Klitschko to Defend Heavyweight Title

Ukraine’s Vladimir Klitschko will defend his four world heavyweight title belts against former sparring partner German-Italian challenger Francesco Pianeta in Mannheim on May 4.
Klitschko, who holds the IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA crown had used the 28-year-old Pianeta as a sparring partner last year, Reuters reported.
The 36-year-old Ukrainian’s record stands as 59 wins and three defeats after his three successful title defenses in 2012, including a November victory over Poland’s Mariusz Wach.
Pianeta, who at 1.93 meters is five centimeters shorter than his opponent, is still undefeated with 28 wins and one draw.
“I have a lot of respect for Pianeta because he is young and has a big fighting spirit,” the 36-year-old Klitschko said in a statement.
Klitschko’s older brother, Vitali, holds the WBC crown.
“I was briefly his sparring partner last year and I noted where his weaknesses are and how best to exploit them,” said Pianeta. “I understand many see me as an outsider and that is fine but I will knock Klitschko out and turn the world of boxing on its head.”

Ferrari: Red Bull Test Form not a Worry

Ferrari duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa insist they are not worried that Red Bull has emerged from winter testing as the team to beat.
Consensus among rival teams is that Red Bull has a small advantage with its RB9, but that the leading teams all appear to be separated by just a few tenths of a second, AutoSport reported.
Speaking at a media event for Santander in Barcelona on Monday, the Ferrari duo accept that they do not have the fastest car, but also made it clear they have seen nothing yet that proves they will not be able to fight for the victory in Australia.
What we learned from the final F1 test
“It is difficult to judge rivals--it’s impossible,” said Alonso. “You cannot go to the training grounds of Barcelona football club and see if they will win Sunday’s match--as they are only warming up.
“I don’t think by seeing Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic warming up you will see who will win the game. We will see in Australia.
“We should not forget the goal we have, and we should not forget the 0.7-0.8 seconds gap we had to the rest at the end of last year.
“But we can be closer to Red Bull and McLaren, who will be the strongest this season.”
Massa said he was particularly impressed by the on-track performance of the Red Bull, which he reckoned had all the hallmarks of being another winner.
“The Red Bull is a very competitive car,” he said. “It is a very stable car and you can see, not just by being behind it, that it has a very good rear. They are consistent on long runs with tire degradation.

Berdych to Return To Queen’s Club

World number six Tomas Berdych will play the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s Club in June as he targets a repeat of his 2010 run to the final at the grass court slam.
The Czech confirmed on Tuesday that he would take part in the London event, now called the Aegon Championships, in a bid to sharpen his grass court skills after the European clay season, Reuters reported.
It will be Berdych’s first return to the club for eight years and comes on the advice of his new manager and former world number three Ivan Ljubicic.
“I think it could be a good advantage to be in London to get used to the conditions and to those great courts, and I think this is exactly what I need before Wimbledon,” Berdych, one of the most consistent players on tour last year, said in a statement from the organizers.
“Even though it’s a long time since I played there (at Queen’s) I still remember that beautiful club very well. I have to say that I have never played on a better grass court than at The Queen’s Club.
“The experience of reaching the Wimbledon final was great. It showed me a lot of things--that I’m able to play really well through two weeks, which is very tough,” added the 27-year-old, who lost to Rafa Nadal in the 2010 Wimbledon final having beaten Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to get there.
Ljubicic reckoned Berdych would benefit from arriving in London earlier than usual.
“He only played Queen’s once before and I thought he should change that,” he said.
“Travelling is tiring. If a player stays in London and gets used to London grass - and the Queen’s Club courts are the closest to the courts at Wimbledon--it can only be a good thing. I think it’s the best preparation for Wimbledon.”
Berdych--beaten in the Dubai final last week by Djokovic--will be joined at Queen’s Club by Britain’s U.S. Open champion Andy Murray, who is also looking for his first Wimbledon title after reaching the final there last year against Federer.

