Iran’s Female Handball Rout Indonesia

Sports Desk

Iranian female handball players showed a brilliant performance in the preliminary round of the 14th edition of the Asian Women’s Handball Championship in Indonesia, crushing the host.
Iranians pummeled the Indonesian squad 53-4 in their debut at Gedung Olah Raga sports hall of Yogyakarta city on Friday.
A total of 12 teams are vying for the top place of Asian women’s handball.
Iran has been drawn in Group A along with China, Taiwan, Indonesia, North Korea and South Korea.
India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are in Group B. The 2012 Asian Women’s Handball Championship began on December 7, and will wrap up on December 16.
The tournament is a selection game for the Asian qualifying tournament of the 2013 World Women’s Handball Championship in Serbia.
The 2013 World Women’s Handball Championship, the 21st event hosted by the International Handball Federation, will be held in Serbia on 7–22 December, 2013. South Korea was the other applicant for this championship. The decision to select Serbia as the host was announced 2 October 2010.

Spotlight Shifts to Hawk-Eye at Club World Cup

Widely used to settle potential flashpoints in tennis and cricket among other sports, Hawk-Eye’s goal-line technology is set for its first run out at soccer’s Club World Cup.
Being deployed at the FIFA tournament alongside competing company GoalRef--installed in Yokohama--the Hawk-Eye system gets its turn in Sunday’s quarterfinals in Toyota, Reuters reported.
FIFA, initially reluctant, finally gave the go-ahead for technology to be used after Frank Lampard’s infamous disallowed goal for England against Germany at the 2010 World Cup.
Hawk-Eye’s managing director said on Saturday that he was hoping for a controversial goal-line incident for Hawk-Eye to be able to demonstrate its accuracy.
“We’re definitely hoping for a Luis Garcia moment,” Steve Carter told Reuters, referring to the “ghost goal” which knocked Chelsea out of the 2004-05 Champions League in the semi-finals.
“Hopefully we can have a phantom goal to prove to the world it works.
“Hawk-Eye doesn’t interfere with the ball, goals or posts. We think it is important for technology in sport to be as non-invasive as possible.”
The technology was demonstrated at Toyota Stadium on Saturday, with “perfect” results, Carter added.
Hawk-Eye relies on seven high-speed cameras set up at different angles covering each goal to calculate decisions in a split second to the referee through a vibrating wrist-watch.
GoalRef uses a microchip coil inside the ball and low magnetic waves around the goal.
Hawk-Eye deploys 10 cameras in tennis and six in cricket, where it was first used as a broadcast tool for the leg before wicket decision, tracking the trajectory of the ball.
Its use in tennis has largely eliminated the John McEnroe-type tantrums of bygone years with its system of instant replays after disputed points.
“We have 12 years of experience delivering technology in sport,” said Carter. “We cover more than 70 tennis tournaments globally, we also cover the majority of international cricket.
“Hawk-Eye has more to lose than anyone. If there was a problem with our football system there would be significant repercussions with our businesses in tennis and cricket.”
GoalRef was used for the Club World Cup curtain raiser between Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Auckland City on Thursday but was not needed in a 1-0 for the Japanese champions.
Hiroshima face Egypt’s Al-Ahly and South Koreans Ulsan Hyundai meet Mexico’s Monterrey in Sunday’s quarter-finals in Toyota.
Dethroned European champions Chelsea and South American Libertadores Cup holders Corinthians join the competition at the semifinal stage next week.

Schumacher Should Not Have Returned

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone says Michael Schumacher should never have returned to Formula 1 after retiring in 2006.
Schumacher won seven world titles in his first career, but returned in 2010 with Mercedes and managed just one podium finish in three years, BBC wrote.
“People new to the sport--people who have joined the F1 fan fraternity just recently - will remember Michael now, not as he was,” said Ecclestone.
“They don’t see the hero that he was but the human that can fail.”
Ecclestone added, “I would rather he had stopped as a seven-time world champion, rather than stopping now.”
Schumacher first retired from the sport in 2006 after losing an intense, season-long battle with Fernando Alonso for the title.
The German returned in 2010, aged 41, linking up with Ross Brawn--who he worked with at Benetton and Ferrari--at the new Mercedes team.
However, he finished behind teammate Nico Rosberg in the drivers’ championship in each of the three seasons with the German team.
Despite Schumacher’s disappointing comeback, Ecclestone said his departure will be a loss to the sport.
“He enjoyed racing and was there helping to do good things for Formula 1,” said Ecclestone when speaking to the sport’s official website Formula1.com.
“We will miss Michael, because even though he wasn’t winning races in those three years, he is still very popular.”
Schumacher’s countryman Sebastian Vettel won his third world championship in Brazil, but Ecclestone said that while the young German is today’s “yardstick”, he is unsure whether Vettel can go on to break Schumacher’s record title haul.
“A seven-time world champion--that’s not easy. He is not half way there.
“Times are simply different today and that doesn’t only go for drivers. The whole environment is different.
“It will be a question of how good his team will stay--or how bad the others are.

