club like Liverpool, you can’t sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say: ’Well, that’s it.’ After you score 20, Benitez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.“
Torres was instrumental in helping Spain win their first major honor in 44 years, scoring the winning goal in last weekend’s Euro 2008 final against Germany.
He added: “He (Benitez) tells you to go off on your own and do new exercises. I want to make progress in life, not relax, not be complacent, and you need someone close to you telling you to keep at it.“
“It is impossible to do it otherwise. We don’t always fancy someone that close, but in the long term I am sure that everybody will thank him for it.“
Torres also spoke of his admiration for the leadership qualities of club captain and England star Steven Gerrard.
“He’s a great example, and those of us who have been in a similar situation know how difficult it is to handle,“ he added.
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Kidnapping in Nigeria
Gunmen kidnapped the younger brother of a Nigerian soccer star who plays for Everton in England’s Premier League.
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Karimi Denies Persepolis Talks
Ali Karimi has not entered into talks with the Persepolis team to join the popular Iranian club next season, the football player’s agent has said.
“Karimi’s contract with Qatar SC will not end until next year,“ said Abolfazl Jalali, adding “He has to pay 20 billion Rials ($2 million) if he wants to leave the club now.“
According to Presstv, Jalali rejected recent reports that the former Bayern Munich star was in talks with Persepolis to play for the club in AFC Champions League and next season’s Premier League.
Meanwhile, there are also reports that Karimi may join Saudi Arabia’s al-Ahli. However, the Saudi club said on Saturday that it was not interested in signing a contract with the 2004 Asian Player of the Year.
“For the time being, the administration believes he is not our first choice as a top foreign player, and we made that clear to his agent who was recently in direct contact with us,“ the club’s spokesman told al-Yaum.
The 29-year-old Karimi, who capped 109 times for Iran, was suspended from the national team in May after making public comments that were critical of the Iranian Football Federation (IFF).
The IFF later announced the suspension had been lifted following a personal request by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, Karimi did not play in the first round of World Cup qualifiers, reportedly due to injury.
Madanchi Best UAE Foreign Player
Iran’s Al Shaab striker, Mehrzad Madanchi, has been named as the best foreign footballer in the UAE in an Internet poll.
He has won a cash prize of $150,000 and will receive his award after returning from holiday, Mehr News Agency reported.
Madanchi was named as the best player because of his vital goals and decisive passes in the last season.
Former Persepolis fielder was appreciated by UAE’s experts due to his effort on the ground and his participation in goal strikes.
Laporta Facing Vote of Confidence
Joan Laporta’s five-year reign as Barcelona president could be nearing its end if club members turn out in large enough numbers to vote against him in Sunday’s motion of confidence.
The referendum has been forced by club member Oriol Giralt, who gathered enough signatures to support his motion criticizing Laporta’s administration of the club, AFP said.
To be successful, the vote against Laporta will need to have the support of over two-thirds of voters with a minimum turnout of 10 percent of members entitled to take part.
If that happens, the opposition will be able to force a presidential election in which Laporta’s former aide, Sandro Rosell, has said he will stand.
Rosell was responsible for bringing Ronaldinho and Deco to the club when he was Laporta’s vice-president, before resigning in 2005, saying he was unhappy with his boss’ domineering style.
Laporta presided over the club when it won back-to-back league titles and the Champions League but has been heavily criticized for his running of the club over the past two years.
Fans staged several protests calling for his resignation towards the end of last season after the team failed to win any silverware for a second successive year.
The club responded by sacking coach Frank Rijkaard and appointing ex-captain and Nou Camp favorite Pep Guardiola as his replacement.
In an attempt to revitalize the squad, they have signed Brazil fullback Daniel Alves and Mali midfielder Seydou Keita from Sevilla, former youth team player Gerard Pique from Manchester United and Uruguay center back Martin Caceres from Recreativo Huelva. Guardiola also made it clear that leading players Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o did not feature in his plans for next season.
Geovanni in Hull City
Hull City has completed the signing of former Manchester City midfielder Geovanni on a two-year contract.
The 28-year-old Brazilian joined his new teammates at their preseason training camp in Italy on Saturday.
Assistant manager Brian Horton told BBC Radio: “He’s got a very good track record so I think he’ll be an excellent signing for us.“
“We’ve heard a lot about him and spoken to quite a few people, but we saw him ourselves so we know the player.“
And Horton revealed that France international Bernard Mendy will also join them this weekend for training, although the deal to sign him has not yet gone through.
Horton said: “He’s on his way out here. He’s not signed but it is virtually agreed so again he’s a good acquisition. Phil Brown knows him well. He’s played for big clubs and he wants to get back in the French national team he thinks by playing in the Premier League he could fulfill that ambition.“
Meanwhile, former Danish international Henrik Pederson has left the club and returned to Denmark.
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