Knicks Rally Without Melo

Carmelo Anthony tripped, stumbled and fell. The New York Knicks picked themselves up and won without him.
Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points, J.R. Smith added 18 and the Knicks overcame a 22-point deficit and the loss of Anthony, their All-Star forward who went out with a knee injury in the first half, to beat the Cavaliers 102-97 on Monday night and end a 10-game losing streak in Cleveland, AP wrote.
Steve Novak made three of New York’s seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and added 15 points as the Knicks, sparked by their second unit, shook off a tough home loss on Sunday, when they blew a 16-point lead to Miami.
The Knicks trailed 52-30 in the second quarter when Anthony got twisted up after catching a pass near midcourt and dropped to the floor. Following the game, Anthony said the knee has been bothering him for several weeks.
‘’It’s just sore, not pain, sore and stiffness,’’ Anthony said in a crowded corridor outside New York’s locker room. ‘’It’s been going on for a while now.’’
Anthony, who entered the game tied with Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant for the NBA scoring lead, said he underwent an MRI ‘’a couple days ago.’’ He said the test results were negative, and he does not yet know if he’ll be able to play Wednesday night when the Knicks visit Detroit.
‘’Today I just woke up and you know how some days you really don’t feel right,’’ he said. ‘’I came out here and I tried to warm up and I thought it was going to loosen up before the game, but some of the things that I was doing I felt like I was dragging it.’’

Top Iranian Cyclists to Participate in Asian Event

Top Iranian cyclists are to participate in Asian Championship due to be held in New Delhi from March 7.
Thirty six member top Iranian cyclists confirmed to participate at the Hero Cycles 33rd Senior and 20th Junior Asian Cycling Championship (ACC) to be held in the national capital region from March 7 to 17, V N Singh, Assistant Secretary of Cycle Federation of India (CFI) told IRNA.
Besides Iran, 765 cyclists from over 30 countries will be in action in the track and road race of the high-profile event
The track events will be held at the Indira Gandhi Stadium Cycling Velodrome from March 7th to 11th, while the road races will be conducted at the Buddha International F1 Racing Circuit from March 13th-17th, the first in cycling history.
CFI has hosted the event twice before, in 1989 (New Delhi) and 2005 (Ludhiana),
The continental championship is also important because it will kick start the qualification process for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the cyclists would look to amass vital points over the 10-day event.

Beckham Becomes New Face of Chinese Soccer

David Beckham was a key figure in London’s drive to win hosting rights for the 2012 Olympics, and now the sports icon is taking on the challenge of boosting the image of China’s troubled soccer industry.
The world’s most populous nation has recruited the veteran Paris Saint-Germain midfielder as a global ambassador to help promote the Chinese game both at home and abroad as it combats a serious image problem caused by recent match-fix scandals and the premature departure of two high-profile foreign imports, CNN wrote.
According to a statement released by Beckham’s management, the Chinese Football Association was drawn to the former England captain’s “credibility as one of the most admired sportsmen and iconic figures in the world as well as his outstanding sportsmanship and professionalism.”
“I am honored to have been asked to play such an important role at this special time in Chinese football history,” declared 37-year-old Beckham, who is a worldwide celebrity following stints with Manchester United and Real Madrid in addition to his high-profile off-pitch endorsement deals.
“I’m excited by the prospect of promoting the world’s greatest game to Chinese sports fans as I’ve seen firsthand the growing interest in football there,” added Beckham, who also spent five years in Los Angeles with his former pop star wife Victoria and their four children.
“This is a wonderful sport that inspires people across the world and brings families together, so I’m relishing the opportunity of introducing more fans to the game.”
Beckham’s appointment coincides with the 20th anniversary of professional football in China, which is home to 1.3 billion people. “We are pleased to invite Mr. Beckham to visit China at this special moment,” said a CFA official, who was not named. “While in China, he will attend the Chinese Super League (CSL) and visit clubs to get a deeper insight into football in China.