Messi Set to Feature For Barca Despite Knock

Lionel Messi has been included in Barcelona’s squad for Sunday’s La Liga match at Real Betis after sustaining a bruised knee in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Benfica.
The Argentine World Player of the Year initially appeared to have suffered a more serious injury after colliding with Benfica goalkeeper Artur late in the 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp but tests ruled out anything worse than bruising, Reuters reported.
“The Barca number 10 trained with the rest of his team mates on Saturday and (coach) Tito Vilanova has decided to take him to Seville,” the club said in a statement on their website.
“The Argentine footballer has recovered from the bruising to the bone on the outside of his left knee which meant he had to be taken off the pitch on Wednesday on a stretcher,” they added.
“After the collision with Benfica keeper Artur the Barca forward had been working hard to be available for the coach as soon as possible.”
Vilanova suggested Messi would be included in the starting 11, as his unbeaten side seek a 14th win in 15 matches this season.
They top the table with a La Liga record 40 points, six ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and 11 ahead of arch rivals Real Madrid in third.
“If there was any risk of injury Messi would not be travelling,” Vilanova told a news conference at Barca’s training ground.
“Today he trained well without any discomfort,” he added. “There are still a lot of hours before the game.”
Messi has the 40-year-old record for the most goals scored in a calendar year firmly in his sights.
The 25-year-old, favorite to secure a fourth straight World Player award when the winner is announced next month, has 84 for club and country in 2012, one short of Gerd Mueller’s tally of 85 set for Bayern Munich and Germany in 1972.
Barca also have Alexis Sanchez, Dani Alves and Marc Bartra available for the Betis game after the trio were declared fit by club medical staff on Saturday.
The club have struggled playing away against Betis in recent times and have only managed one win in 11 matches at the Benito Villamarin stadium since 1999.

Alamiyan Finished Runner-Up

Iranian athlete Noshad Alamiyan finished runner-up in the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour Grand Finals held in Hangzhou, China.
Alamiyan conceded 4-1 defeat (4-11, 12-14, 11-9, 5-11 and 6-11) in the first, second, fourth and fifth games of the final match played against his 20-year-old German rival Patrick Franziska on Friday.
Franziska, who could win his fifth consecutive victory in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, was also awarded a cash prize of $25,000, Press TV wrote.
The German table tennis player had defeated his Japanese rival Yuto Muramatsu 4-0 in the semifinal round of the competition.
Alamiyan had overcome his South Korean competitor Jung Youngsik 4-2 in the semifinals to win the ticket for the final match.
The ITTF World Tour Grand Finals is an annual table tennis tournament held at the end of the year.
The tournament includes six events: men’s and women’s singles, men and women’s doubles, U21 men and women’s singles.
Players who accumulated largest numbers of points in previous ITTF World Tour are qualified for the event.

Iannone Pleased With Ducati Progress

Andrea Iannone believes he is already making good progress at Ducati but insists he will maintain his patient, methodical approach.
The 23-year-old Italian stepped up into Ducati’s newly-established Pramac satellite squad after finishing third in this year’s Moto2 championship, AutoSport reported.
He has already tested for the team three times, most recently at Jerez when he finished just over one second down on works rider Nicky Hayden.
The American qualified on the front row for the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix at the 4.4km circuit.
“I’m not looking at lap times at the moment. However, Nicky started third on the grid [at Jerez] this year, so to be less than a second off his lap time isn’t bad,” Iannone told Motosprint.
“I don’t expect to immediately be quicker than him, and much less to be able to beat him in the early races. I need to take small steps at a time.”
While Iannone has played himself in, fellow Moto2 graduate - and 2012 champion - Marc Marquez flew at Sepang, lapping 0.6s faster than Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista.
Iannone said there was no surprise in the Spaniard’s performance, particularly given his own comfort settling at Ducati.
“Honda is perhaps the best bike and he [Marquez] is no slow rider...[there is] no need to be surprised,” Iannone said.
“I enjoy riding the Desmosedici very much, I don’t struggle too much.
“Obviously, when I’ll start to get close to good lap times, the bike will become difficult, so everything will have to be more and more sorted.
“At the moment I don’t yet have major problems, and I hope to never have any.”

Thunder Rumble Over Lakers

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook gorged himself with 27 points in the first half as the Thunder extended their recent dominant run with a 114-108 win over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
The victory was the Thunder’s seventh in a row, and their 16th win of the season, while the Lakers are struggling at 9-11, Reuters reported.
After trailing by a point after the first quarter, the Thunder (16-4) exploded in the second with 41 to open up a 14-point lead at the half, a gap the Lakers could not reel in.
“That was a solid win, we had some very good stretches but then in the second half we had some not so good stretches. We relaxed some on defense in the second half,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.
Westbrook had a huge first half, scoring 27 of his 33 points to help the Thunder open up the big gap.
The battle of the scoring big guns went to Thunder forward Kevin Durant with 36 points and nine rebounds, while Lakers guard Kobe Bryant finished with 35 points.
“It wasn’t us, Westbrook just went crazy on us and they’re a great shooting basketball team that had a hot quarter,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters.
“When he does that, when he has that vertical and when he stops on a dime, you just have to tip your hat a little bit.”
The teams met in the Western Conference semi-finals last season with the Thunder winning in five games before eventually losing to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.
While the Thunder had the upper hand on Friday, the Lakers will undoubtedly improve with the return of Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Pau Gasol.
“They set a bar,” D’Antoni added. “We know where we got to go and I’m encouraged by some of the stuff we’re doing. I thought Dwight (Howard) and Kobe had great games and it’s important they play well together.”
Howard contributed 23 points and 18 rebounds.

WCup Super-G for Vonn

Lindsey Vonn put the disappointment of her super-combined failure behind her to win Saturday’s World Cup Super-G in St Moritz.