Wales indoor hockey teams miss out on promotion

Wales Men's indoor hockey squad narrowly missed out on promotion in the EuroHockey Nations Challenge

Wales' indoor hockey teams have missed out on promotion at the EuroHockey Indoor Nations Challenge in Rouen, France.

The Men's team finished second after losing 5-1 to France in the final of the competition.

Women's captain Emma Keen led her side to joint fourth, just one point behind third-placed Sweden.

It is the first time in 20 years that Wales have had an indoor team competing.

The Men's team opened with an 11-3 defeat to France which was followed up by an 8-0 win over Finland and a 16-1 thrashing of Norway before meeting France again in the final.

Wales men remain in Challenge II for the next European tournament in 2012 while France will play in Challenge I.

"The team obviously felt frustrated to finish second," said player-coach Zak Jones.

"They also felt pretty frustrated with the mistakes they made but overall we are pretty proud of our achievements."

The women's team lost their opening three matches, 5-4 to Croatia followed by a 6-0 defeat to eventual winners England and then an 11-1 thrashing by second-place France.

But they bounced back with a 5-3 win against Turkey and a 1-0 win over third-placed Sweden, but finished fifth in the competition on six points with Croatia who were fourth.

"We were gutted when we lost to Croatia because it was so close," said Keen. "But we learnt so much - it would be silly to be negative."

"We are really encouraged by our performance but to miss out on third place and a medal by a point was hard.

She added: "Two years ago England were in the same position as we are now.

"We're focused on developing and bonding as a team and we're really confident of success in the future."

AC Milan not scared of in-form Wayne Rooney - Flamini

AC Milan star Mathieu Flamini says his side will not make special plans for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney in Tuesday's Champions League tie.

Rooney has been in inspired form this season but former Arsenal midfielder Flamini said Milan can cope with him.

"Fear is not the word. Of course we have to be careful because we know he is a great player who can score at any time," Flamini told BBC Sport.

"There are no special plans for Rooney, just to concentrate and be strong."

Rooney has scored 24 goals for club and country this season, turning in a series of superb performances along the way as United battle to hold on to their Premier League crown and reach a third consecutive Champions League final.

However, Flamini, who played against Rooney several times during his time in England's top flight with the Gunners, said Milan coach Leonardo would not make the mistake of underestimating United's other attacking talents.

"We have to focus on him but also on the rest of the team because Manchester United attack with many players," he added.

But United manager Sir Alex Ferguson could not speak highly enough of Rooney's contribution this season and believes the England striker is in the best form of his already impressive career.

"We build up heroes very quickly," stated Ferguson.

"We are peculiar because the players, like David Beckham, who come through the ranks are always viewed as better than those you buy.

"But Rooney is also regarded as that kind of player. Although he came from Everton, the fans will always look at him as one of the players who has grown up with us.

"He has been fantastic this season and, without doubt, his form this season has brought him to the high point of his career.

Midfielder Flamini joined Milan from Arsenal in 2008

"World class is a misused term but with Rooney you have to say he is getting to the point where he is now one of the best players in the world."

Milan are currently third in Serie A after an indifferent recent spell of form, although they do come into the game off the back of a 3-2 win over Udinese.

Flamini said the huge amount of experience in Milan's squad - with the likes of Beckham, Clarence Seedorf and Alessandro Nesta all well into their 30s - meant that the stature of the game would not be an issue for his side.

"I prefer to say that we have a lot of experience in the team rather than we are too old," commented Flamini.

"The Champions League is completely different: Milan have won it so many times and it's a special tournament for us.

"When you're young and want to become a football player, you dream of playing in these types of games.

"We have a lot of experience and players who know how to deal with this kind of game."

For all the attacking talents set to be on show at the San Siro on Tuesday and the return leg at Old Trafford on 10 March, Flamini expects the tie to be a tight affair.

"We are two very ambitious teams who want to go through," he added.

"I think the most important thing is to be very strong defensively and not concede any goals. We know we can score and one goal, I'm sure, will do it.

"You have to win the battle in the middle, especially in big games."

T20 matches will help England: Collingwood

“With the (good) form I’ve been in, I didn’t play very well in the Twenty20 World Cup.”
DUBAI: England captain Paul Collingwood believes his side’s week in the United Arab Emirates will help clarify their selection and tactics ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

England will face world champions Pakistan in two Twenty20 internationals at Dubai Sports City, on Friday and Saturday, after taking on the second-string England Lions in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

These are the final matches England will play in international cricket’s shortest format before the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in April and May.

All-rounder Collingwood, speaking after the squad’s arrival in Dubai, was in no doubt of their importance.

“This is a big week for us in terms of a Twenty20 squad of players and for getting our minds back on to Twenty20 cricket,” he said here on Monday.

“It’s good to have these two games before the World Cup to see exactly where we are in terms of team and squad selection.

“We’ve also got an important game on Wednesday which is going to feel like an international because the (England) Lions will certainly want to beat us,” added Collingwood, who captains England in Twenty20 matches because Test skipper Andrew Strauss has opted out of the format.

Pakistan may have lost all their international matches during their recent tour of Australia but last year they beat Sri Lanka in the World Twenty20 final at Lord’s.

And with the likes of fast bowler Umar Gul and all-rounder Abdur Razzaq, Pakistan certainly have proven Twenty20 match-winners in their side.

“We are the champions so we know how to play Twenty20 cricket,” said Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik.

England have struggled to adjust to the specific demands of Twenty20 cricket but a share of the spoils in a two-match series during the tour of South Africa has given Collingwood cause for optimism.

“I’m excited because our batting line-up seems to be getting stronger and stronger with every one-day game we’re playing and the confidence we’re building all the time,” he said.

“We seem to be a lot more confident now in our batting approach of being able to hit the ball hard and that is obviously one of the main attributes of playing Twenty20 cricket and clearing the ropes.

“Just look at the way the likes of Eoin Morgan played in South Africa (he made 67 from 34 balls in the ICC Champions Trophy against the hosts then 85 not out from 45 balls in a Twenty20 international against the same opponents).

“No disrespect to him but he probably didn’t play that kind of innings during the last Twenty20 World Cup and even myself, with the (good) form I’ve been in, I didn’t play very well in the Twenty20 World Cup.”

However, Collingwood added: “We’ve now got some important and experienced players in the side who can take the game away from the opposition.

“You need as many match-winners in the side as possible and now we are really starting to get a lot of them.”

Hockey's new golden age?

By Julian Shea

England players celebrate winning their first European championship

"Where were the Germans - but frankly, who cares?"

For many sports fans, commentator Barry Davis's legendary quote as the Great Britain men's team beat West Germany to win Olympic gold in 1988 is hockey's most memorable moment.

But success for both England's men and women at the recent EuroHockey Nations tournament in Holland suggests another golden age of British hockey could be dawning in the build-up to the 2012 Olympics.

The women's 2-1 victory against Spain to win the bronze medal was encouraging enough, but it was the men's 5-3 win over reigning world and Olympic champions Germany to clinch gold that really caught the eye.

Even men's team coach Jason Lee admits to having been slightly surprised.

"This was only the second time in the history of European competition that they've been in the European final (the first was in 1987) and it was only the second thing England men have ever won after the 1920 Olympics, when England represented Great Britain, so those facts would suggest it was unlikely that we won," Lee told BBC Sport.

"We played good hockey in the summer and were getting increasingly competitive with the top teams in the world - but I think everyone was surprised at how well we played."

It says a lot about the recent fortunes of hockey in England that names from the 1988 Olympic team, such as Sean Kerly, Ian Taylor and Imran Sherwani, are still more widely known than the heroes of the current side, like Ashley Jackson, Barry Middleton and James Fair.

But as Lee says, life since 1988 has been far from straightforward.

"For a long time there were two governing bodies, the Hockey Association for men and the All-England Womens Hockey Association," he said.

"They amalgamated in the 90s but went bust which caused an awful lot of financial challenges, and debts from that have only just been paid in full.

"Unfortunately the women failed to quality for the 2004 Olympics and so the sport had a massive financial cut which affected the men and women's programmes.

"Luckily, from that period onwards we made small progress in performance terms so we were considered more appropriate for funding, then London won the right to host the 2012 Games.

"That gave us not long-term focus but medium-term focus, and funding which allowed that to happen."

For all the talk of the legacy of the Olympics, hockey is one sport that is feeling the benefits before the Games have even taken place.

Players like Ashley Jackson benefit from increased funding

Lee added: "2012 has brought us more security about funding. It can't be overestimated, particularly for the players.

"In the past we've lost a lot of players when we had funding problems. The players weren't sure what the future held, and they had to make a choice about what was better for them - that's one reason we're progressing better now.

"We can support players to buy time out of work, so work won't be such a key driver in their lives - they can commit more time to hockey.

"We have a good history on that, we've progressed significantly up the international rankings which we hope can get us closer to medal contention in 2012."

The England team does not even have a permanent home any more, and cannot compete with countries like Germany or Spain in terms of a professional league, but Lee does not feel that these are necessarily problems.

"You only need 16 good players," he said.

"The player pool is not that big but it's not always the answer to have more players. We haven't got the numbers other countries have but we're doing a pretty good job at development.

"If you asked other countries, they'd say tactically we're strong but technically we're weak, so we're using the additional time we've got to try to move forwards technically."

But England's strengths, weaknesses, advantages and problems are of course not the same as those of Great Britain, who will be the team turning out at the Olympics.

"The 1988 gold medal winning team was very multinational, with significant players from Northern Ireland and Scotland in the group, but since then until the last two Olympics it's just been English players in the squad," he said.

"Scotland and Wales play at a European level below us, so it'd be like picking an international footballer from the Championship or lower, but for the last two Olympics for men there have been five Scots in the squad.

"I'm very aware of the players who would be available from the Home Nations and there's quite a number who have a strong chance of being picked for 2012."