Esteqlal on Top Despite Late Draw

Nouri’s Solo Sinks Zob Ahan

Popular club Persepolis edged out Zob Ahan at Isfahan’s Fouladshahr Stadium in the quarterfinal of Iran’s Hazfi Cup.
The capital-based club in the next round will meet Damash, IRNA wrote.
The two teams failed to score in the regular time. In the first half, the host, Zob Ahan created good scoring chances. In the middle of the first time, Mohsen Bayatinia had a good chance to score a goal but Persepolis goal keeper denied him. Later Payam Sadeqian missed another chance.
In the second half, much of the game was played in the middle of the pitch.
In the 102nd minute of the match, Gholam Reza Rezaei sent the ball deep into box and Mohammad Nouri with a nice unstoppable header scored the sole goal of the match.
The Hazfi Cup is a knockout cup competition in Iranian football, run by the Iranian Football Federation. The competition wasn’t regarded important by clubs until the IFF decided to award one of Iran’s AFC Champions League spots to the champion.
The competition was founded in 1975. Esteqlal has won the cup on the most occasions, with 6 wins. The current holder is also Esteqlal.

Late Equalizer
A late equalizer has made Esteqlal stay on top of Iran’s Premier League (IPL) table in the 28th week of the season.
Esteqlal drew with host Saba 1-1 in a match held at Yadegar-e Emam Stadium in Qom on Monday, Press TV wrote.
Forward Iman Razzaqirad scored the first goal for Saba in the 29th minute of the match which would have made Esteqlal to drop to the second spot of the table but Arash Borhani’s late penalty kick saved the first place for Esteqlal.
Esteqlal is currently on top of the IPL table with 56 points and a goal difference of 21, and is followed by Tractorsazi with 55 points and a goal difference of 22.
In other matches of the day, Tractorsazi edged past Naft Tehran 2-1, and Sepahan trounced Gahar 4-1.
In other matches of the week, on Thursday, Persepolis pummeled Saipa 4-1, and on Friday, Fajr Sepasi thrashed Aluminum 6-0, Rah Ahan beat Peikan 4-2, Zob Ahan blanked Damash 1-0, and Naft Abadan downed Foulad with the same result, and the game between Malavan and Mes finished 1-1.

Hyundai Reveals Updated WRC Car

Hyundai Motorsport revealed its latest specification i20 WRC at the Geneva Motorshow on Tuesday.
This evolution of the original i20 WRC shown in Paris in September has been produced in collaboration between Hyundai’s research and development operation in Namyang, Korea and the firm’s recently opened motorsport facility in Alzenau, Germany, AutoSport reported.
Hyundai has committed to competing in next year’s World Rally Championship and the i20 WRC will begin testing in the second half of this year.
AUTOSPORT gets a ride in the Hyundai i20 WRC
Team principal Michel Nandan explained the changes to the new car were largely on the outside of the i20 WRC.
“This latest version of the i20 WRC has centered on aerodynamics with the objective of improving the car’s cooling systems,” he said.
“A new rear wing and front spoiler give the i20 WRC a new external appearance while, under the bodywork, improvements have also been made to the suspension kinematics and chassis stiffness as we gear up for a more structured test program later in the year. We have lots of important foundations to lay both with the car and the team at Alzenau.”
He admitted that building the team and Alzena facility while simultaneously developing the car was a challenge.
“Building up a new motorsport facility from scratch is an ambitious and rewarding challenge,” Nandan said.
“We have begun the recruitment process but already have a number of key people in place who bring with them a wealth of rally and motorsport experience.
“We are rapidly building up the team infrastructure and are pleased that everything is running to schedule.”
Nandan warned that expectations for Hyundai should remain low at first.
“We are still in the infancy of our exciting WRC program so the development curve for the car and team is steep,” he underlined.

Debt-Ridden Club

Players at debt-ridden former European Cup winners Red Star Belgrade are so deprived of their incomes they are unable to pay for food and rent, the club’s under-fire coach Aleksandar Jankovic has said.