Sports Shorts: Road accident puts boxer Dinesh out of C'wealth Games

Boxer Dinesh Kumar was ruled out of the Commonwealth Games after sustaining injuries in a road accident near Patiala.

The 2010 Asian Games silver-medallist, who was selected in the 91kg category, has been hospitalised and will need at least a couple of months to recover from his injuries.

"Dinesh is ruled out of the Commonwealth Games. He will take not less than two months to even return to the ring," national coach Gurbax Sigh Sandhu said from Patiala.

"Nothing has been decided on his replacement as yet. A decision on that would be taken later," he added.

Dinesh met with the accident on Sunday when the vehicle he was travelling in collided with a truck near Samana. He was admitted to a private hospital in Patiala.

He was returning to Patiala from his residence in Bhiwani in Haryana to attend the national camp at the NIS in Delhi.

This is not the first time the boxer has been injured in a mishap. In 2011, he suffered career-threatening injuries after being attacked inside the NIS by unknown assailants.

He won the silver medal in the 81kg division in the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

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Long distance runner Sudha Singh's silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase event at the 2013 Pune Asian Athletics Championships is set to be upgraded to gold after Ruth Jebet, who won the race, was declared ineligible to represent Bahrain on nationality grounds by the world governing of the sport, IAAF.

Kenya-born Jebet transferred her nationality to Bahrain at the age of 16 in 2013 and in that year itself she won a gold in the Pune Asian Championships in meet record time of 9:40.84s. Sudha had finished second with a timing of 9:56.27s.

A document of IAAF General Secretariat regarding Transfer of Allegiance changes since the last IAAF Newsletter shows that Jebet would be eligible to represent Bahrain from May 18, 2014 onwards. So, she would be ineligible to represent Bahrain in any international event prior to this date.

"Her performances from May 19, 2013 to May 18, 2014 will be counted but not as a Bahrain citizen. Since Kenya is not an Asian country her performance in Asian Championships is not valid," a technical official informed.

Sudha is also the reigning Asian Games champion as she won gold in the 2010 Guangzhou Games with a timing of 9:55.67s. She is also the current national record holder with a timing of 9:45.60s which she set during the 63rd National Inter-State Athletic Championships in June 2012.

The upgradation to gold will surely give a boost to the confidence of Sudha, who is now training at Ooty under Nikolai Snesarev for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Incheon.

"I am yet to get the news but if I have been upgraded to gold in the Pune Asian Championships, there cannot be a better news than this with the CWG just less than two months away," Sudha said over phone from Ooty.

Shiv Kapur qualified for his maiden US Open after coming through the Sectional Qualifying by posting rounds of 68 and 71 for a total of 139.

Kapur, who played at the 2006 and 2013 British Open, was tied fifth, as 14 players made it to the Major through the qualifiers, held in Walton Heath Golf Club.

The Sectional was won by Shane Lowry of Ireland.

Kapur said, "It was tough out there, but I am happy to make it through to the US Open. I have come close in the past, but I managed finally this time."

"Now it is time for Pinehurst and it will be great playing with the best in the business. I enjoyed himself at the Open last time around in 2013," he added.

Irishman Lowry, runner-up at the BMW PGA Championship, finished on top of the pile at International Qualifying.

The Indian men's hockey team suffered yet another blow, as forward Nikkin Thimmaiah has been ruled out of the upcoming Hockey World Cup following a hamstring pull on the right side.

Doctors diagnosed a tear in the hamstring muscle and advised Thimmaiah complete bed rest of four weeks.

Yuvraj Walmiki has been named his replacement.

A couple of days back, striker Ramandeep Singh was also ruled out of the tournament after seriously injuring himself during India's first practice match against Argentina.

Walmiki, 23, who will be flying out for The Hague on Tuesday night to join the team for the May 31 to June 15 mega-event, said he is looking to give his best.

"It's a big loss for the team, as we will miss both Ramandeep and Nikkin during the upcoming World Cup. I will give by best and live up to the expectations of the coach and the team," said Walmiki.

Walmiki played in Hockey World League Finals 2014 and was one of the key performers. He made his international debut in 2011 and has 38 international caps.

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Jamaica's former 100 metres world record holder Asafa Powell could yet compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, if his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against an 18-month doping ban proves successful.

The 31-year-old was handed a backdated 18-month ban in April. It is due to end on Dec. 20, but CAS have said the sprinter has requested his suspension be reduced to just three months because of the nature of the offence.

Powell tested positive for a stimulant, oxilophrine, at the 2013 national championships. He said at the time of his ban that the stimulant - which is only banned during competition - had been found in a legal supplement he was taking.

A date for an appeal hearing has not yet been set, but Powell, along with training partner Sherone Simpson who was given the same ban, have been invited to file written submissions to CAS.

The deadline for athletes wishing to compete at the Commonwealth Games is June 11, six weeks before the Games get underway on July 23.

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LeBron James produced a blistering 14-point third quarter as the Miami Heat took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals with a 102-90 win.

The Heat led 49-44 at the half, with Chris Bosh having his best performance of the postseason with 17 first-half points, but the home side ran away with the game in the third.

Miami burst out with a 7-0 streak to grab a 12-point lead and LeBron took charge with two spectacular three-pointers and a ferocious dunk among his 14 points in the third.

James, who finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, now has 74 career playoff games with at least 25 Pts, five rebounds and five assists, passing Michael Jordan for the most in NBA history.

The win puts Miami one victory away from a fourth straight appearance in the NBA Finals and a shot at a third straight title.

Miami have struggled with slow starts throughout the postseason but they were determined from the outset, grabbing a swift 8-0 advantage with all the points coming from Bosh.

"Coach drew up a play for me and I pretty much made my mind up that I was going to shoot it," said Bosh.

"After that, it's a funny thing but when my team mates see me being aggressive like that and the shots do go in, they look for me a little bit more and I try to make their job a little easier."

While Miami credited Bosh and James for a strong performance, Indiana's Paul George felt the Heat had benefitted from favorable refereeing. Miami were given 34 free throws, double Indiana's total.

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Ferrari Formula One driver Fernando Alonso will wave the official starting flag for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours sportscar race next month.

The Spaniard, who was invited by the organisers as a leading representative of Ferrari, said he looked forward to catching up with old friend Mark Webber, the Australian who now competes for Porsche after leaving F1 champions Red Bull last year.

"We miss him in Formula One and I want to know how he's getting on in Endurance racing," the double world champion told the Ferrari website.

Alonso said he was also hoping to get some insights into the technology used in the hybrid sportscars compared to Formula One, which has entered a new era this year with a V6 turbo hybrid.

The 82nd edition of Le Mans runs at the Sarthe circuit in western France over the weekend of June 14 and 15.

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Brendan Rodgers has been rewarded for leading Liverpool to the brink of their first English league title for 24 years with a new long-term contract, the club said on Monday.

Liverpool ended two points behind champions ManchesterCity after faltering near the end of the season, but are looking forward to a return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

In a joint statement, owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner said Rodgers was the right manager to bring silverware back to Anfield.

"We are very fortunate to have a hugely talented individual leading our football performance and in whom we place our trust to deliver the vision we share for Liverpool Football Club.

"Brendan is at the heart of what we, as an ownership group, are trying to achieve on the pitch.

"This season has reaffirmed everyone's belief that we can bring football success to Liverpool and we are all committed to working together to achieve that."

Rodgers's second season in charge at Anfield saw a dramatic improvement on his first when they finished seventh.

"I am both humbled and privileged to be offered the chance to extend my stay at this great club," he said.

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AC Milan are set to fire coach Clarence Seedorf and replace him with youth team coach Filippo Inzaghi, Italian media said on Tuesday.

Seedorf is only four months into a two-and-a-half year contract and has overseen a considerable improvement in results, but rumours about the Dutchman's future have been rife for several weeks.

Club president Silvio Berlusconi met chief executive Adriano Galliani to discuss the move at the former's villa in Arcore, around 20 kilometres outside Milan, late on Monday night, media reported.

Italy's three sports papers, Gazzetta dello Sport, Corriere dello Sport and Tuttosport, all carried similar reports, which were unsourced.

Seedorf, 38, who spent 10 years of his playing career at Milan, took over at the end of January to replace Massimiliano Allegri, who was fired after two-and-a-half years in charge.

Former Italian prime minister Berlusconi had been chasing Seedorf for several months before finally appointing him, yet the Dutchman quickly fell out of favour.

Although Seedorf had no previous coaching experience, results improved markedly under him with 11 wins in 19 league games, compared to five in the previous 19 under Allegri.

Milan climbed up the table to finish eighth, missing out on Europa League qualification by one point.

However, they also suffered an embarrassing exit from the Champions League after losing 5-1 on aggregate to eventual finalists Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.

Similar to Seedorf, Inzaghi has no previous experience of coaching a senior professional team.