Lee's England squad are young but experienced, and have plenty of opportunities to hone their skills in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

"There's the Champions Trophy in Australia in December, featuring the top six countries in the world, then there are the European Indoor championships in January, the World Cup in February and the Commonwealth Games in October," he said.

"One of the challenges of the international programme is that it assumes everyone is a full-time professional, so we don't have any time to rest on our laurels and sit back.

Sean Kerly remains one of hockey's most widely remembered players

"We were the best team at the Europeans but that's the first time it's happened in 20 years - if we want to be medal contenders in 2012 we have to play to that level repeatedly, which we haven't done yet."

A bit more coverage would be welcome, but Lee does not have a major problem with hockey's media profile.

"I don't feel we're treated poorly," he said.

"In the British press, football is king, cricket, tennis, rugby and Formula 1 are queens, and the rest are footmen.

"It has not always been like that - even the senior team rarely get press coverage, but in comparison to other sports of our nature, we're treated equitably.

"Coverage doesn't necessarily impact on performance standards but more coverage would be beneficial."

Having already beaten Germany, the best side in the world, up next is the chance to beat the second best side in the world, Australia - always a way to guarantee media coverage, as the cricket team can testify.

"The last time we beat Australia was on grass which was about 20 years ago," he said.

"We've had quite a few draws since then and Great Britain were 3-2 up in Beijing with two minutes to go but Australia scored in the last minute.

"But a win's getting close and it will happen - I just hope it's on my watch."

South Africa strike after Sehwag, Tendulkar tons

Sehwag forced Morne Morkel out of the attack after he smashed him for three fours in an over.

KOLKATA: Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar smashed impressive centuries before South Africa fought back with three quick wickets on the second day of the final Test on Monday.

Sehwag cracked 23 fours and two sixes in his 165 off 174 balls and shared a third-wicket stand of 249 with Tendulkar (106) as India reached 342-5 by close at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Venkatsai Laxman (nine) and Amit Mishra (one) were at the crease when stumps were drawn for the day, with India leading South Africa’s 296 by 46 runs with five wickets in hand.

India, who lost the first Test in Nagpur by an innings and six runs, need a win to square the series and retain their number one position in the official Test rankings.

The hosts were cruising at 331-2 when Sehwag, Tendulkar and Subramaniam Badrinath (one) were dismissed in the space of five runs towards the end of the day’s play.

Sehwag mis-timed a drive in part-time spinner Jean-Paul Duminy’s first over, Tendulkar was caught in the slips off Paul Harris and Badrinath was bowled by Dale Steyn.

Sehwag completed his second century of the series in style, cutting Wayne Parnell (0-61) to the point boundary for his 19th Test century and the fifth against South Africa.

Tendulkar joined in the run feast, hitting his 47th Test century and the fourth in successive matches after making 105 and 143 in Bangladesh and 100 in the Nagpur Test.

Tendulkar hit 12 fours in his 206-ball knock.

But it was the belligerent Sehwag who stole the show, smashing fast bowler Steyn (1-66) for three fours in a row, before dishing out similar treatment to Morne Morkel (1-80).

Parnell was not spared either as Sehwag drove the fast bowler to the covers for a four and followed it up by smashing a six to the third-man boundary.

The opener then pulled left-arm spinner Harris (1-97) for the second six of his entertaining knock.

South Africa had a chance to dismiss Sehwag on 47 but Duminy grassed a sitter off Morkel at first slip.

The batsman was let off for the second time on 129 when AB de Villiers, keeping wicket in place of an injured Mark Boucher, missed an easy stumping chance off Harris.

Harris conceded 12 wides as he bowled outside the leg-stump to contain the run flow.

South Africa tasted early success when Gautam Gambhir was run out as he went for a sharp second run on Sehwag’s call. He hit three fours in his 25, sharing an opening stand of 73 with Sehwag.

Murali Vijay (seven) edged Morkel behind the wicket, where de Villiers took a fine catch diving to his right.

Earlier, Zaheer Khan (4-90) ended the South African innings when he trapped Parnell leg-before wicket for 12 in the fourth over of the day after the visitors resumed at the overnight 266-9.

Premier League ponders play-offs for Champions League

The top four teams in England have been the same for four seaso

The Premier League is considering a proposal to introduce a play-off for the fourth Champions League place.

The top four currently enter the tournament but the new idea would mean the teams from fourth to seventh playing in a mini-knockout competition.

BBC sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar said the Premier League has been presented with "a number of ideas for altering the competition's format".

But there will be no changes for three years as the next TV deal is in place.

Farquhar added: "Any changes would need the agreement of 14 of the 20 clubs. But the League says there are many options and nothing has been de

The move is widely thought to be seen as a way of increasing competition in the Premier League because Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have filled the top four positions in five out of the past six seasons.

The proposal was raised at a meeting of all 20 clubs on 4 February and will be considered again when they next meet in April.

The top four in the Premier League is the same so far this season, although Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa are putting concerted pressure on Liverpool, who are fourth.

Two years ago the Premier League was widely condemned for a proposal to play a 39th game of the domestic season in Asia.

The Football Association, the sport's world governing body Fifa and European body Uefa all rejected the idea and the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) condemned the proposal as being motivated by money, dubbing it Gam£ 39

cided."

Jenny Meadows secures 800m place at World Indoors

Meadows will face her rivals in Birmingham next weekend

Jenny Meadows secured her World Indoor Championships 800m place on Sunday and admitted she would be disappointed not to win a medal in Doha next month.

Meadows led from start to finish in Sheffield at the World Trials and UK Championships for a new stadium record and her sixth national title.

"I'm hoping I can produce a good performance in Doha," she said.

"It's still a big ask, it's a global event, but I'd be gutted if I didn't win a medal."

Meadows, last year's World Championships bronze medallist, finished in two minutes 00.91 seconds - more than two seconds ahead of Liverpool's Vicky Griffiths, who also achieved the qualifying standard.

"I would have like to have run 1:59 but 2:00 on my own is quite good four weeks before Doha," added Meadows.

"I had no idea if I had a big gap or not so half of me was hanging back a little bit to make sure I had enough for the last 150m. I wish I would have pushed on a little bit more maybe but it's great how I felt at the end of that race.

"I wasn't really out of breath at all which was great to show I have a lot more in me. After Birmingham next weekend I'll have faced all my opponents in Doha and after that I will have three weeks to get it right.

"I'm one of the most experienced indoor runners but I've never particularly done myself justice so I want to walk off the track in Doha thinking I've done my best."

Helen Clitheroe, who has joined Meadows' training group this season, dominated her 1500m race to win in 4:13.90 and secure her place in Doha.

Kim Wall also achieved the qualifying standard in winning the 400m in 53.07 and 36-year-old Joice Maduaka clinched a sprint double winning the 200m in a season's best of 23.48 after Saturday's victory in the 60m.

Afridi should be kicked out of national team: senators

“If he (Afridi) bites the ball like an apple there’s lots of problems behind it.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s parliament says Shahid Afridi should be banned from the national team for three to four international series after being found guilty of ball tampering.

Afridi was banned for two Twenty20 games for biting the ball during the final one-day international against Australia last month.

At a meeting of a parlimentary sports committee on Monday, Senator Tariq Azeem told Pakistan Cricket Board officials that Afridi had besmirched the country’s reputation and should be further punished.

“If he (Afridi) bites the ball like an apple there’s lots of problems behind it,” Senator Haroon Akhtar told PCB chairman Ijaz Butt during a meeting of Upper House committee on Sports.

“If you don’t take action this will happen again. The team lacks discipline and you got to rectify the problem.”

Afridi missed one Twenty20 international against Australia, and wil be out for the first encounter against England on Feb. 20 at Dubai.

However Butt told the committee that it cannot punish Afridi, in accordance with International Cricket Council standards.

“The ICC has told us clearly that you can’t punish a player twice for one offense,” Butt said.

“Their lawyer has also suggested us that if we handed more punishment to Afridi and he challenges it in court, it will run the PCB into trouble.”

However, Senator Tariq Azeem contended that selecting a player was the discretion of the PCB.

“The ICC can’t question you if you don’t pick him up in the national team,” Azeem said.

“You (Butt) should not compromise the integrity of the nation. No player is indispensable. We should tell the world that we are not cheaters and we know how to deal with indisciplined players.”

Meanwhile, Butt told the committee that the PCB is in for a windfall if it can organize two test series against India.

“If we play two series against India before 2012 we could earn $90 million,” Butt said.

However, Azeem strongly objected to any plans to play India, after Pakistan players were snubbed at the recent Indian Premier League auction.

“They humiliated us by not bidding for our players in the auction and we should not play against India,” Azeem said.

Reception in honour of hockey player Wasif Siddiq

QUETTA: A reception was given here on Saturday in honour of Wasif Siddiq, a player of the Pakistan hockey team winning a gold medal in the South Asian Games. The reception, hosted by the Balochistan Hockey Association and the Quetta District Hockey Association, was attended by former Olympian Musaddiq Hussain, director sports Balochistan Abdul Wali Kakar, office-bearers of the hockey associations, players and officials. On this occasion, great tributes were paid to Wasif Siddiq on displaying fine performance in the SAF Games. Speakers said that Wasif Siddiq has brought laurels for the country and the province by achieving the honour of top scorer in the event. They said Wasif would make a great name of the province like Zeeshan Ashraf and Shakeel Abbasi. Director sports Balocchistan Abdul Wali Kakar on this occasion announced a cash prize of Rs100,000 for Wasif Siddiq.

Team flies for Dubai to play T20 against England

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket team, comprising 10 players, departed for Dubai from Allama Iqbal International airport early on Sunday morning, Geo news reported. The team is scheduled to play two-T20-match series against England in Dubai, due to be played on February 19 and 20. The players included skipper Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Nawaz (wicket keeper), Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Fawwad Alam, Khalid Latif, Umar Akmal, Shahid Khan Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Saeed Ajmal. Talking to media at airport, the manager Yawar Saeed said not only the players be blamed for the poor show on Australian tour but also the team management should be equally held guilty for the offense. However, he vowed to get rid of weaknesses, which brought failure for Pakistan amid Australian tour. He said team morale is sky-high, saying I am hopeful for Pakistan’s triumph on the tour.

England fail to win on World Cup warm-up trip to Spain

Alastair Wilson in action against Spain in December's Champions Trophy

England's men recorded a draw and defeat in two matches against world number three side Spain as their build-up to the World Cup continued in Cadiz.

Barry Middleton and Ashley Jackson were on target in an opening 2-2 draw, while Alistair Wilson and Jonty Clarke scored in a 4-2 defeat.

Following the trip to Spain, head coach Jason Lee now takes his squad to a pre-World Cup camp in Qatar on 18 February.

The 12-team World Cup takes place in India from 28 February-13 March.

England are in the same group as Australia, who were runners-up at the last World Cup in 2006, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Spain.

Speaking after the second match against Spain, Lee said the trip had been a worthwhile exercise.

"This has been a physically hard training camp for the group and I'm pleased with what we've achieved here," he said.

"Overall, I'm happy with the first steps we've taken towards the World Cup at the end of February."

Man City 1 - 1 Stoke

Ricardo Fuller's header earned Stoke a deserved replay in their FA Cup fifth round tie with Manchester City.

The home side started well and took the lead when Ryan Shawcross's error allowed Shaun Wright-Phillips to tap in after he had lobbed Thomas Sorensen.

But Roberto Mancini's men had faded badly by the time Fuller rose to nod Rory Delap's throw-in past Shay Given.

Manchester City piled forward late on but Sorensen ensured the draw when he kept out Gareth Barry's header.

That late urgency could not disguise the fact that this was another lacklustre display by Manchester City, and their erratic form under Mancini continues.

They clearly missed the industry of in-form top-scorer Carlos Tevez, who has been allowed to return to Argentina for family reasons.

One of the few positives they can from the game was the performance of Wayne Bridge, caught up in the scandal that led to John Terry being stripped of the England captaincy and again in the spotlight thanks to Ashley Cole's injury in midweek - which means Bridge could start alongside his former Chelsea team-mate Terry in next month's friendly with Egypt.

England coach Fabio Capello was at Eastlands to check on Bridge and the left-back showed he is sharp enough after his recent two-month lay-off, even if doubts over his relationship with Terry will remain.

Most of Bridge's best moments came when he was going forward, and he played a big part in Manchester City's bright start that saw them take the game to Stoke in the first few minutes and send some dangerous crosses into the area.

Stoke, in contrast, started slowly and did not help their cause when they gifted the home side the lead after 10 minutes.

Shaun Wright-Phillips lobbed Thomas Sorensen after beating the Stoke goalkeeper to Stephen Ireland's chipped through-ball but Shawcross should still have cleared comfortably.

Instead, the defender missed the ball and compounded his error by nodding the ball into the path of Wright-Phillips while grounded to hand him an easy tap-in.

Things got even worse for the Potters soon after when Matthew Etherington, also hoping to impress Capello after some impressive recent displays, fell awkwardly while challenging Bridge and was stretchered off with suspected medial ligament damage.

Not for the first time or last time, Stoke boss Tony Pulis was forced to reshuffle his side but they responded by first stifling their hosts and then pushing for an equaliser.

They threatened for the first time when Tuncay crossed to the back post and Liam Lawrence, on for Etherington, saw his fierce volley blocked by Bridge.

Tuncay also sent a swerving shot flashing wide of Shay Given's post before half-time and, if anything, the home side were hanging on by the break.

Stoke continued to have most of the initiative after the restart and got their reward on 57 minutes when Delap - on after the unfortunate Lawrence sustained a knee injury - flung a trademark throw into the box and Fuller headed powerfully into the bottom corner of the net.

Even that failed to rouse Manchester City from their slumber and it was only in the final few minutes that they looked like grabbing a winner.

It took a great save from Sorensen to tip over Barry's header after he met a whipped Wright-Phillips cross from the right.

Roque Santa-Cruz also found space to latch on to fellow substitute Patrick Vieira's ball over the top but Shawcross got back to hack away his shot, which seemed to be heading wide anyhow, and Stoke survived.

It means the two teams will meet again twice in the next fortnight at the Britannia Stadium, with Tuesday's Premier League game followed by a Cup replay the following week.

Nathan Robertson backs badminton venue change in 2012

Olympic silver medallist Nathan Robertson has backed a decision to stage badminton at Wembley Arena during the 2012 Games in London.

Organisers decided against building a temporary venue at the Olympic Park, a move that is unpopular with badminton's governing body.

But Robertson told BBC Sport: "For players, Wembley has a lot of history.

"To win a medal there at the London Olympics would give it a bit of extra spice rather than in a new venue."

Robertson won silver with mixed doubles partner Gail Emms at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, but the pair enjoyed less success in Beijing four years later as they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage.

Emms retired in the wake of that defeat, leaving Robertson to soldier on in search of success on home soil in 2012 with new partner, 23-year-old Jenny Wallwork.

The pair are fully focused on achieving their goals in 2012 and Wallwork insists the players will be happy just to be competing in London, no matter where they play.

"I think wherever it is it is going to fantastic," she told BBC Sport.

"Everyone's dream is to go to the Olympics and I really don't think anyone is going to care where it is at the end of the day.

"People just want to compete and do their best, so for us it could be anywhere."

Despite seeing his ex-partner retire, the 32-year-old Robertson admits the lure of London 2012 was too great to resist, even if he did harbour retirement thoughts of his own.

"I honestly think that if the Olympics weren't in London I wouldn't be sitting here as a badminton player," he added.

Robertson won silver at the 2004 Olympics with Gail Emms

"My will to want to go and play at those Olympics and possibly medal is driving me on for the next two years."

A busy year for British badminton begins in earnest this weekend with the National Championships at the Manchester Velodrome.

Robertson and Wallwork are seeded first in the mixed doubles competition, while Robertson and Anthony Clark are top seeds in the men's doubles as they bid to retain their title.

Wallwork will also be gunning for success in the women's doubles as she partners another emerging young talent, 19-year-old Gabby White.

The pair were runners-up last year, but are now seeded first, while Rajiv Ouseph is top seed in the men's singles as he looks to win a third straight national title.

The prestigious All England Championships at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena follow the Nationals in March, while the European Championships in April will also be held in this country - at Manchester's MEN Arena from 14-18 April.

Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks to sell Rangers to Ryan

Ryan (left) will stay as club president after buying Hicks out

Liverpool Football Club co-owner Tom Hicks has agreed to sell his controlling interest in Major League Baseball side the Texas Rangers.

The Hicks Sports Group, owners since 1998, is selling to a group headed by legendary former Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan and lawyer Chuck Greenberg.

The final sale price is thought to be in excess of $500m (£310.3m).

But the deal must first be approved by Major League Baseball (MLB) and Hicks Sports Group's creditors.

MLB rules require that the agreement must be reviewed by its ownership committee and approved by 75% of the 30 team owners.

The Rangers - who were owned by a group led by former US President George W. Bush in the early 1990s before he became governor of Texas - hope that the deal may be completed before the new MLB season starts on 5 April.

"It's a complex business deal that positions the franchise positively for the future," Hicks said in a statement.

Hall of Fame pitcher Ryan's total of 5,714 strikeouts in his 27-year career with Texas, the New York Mets, California Angels and Houston Astros is a major league record.

As well as having ownership interests in two of Houston's minor league affiliates, Ryan took over as the Rangers' club president in 2008 and will continue in that role.

Greenberg, who owns two minor league teams himself, is set to take over as managing general partner and chief executive officer.

In a separate transaction, the Hicks-controlled Ballpark Real Estate has agreed to sell or transfer roughly 153 of the 195 acres it owns surrounding the Rangers and Dallas Cowboys stadiums to the Greenberg-Ryan group.

Hicks bought Liverpool along with co-owner George Gillett in March 2007, but the Premier League club has taken on a large level of debt which has seen the two Americans criticised by some supporters' groups.

Last year, Gillett agreed to sell his 80% stake in the Montreal Canadiens NHL ice hockey team to help ease the financial pressure on the Anfield club.

However, Hicks says he intends to retain ownership of his NHL team, the Dallas Stars, which he has owned since 1996.

Canada miss out on historic Vancouver gold medal

Hannah Kearney delivered on the final run of the competition

Canada's wait for Olympic gold on home soil continues as Hannah Kearney of the United States pipped Jennifer Heil to gold in the freestyle skiing moguls.

Local favourite and reigning champion Heil looked set to create history when she held the provisional lead with only Kearney left to ski.

But the American produced a scintillating final run to clinch gold.

The host nation missed out in the 1,500m short track skating as Charles Hamelin failed to reach the final.

Hamelin was Canada's big hope for gold in the speed skating, but the crowd at the Pacific Coliseum watched him win only the B final because he failed to qualify for the medal race.

Instead, Jung-Su Lee of South Korea won the gold and Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States took silver.

"Usually, I'm able to go through to the finals if I have good races but it happens sometimes in short track," said Hamelin.

Canada have never won an Olympic gold medal on home soil, failing to capture any at the 1976 Montreal Summer Games or the 1988 Calgary Winter Games.

For the Vancouver Games, the country is desperately waiting to see who will reach the top of an Olympic podium.

And it was in the moguls that Canada missed their best chance of ending their hoodoo.

Defending Olympic champion Heil, who had won her last four World Cup events, had been favoured to win gold, and was in first place with only one other skier left at the top of the Cypress Mountain slope.

But Kearney delivered on the final run as she tore through the slushy, rain-soaked moguls to win by a margin of .94 points.

