The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| IAAF assured that London stadium will retain track Posted: 03 Oct 2011 08:17 AM PDT  The chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), Sebastian Coe (L), jogs with IAAF World Championship 1500m silver medalist Hannah England, on the completed athletics track inside the London 2012 Olympic Stadium in this photograph received in London on October 3, 2011. – Reuters/LOCOG/Handout "The athletics track is a non-negotiable part of the legacy of this stadium," Sports and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said on the track after meeting an International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) inspection commission delegation. "Once we had spoken to them, there were no questions afterwards," he added. "We have now a letter of guarantee from the Treasury Solicitor that says the track will remain in the stadium in legacy mode and all the indications are that that has now put that argument to bed." Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur are fighting a legal battle over the future of the Olympic Stadium in east London. A court hearing into the awarding of preferred bidder status to take over the Stadium after the Games to West Ham United is scheduled for Oct. 18. Tottenham, who would have removed the running track after the Games had they won the bid, argue that a £40 million (RM199.11 million) loan from Newham Council gave West Ham an unfair economic advantage. The uncertainty had threatened the bid for the 2017 championships with the IAAF making clear that London had no chance without the Olympic Stadium being available. Robertson said even if Tottenham won their hearing, it would be a hollow victory. "The judicial review is about the process by which the decision was reached, not the substance of the decision itself," he said. "So therefore if the litigants were to win in the High Court, and I don't think they will, we would simply start the process again and make the athletics track a non-negotiable part of the solution." London 2012 organising committee chairman Sebastian Coe, a twice 1,500 metres Olympic gold medallist, turned out in his running kit to give the track a test along with British athletes hoping to be in the medals next year. They were joined on the track by children from a local primary school before reporters were also allowed to try out the springy, 13.5mm deep surface for themselves. "It's a lovely surface, it's a really good surface," Coe declared of the red Mondo surface which was laid in August with a training circuit nearing completion outside the main stadium. "Instinctively, it felt a bit like Zurich," added the 54-year-old. "Which was good for me." "It's an intimate stadium... and of course as we pointed out to the IAAF this morning, there will be some reconfiguration if we get 2017." Coe said he had organised a private meeting with IAAF officials and tackled the main issues head on. "They went away with the guarantees they needed," he said. "We didn't leave them in any doubt at all about the commitment to the stadium. "We maded a very strong case this morning and we will continue to make that case, and it's a compelling case." London is bidding against Qatar's Doha for the championships, with a decision due to be taken by the IAAF in Monaco in November. – Reuters |
| Roddick defeated in first round of China Open Posted: 03 Oct 2011 07:37 AM PDT  Andy Roddick of the US returns the ball against Kevin Anderson of South Africa during their men's singles match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing October 3, 2011. – Reuters pic "I didn't serve very well. It was unacceptable," Roddick told a tense post-match news conference. The 29-year-old American then snapped at a Chinese reporter who asked him if he was considering retiring. "I think you should retire," he said before abruptly leaving the media room. World number one Caroline Wozniacki faired better in her first round match, repulsing a tenacious challenge from Lucie Hradecka to open the defence of her China Open title with a 3-6 6-0 7-5 first round victory. The top-seeded Dane struggled to find her rhythm against the powerful Czech's serve in the first set and was forced into a fight for survival in a nail-biting decider against the world number 49. "It wasn't a pretty match, but I'm through," she said. "She's a player that doesn't give you any rhythm. She's serving at 200 kilometres per hour, so when it's on, it's difficult. "But in the second set, her first serve percentage dropped, and that made it easier for me to start the rallies." The 21-year-old, who was crowned world number one at this event a year ago but who has struggled for form recently, said maintaining her top ranking was paramount. "If you've been number one pretty much the whole year, you want to finish there as well. It would be a little bit bitter to lose it in the last week of the season," she said. "So definitely, I just give it my all in the last few tournaments." Austria's Tamira Paszek became the first woman to reach the third round when she overcame Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 1-6 6-4 6-2. In the men's draw, Germany's Florian Mayer beat Albert Ramos 6-2 6-4 and Croat Marin Cilic trounced China's Wu Di 6-2 6-0. Roddick's exit has left the tournament low on crowd-pulling names after French Open champion and local favourite Li Na's shock first round loss yesterday and the withdrawal of several top players, including world number two Maria Sharapova. Defending men's champion and world number one Novak Djokovic pulled out two days before the start of the tournament because of a back injury. – Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider :: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan