Iran Alpine Skier Reaches World Final

Iranian alpine skier Mohammad Kia-Darbandsari has progressed to the final round of the 2013 Alpine World Ski Championships in Austria following his brilliant performance in the men’s giant slalom events.
The 23-year-old Iranian exceeded expectations on Friday, and finished in the 25th spot overall.
Kia-Darbandsari, who won the first ever Asian Winter Games medal for Iran at the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Kazakhstan, stayed within the top 30 skiers and reached the final.
The 2013 Alpine World Ski Championships opened in the southeastern Austrian town of Schladming on February 4, and will wrap up on February 17.
A total 609 athletes from 70 countries are competing in the sports event.
Meanwhile, Ted Ligety became the first male skier for 45 years and only the fifth overall to win three gold medals at a World Championships when he defended his title in the giant slalom in Schladming.
Having already won the super-G and super combined events, a hat-trick was always on the cards for the American in his favorite event, although he had to survive a couple of slips on the second run before winning by 0.81 seconds.
Ligety, who has not failed to complete a giant slalom race for four years and totally dominates the event, led by one-and-a-half seconds after the first run, although his time on the second was only sixth best.
Austrian favorite Marcel Hirscher, who leads the season’s overall standings on the World Cup circuit which he won last year, was second after overcoming a back injury to produce a storming second run which brought the home crowd to its feet.
Italy’s Manfred Moelgg was third.
“It may have looked easy but I can say I had to fight hard in both runs,” Ligety, combined gold medalist at the 2006 Olympics, said at the finishing line.
“The course was incredibly bumpy... it was a struggle from top to bottom.”
The 28-year-old said that his previous wins were bonuses but his priority had been to win another gold in his favorite event.
“The main goal was to come here to defend my title,” said Ligety, whose 15 wins on the World Cup circuit have all come in the giant slalom.
Hirscher, who has never won an individual gold in the World Championships, said he had a sleepless night after undergoing treatment on his back and suffering with a headache.

Bayern Open 18-Point Lead With Win at Wolfsburg

A superb Mario Mandzukic bicycle kick and Arjen Robben’s first goal of the season gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 win at Wolfsburg that sent the runaway leaders 18 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
The league’s top scorer Mandzukic, unfazed by media reports Bayern are close to signing Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski for next season, snatched his 15th goal of the campaign in dazzling fashion in the 36th minute, Reuters reported.
Substitute Robben then drilled the ball in from six meters in stoppage time at the end of the game as Bayern continued their spectacular assault on a first league title since 2010.
They have won 18 of their 22 matches this season including their last five away from home. The Bavarians have also not conceded a goal since the league resumed in January following a mid-season break.
Bayern, who visit Arsenal in the Champions League last 16 next week, have 57 points. Champions Borussia Dortmund, second on 39, host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday when third-placed Bayer Leverkusen also entertain lowly Augsburg.
“Wolfsburg certainly battled very hard,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
“It was tough and it is these games we must win. We did just that and showed we are a top team.”

Soccer Joins Battle Against Doping

Soccer stars will face a more systematic regime of drug testing following world governing body FIFA’s decision to introduce biological profiles for players.
The move comes as global sport is trying to crack down on drug cheats in the wake of recent doping scandals, CNN wrote.
Lance Armstrong’s loss of his seven Tour de France titles, followed by his admission of using performance-enhancing substances in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, brought the problem of drug use by athletes to worldwide attention.
And last week Australia was stunned by a government report which alleged many professional athletes are using forbidden drugs often supplied by organized crime groups.
In Spain, the Operacion Puerto trial is now underway following an investigation, which began in 2006, into the widespread doping network operated by Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes.
Now FIFA is taking steps to address any possible use of banned substances within football, announcing its plan to bring in biological profiles following discussions between president Sepp Blatter and his World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) counterpart John Fahey on Thursday.
The profiles, similar to the biological passports used within cycling, will first be run at June’s Confederations Cup -- a warm-up tournament for the 2014 World Cup, also being held in Brazil.
Biological profiles are built up by collating an athlete’s drug test results over time, therefore making it easier to detect differences which could indicate the use of a banned substance.

Serena Back on Top

Serena Williams wept with delight after becoming the oldest woman to ever hold the number one world ranking.
The 31-year-old American star clinched a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open to move back to the summit following a two-and-a-half year interval which almost saw her quit the sport, CNN wrote.
“I am so sensitive nowadays -- I am always crying, but I never thought I would be here again you know,” Williams told reporters.
“I have been through so much and I never thought I would be here,” she repeated.
Williams first became World No.1 on July 8, 2002 at the age of 20 and will take top spot for the sixth time her career.
It is a remarkable comeback for Williams, who slipped as low as 175 in the rankings after missing almost a year with injury and a life threatening pulmonary embolism in 2011.
But she returned with a bang in 2012, winning Wimbledon, Olympic Gold, the U.S. Open and the WTA Championships, while she has also triumphed in 59 of her past 62 matches.
Williams, who will start her 124th career week at No.1 on Monday, beat Chris Evert’s record of 27 years ago when she reached the top at the age of 30 and 11 months -- six months younger than her successor.
That’s a total only bettered by Steffi Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332), Evert (260), Martina Hingis (209) and Monica Seles (178).
The achievement had looked in doubt with Williams 4-1 down in the final set, but the American fought back to clinch a dramatic 7-5 victory.
Williams will now face Maria Sharapova in the semifinal after the Russian defeated Australia’s Sam Stosur 6-2 6-4, while Victoria Azaraenka also progressed to the last four after defeating Sara Errani.

Rossi ‘Born Again’ After Sepang Test

Valentino Rossi believes his form in the opening MotoGP test of 2013 proves he is still a top rider even if his past advantages have gradually been eroded.
After suffering the first two win-less seasons of his premier class career with Ducati, his switch back to Yamaha produced an instant jump up the timesheets at Sepang in early February, AutoSport reported.
Rossi said he felt revitalised by his return to the top of the timesheets.
“I’m relieved [and] very happy with the way the first test [went],” he told Motosprint.
“I said I wanted to understand if I’m still a top rider. I had my own doubts too.
“I’m there already, with the strongest riders in the world, the ones at the top of their careers.
“I feel I’m born again. I’m not far off.”
The 33-year-old admitted however that he no longer enjoyed an advantage over the rest of the field in terms of race preparation and strategy.
“The race, side-by-side fighting, has always been one of my strong points. Unfortunately however, due to the way MotoGP has gone, this is less and less important compared to some time ago,” he explained.
“There is almost no more strategy involved, but just pure speed. [Previously] you could win races despite being perhaps a bit slower than your rival: there was more room to invent something.
“Let’s say that it’s an advantage I used to have in the past that has become a lot less important now.
“I’ve [also] taught a lot to the riders who have come after me [to] take care of every detail in order to arrive at the race in the best possible condition.

Wrestling Chief Resigns After IOC Snub

Wrestling’s world governing body Fila has parted company with its president in the wake of the recommendation to drop the sport from the Olympics.
The sport must now vie with other fringe disciplines for a spot in future Games, following the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision, BBC wrote.
Switzerland’s Raphael Martinetti had been in the position since 2002.
He was issued with a vote of no confidence at a Fila executive committee meeting in Thailand.
Fila vice president Tomiaki Fukuda said the governing body would continue to discuss wrestling’s plight during the annual gathering in Phuket.
“We will discuss in what ways we can bring wrestling back, but if nothing is decided today, we’ll continue our discussions on Sunday,” said Fukuda.
Modern pentathlon and taekwondo were thought to be the sports most at risk when the IOC met in Lausanne on Tuesday, but wrestling was the surprise choice.
It will now compete with seven other sports - baseball/softball, squash, karate, sport climbing, wakeboarding, wushu and roller sports - for a place in the 2020 Olympic Games.
Wrestling, which combines freestyle and Greco-Roman events, was included in the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
It has been in every Games since, apart from Paris in 1900. At last year’s Olympics, it featured 344 athletes competing in 11 medal events.

Farah Wants Winning Start To 2013 Campaign

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah wants to make a winning start to his 2013 season on Saturday as he targets World Championship glory later this summer.
Farah tops the bill at the British Grand Prix when he lines up in the 3,000m at Birmingham’s Indoor Arena, BBC wrote.
It is a low-key start for the London 2012 5,000m and 10,000m champion, but Farah will accept nothing less than victory as he begins a crucial year.
“For me, you must win because it’s the first race,” he said.
Farah has been training in Kenya ahead of the new campaign.
He is very much aware that he is now the man everyone wants to beat following his success inside the Olympic Stadium six months ago.
The British Grand Prix is the 29-year-old’s only indoor race of the season. He is using it as part of his preparations for his main goal--the defense of his 5,000m title at the World Championships in Moscow in August.
Farah is also determined to add the 10,000m crown after Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan beat him into second place by only 0.26 seconds in Daegu two years ago.
“That race nags away but you learn from your mistakes and I have learnt a lot from that race,” he added.
“I am always motivated and I have to be even more motivated now, because when you’re at the top there are more people who want to knock you down.
“There are more eyes on you. After the Olympics I just wanted to spend time with my family. Then you have to go and pick up the training. If I don’t, I know I’ll get beat.”

Mancini, Mourinho Could Not Hack it at Leeds

Leeds manager Neil Warnock admits he would not swap jobs with Roberto Mancini as he prepares to lock horns with his Manchester City counterpart in the FA Cup.
While the 64-year-old is struggling to mount a charge for the Championship play-offs with the Whites, Mancini also appears to be falling short of his targets.
City’s defense of their Barclays Premier League crown looks to be fading fast as they sit 12 points behind Manchester United with just 12 games to play after failing to emulate last season’s impressive performances.
Warnock, sacked by QPR last term after leading the club into the top flight, has had little financial support at Leeds but is adamant he is happy in his current environment, while Italian Mancini has spent millions on assembling a world-class squad at the Etihad Stadium.
“I don’t think I’d be able to cope. I only had six months with the current type of Premier League players and I didn’t enjoy that at all,” Warnock said.
“I wouldn’t like to have two teams where you’ve got 11 or 12 not in the team to deal with, who are world class players, who all think they should be in the team, who all their agents think they should be in the team. Good luck to them.
“I don’t envy that at all. It’s fabulous to have a team like that, but I don’t envy the off-the-field things that you get.
“It’s a major problem at the top clubs I think. I’d love to go up with Leeds, with a genuine bunch of lads, like we did at QPR - most of them are back in the team now - it’s great to go up with a team like that.
“I think people like Mancini, and I’m not being disrespectful to him, need the financial support they’ve got. Like Mourinho. I don’t think they could manage at Leeds in the current climate, or anywhere else other than top level, that’s the way they are.”

Collision With Police Car

A Manchester United footballer’s vehicle has been involved in a collision with a police car.