American Shannon Bahrke took bronze to add to her silver medal from 2002, leaving the US top of the medal standings on day two and compounding the misery for the hosts.

"I know Canada hasn't won a gold medal on their home turf, but I have a feeling they'll do it these games," Kearney said. "But I'm pleased that I could stop that for now."

Silver medallist Heil said: "I felt like I was standing on the shoulders of so many Canadians. I felt like I had their wings on my back. This is Canada's medal."

Chambers sets new 60m season's best at indoor trials

Chambers is the reigning European indoor 60m champion

Dwain Chambers produced a stunning display to win the 60m final in the fastest time this year at the indoor World Trials and UK Championships.

Chambers, 31, confirmed his prospects as a World Indoor gold medal contender with a time of 6.50 seconds.

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey finshed second with a personal best of 6.55secs with Craig Pickering in third in Sheffield.

Chambers, who won silver at the World Indoors in 2008 in Valencia, is now ranked number one in the world.

"It's nice but it's still early days, I'm sure the Americans are going to come out and do something crazy," said Chambers, who served a two-year suspension for taking performance-enhancing substances, after his victory.

"It's nice to know I have made the team and can hopefully focus my attention towards Doha now."

Chambers will be joined by Aikines-Aryeetey, 21, in the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for next month's World Indoor Championships in Doha, Bahrain.

"I'm just happy that I'm realising my potential and things are moving in the right direction," said the Londoner.

Olympic relay gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis finished fourth in a time of 6.67 secs.

Elsewhere, Chris Tomlinson missed out on a seventh long jump title as World Championship finalist Greg Rutherford leaped a season's best of 7.94m, with Tomlinson registering 7.75m.

Elsewhere, Kate Dennison won her fifth successive pole vault title but could not improve her British record following three failures at 4.58m.

Vikki Hubbard missed out on the qualifying standard of 1.92m despite winning the high jump with a clearance of 1.87m, but the Birchfield Harrier can still reach the mark in Croatia next week.

Callum Priestley celebrated his 21st birthday with victory in the 60m hurdles, but failed to make the 7.65secs qualifying standard by 0.04secs, while Joice Maduaka, 36, won her sixth national title in the 60m.

And world bronze medallist Jenny Meadows dominated her 800m heat, leading from start to finish to qualify for Sunday's final.

Dwain Chambers eyeing indoor trials glory in Sheffield

Chambers (centre) won joint-silver at the 2008 World indoors in Valencia

Dwain Chambers faces a strong field at this weekend's indoor World Trials and UK Championships in Sheffield as he goes for a third consecutive 60m title.

After last week's Birmingham Games win, Chambers, 31, should see off fit-again Mark Lewis-Francis and Craig Pickering.

Lewis-Francis has struggled with form and injury but Chambers said his rival's return had given him a "buzz".

Chris Tomlinson (long jump) and Jenny Meadows (800m) also compete with Qatar hosting the World indoors in March.

Despite the absence of World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis, who pulled out with a minor foot injury but is already assured of her place in Doha, there are still plenty of battles to keep the spectators entertained.

None more so than the 60m where there appears to be a rejuvenation in sprinting competition, pushing Chambers, who has risen to second in the world rankings, to be Britain's number one.

The European indoor champion will be hoping to go one better next month at the World indoors after finishing joint-second with Kim Collins behind Nigerian Olusoji Fasuba in Valencia in 2008.

The Belgrave Harrier is in hot form after clocking 6.57s in the semi-finals and 6.58s for victory at Birmingham last Saturday in the season's opener to beat Lewis-Francis and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.

John Smith, Lewis-Francis's coach, is optimistic the former world junior champion and relay Olympic gold medallist in 2004 can resurrect his career after a number of Achilles injuries, but added that Chambers was still the man to beat.

"I would never count Dwain out and, when you have a chip on your shoulder, it's easy to run fast," Smith said, referring to Chambers' two-year drug ban from the sport in 2003.

"I think he should have won last time (in Valencia). I'll put pressure on him and say he should win in Doha."

In other events over the weekend, outdoor World Championship bronze medallist Meadows will look for more glory in the 800m, while Tomlinson is seeking a seventh UK title in the long jump following up his win in Glasgow last month.

Pole-vaulter Kate Dennison is also in action as the 25-year-old looks to build on her impressive sixth at last year's World Championships in Berlin and goes for her fifth consecutive national title.

Saints upset Colts in Super Bowl

The New Orleans Saints won their first Super Bowl with a surprise 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

Drew Brees hit a record-equalling 32 passes for 288 yards, with touchdowns to Pierre Thomas and Jeremy Shockey.

And cornerback Tracy Porter returned an interception from Colts quarterback Peyton Manning 74 yards for another score to seal victory.

They were soon up by 10 points, after kicker Matt Stover, the oldest player in Super Bowl history at 42 years and 11 days, hit a 38-yard field goal and Manning found receiver Pierre Garcon for a touchdown after a withering 96-yard drive.

