Sports News: General

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) Paceman Shane Bond is in line to play his first test in two years after being named in New Zealand's 13-man squad for the first of three tests against Pakistan, starting in Dunedin on Tuesday.

QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (AP) New Zealand opener Tim McIntosh batted himself into form for next week's first test against Pakistan with an unbeaten century on the final day of a three-day match between the tourists and a New Zealand Invitation XI on Friday.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The International Rugby Board has rejected claims it failed to do all it could to ensure Fiji was able to select its overseas-based players for its November internationals in Europe.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Australia's Anna Meares won the women's sprint to open the Melbourne round of the cycling World Cup series on Thursday, beating China's Guo Shuang by 2-0 in the best-of-three gold medal ride off.

The Sports Authority of India?s Sonepat centre has pumped in lakhs of rupees on the construction and maintenance of a six-hole mini golf course although the sport does not figure in the list of SAI disciplines. The course also does not figure in the sanctioned plan of the Sonepat centre approved by the government.

Arjun Singh Chaudhri?s craft places him in the category of players who?d tell you: ?I?m getting better at golf because I?m hitting fewer spectators.?

FUKUOKA, Japan (AP) The Softbank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League have acquired South Korean third baseman Lee Bum-ho, the team announced Thursday.

TOKYO (AP) Facing losses of $3.3 million in 2010, Japanese professional baseball is considering a series of international games involving Japan's national team to bring in revenue.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) Greg Chappell fears competition in test cricket could shrink to as few as four countries.

MIYAZAKI, Japan (AP) Kenichi Kuboya shot a 6-under 65 on Thursday to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the $2.2 million Dunlop Phoenix.

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene have broken the 72-year-old world record for a sixth-wicket test partnership.

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene broke a 72-year-old world record Thursday as Sri Lanka took a 334-run first-innings lead on the fourth day of the first test against India.

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) Mahela Jayawardene and Prasanna Jayawardene closed in on a world-record sixth-wicket stand Thursday, guiding Sri Lanka toward a massive first innings lead against India in the first cricket test.

In the last two years, Arjun Singh Chaudhri had been fighting the survival battle at this time of the season, with opposite results.

Khalsa College, for the fifth year running, emerged winners of the Delhi University's inter-college athletic championships, bagging nine gold, five silver and five bronze medals at the three-day meet held at the East Vinod Nagar Sports Complex.

Jeev Milkha Singh has always liked playing on the European Tour, where he has three career wins. In the inaugural Dubai World Championship, which marks the end of European season and sees the participation of the top 60 golfers on the tour starting on Thursday, Jeev will hope to repeat his WGC fourth-place performance.

Days before the much-hyped Vadodara Marathon, which is going to take place on Sunday, the Athletic Federation of India (AFI) has placed a hurdle in the way of organisers.

The next Mumbai Marathon is likely to include a leg over the city's latest icon, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

The Indian Challenge at the NECC- ITF tournament came to a tame end on Wednesday as all the Indian challengers bowed out tamely.

In what has been a year of turnarounds, Manish Maithani scratches his head while retracing his steps from sleepy Dehradun via Delhi's Indian Nationals to Mohun Bagan AC, all in 2009. The India under-23 call-up on November 13 only made it more eventful but the midfielder has an answer this time as the best seems to have been saved for the last.