But the Saints hit back with 13 unanswered points, 23-year-old Hartley slotting kicks of 46 and 44 yards before half-time as New Orleans dominated the second quarter.

Coach Sean Payton then wrenched the initiative with an audacious gamble for a short kick-off to start the second half.

Sights & sounds of the Super Bowl (UK users only)

New Orleans came out with the ball from the ensuing melee and Brees - voted the game's Most Valuable Player three years after he was allowed to leave his old team San Diego as a free agent - hit Pierre Thomas for the go-ahead score.

Denied the ball for 70 minutes, including a lengthy half-time that included a performance by The Who, Indianapolis looked sharp as they drove for a touchdown on the ground from Joseph Addai.

But veteran Stover could not match Hartley's exploits, fading wide left with an attempt from 51 yards early in the fourth quarter.

New Orleans went up by seven with the score by tight end Shockey, followed up by a two-point conversion from Brees to Lance Moore.

Porter's 74-yard interception touchdown (UK users only)

And Porter secured the victory by punishing a poor decision by Manning, who tried to force a throw to favourite target Reggie Wayne in the face of heavy pressure.

Manning, who grew up in New Orleans as the son of former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, left the field disconsolate after tasting Super Bowl defeat for the first time in his storied career.

It was an emotional victory for the Saints, a team who went 20 years before recording their first winning season and a further 23 before appearing in this, their first NFL title game.

The team's resurgence has been seen as a mirror of the rebuilding of the city of New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

"We just believed in ourselves," said Brees. "We knew we had an entire city and maybe an entire country behind us."

As he lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy, New Orleans owner Tom Benson said: "Not only the city but the whole state of Louisiana is back and this shows the whole world."

Indianapolis, who won the NFL title in Miami just three years ago, went into the game as favourites.

England admit India World Cup safety fears

England are still seeking assurances that their safety will not be compromised during next month's Hockey World Cup in India.

The European champions are among 12 teams competing in Delhi, the host for the Commonwealth Games later this year.

"We're happy to travel, but I'd like to see more consideration three weeks before the tournament," England Hockey chief David Faulkner told BBC Sport.

"I'm still waiting for guarantees of what's going to be put into place."

England's badminton team withdrew from the world championships in India last year because of terrorist threats.

England's hockey players are scheduled to play Australia on the opening day of the World Cup on 28 February.

Performance director Faulkner, a member of Great Britain's gold medal-winning team from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, is still waiting for security details of the team's hotel and transportation as well as the World Cup venues.

One of the annoying things for us is the security thing gets in the way of that, it takes away the excitement England captain Barry Middleton

"I'd hope to see a better understanding and consideration given to some of the participating teams, particularly the Commonwealth countries who have troops in Afghanistan and have an identity in that area in the world," he said referring to Britain's 9,000 troop deployment.

"We have to ensure there is no distraction when they land in Delhi."

Should intelligence suggest an imminent risk to his team, Faulkner said he would have no hesitation in withdrawing from the tournament.

"If, for any reason, intelligence reaches us direct or indirect, we have a decision-making process to deal with it. If we need to pull out, we will pull out," he confirmed.

Faulkner has been contact with the British High Commission in India over security planning and has consulted other sporting bodies with recent experience of travelling to India.

They include county cricket sides Somerset and Sussex, who both competed in the inaugural Champions League Twenty20 tournament in October, as well as other Olympic sports such as badminton.

And England captain Barry Middleton, who lifted the EuroHockey Nations title in August last year following a shock 5-3 win over Germany in the Netherlands in August last year, fears the off-field distractions will detract from the thrill of playing in front of huge crowds.

"It's one of the most exciting tournaments we'll ever play, it's going to have a totally different atmosphere than most of us have never seen," said the Doncaster-born midfielder.

"One of the annoying things for us is the security thing gets in the way of that, it takes away the excitement."

The eight-strong England badminton squad pulled out of last August's world championships in Hyderabad after reports of threats by Muslim extremists Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based organisation fighting against Indian control in Kashmir.

It has been blamed for several terrorist incidents in India including the October 2005 bomb attacks in Delhi, which saw 60 people killed, and is alleged to have played a part in the armed raid on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

The group was also linked with the Mumbai terrorist attacks in November 2008, which killed at least 188 people.

Head coach Jason Lee's team, who finished fifth in the 2006 World Cup in Monchengladbach, are ranked sixth in the world but have targeted at least a semi-final berth.

Cricket formally included in Olympic Games

VANCOUVER: The International Olympic Council (IOC) has given the formal approval for including cricket in Olympic Games but it is not possible before the 2020 Olympics Cricket has been included in the list of Olympic games at the IOC meeting held in Vancouver, Canada. ''They are recognised federations by us, which now means that they can take part in IOC events,'' said IOC director of communications Mark Adams, adding it could be seen as a first step towards becoming Olympic sports. Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has not appeared since, but it is set to feature at this year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and was in the Commonwealth Games as recently as 1998. The IOC, meeting in Vancouver, also said it would recognise the federations of sport climbing and power boating.