Andy Murray awoken in New York hotel room by early-rising drug-testers

Andy Murray used micro-blogging site Twitter to reveal his anger at drug-testers who woke the world No 2 on a rare day-off from the tennis courts.

World Anti-Doping Agency officials saw the matter slightly differently and demanded an immediate urine sample from the Scot, who was sleeping at the time in his New York hotel.

Murray later wrote on Twitter: "First day off in a while so you can imagine I was very pleased to get woken up by drug-testers at 7.15.

"Can't imagine a more relaxing way to start the day than having someone watching you go to the toilet."

The Scot goes into the final grand-slam event of the year as the world No 2 and brimming with confidence, the reward for a summer's work which saw him win the Masters Series title in Montreal and reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati.

His likely path through the field at Flushing Meadows will be revealed at the draw in Manhattan on Thursday.

In February Murray criticised the ATP drug-testing system after undergoing his third test in just over two weeks.

The Scot - who had to wait for 90 minutes to produce the specimen - claimed there was one system for the top players and another for the journeymen and said that had to change.

Spain's Rafael Nadal has also had plenty to say on the subject.

He said: "I think it shows a lack of respect for privacy. I think it’s a disgrace. These are things that completely have to change, and there is a unanimous voice on that in the locker room. It is an intolerable hunt."

"Bangla have matured a lot"

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons said his team can no longer be taken lightly after the recent exploits.

Australian-born Siddons said Bangladesh's 4-1 One Day International series victory over Zimbabwe and a historic Test and one-day series clean-sweep in the Caribbean showed the team was on track "for big things in the future".

"We all know that we have a long way to go to be classed as a real threat to the top four teams but they will no longer take us lightly," Siddons said.

"I hope that all of those who saw fit to criticise this team of young cricketers can now admit that there is definite signs of us improving."

Questions have been raised about Bangladesh's Test status since it joined the circuit in 2000 because of the weakness of the side.

In June this year, the team failed to get past the first round at the World Twenty20 Championships after losing a crucial match against Ireland -- prompting Siddons to brand the batting "ridiculous".

In September last year, more than a dozen players quit the national team to play for the rebel Twenty20 Indian Cricket League but Siddons said recent success showed the side had moved on.

"I believe that the players, though still very young and on the whole very inexperienced, have just shown the wisdom and improvement that comes with time," he said.

"This group is gaining more and more confidence at this level and will continue to improve as time goes on."

He praised Shakib Al Hasan, who led the team to victory after captain Mashrafe Mortaza hurt his right knee while bowling in the first Test match against the West Indies at Kingstown, St Vincent, last month.

The 25-year-old fast bowler Mortaza missed the rest of the tour -- during which the West Indies fielded a weakened side due to a wage strike -- and has recently had knee surgery in Australia.

"Shakib's captaincy was successful although at times his youth was tested and his patience with others of lesser ability in his team tested," Siddons said.

"He led magnificently with his own performance throughout the tour, and I think won three or four man of the match awards and man of the series as well."

Siddons said Bangladesh would return to Zimbabwe in October and would play Sri Lanka, India and England at home in the New Year. A tour to New Zealand in early 2010 had also been scheduled.

South Africa rallies around 800m world champion Caster Semenya

South African authorities hit back at the international athletics world's treatment of 800 metre gold medallist Caster Semenya, insisting that she is not only a woman but drug free.

The world champion arrived back at Johannesburg's OR Tambo international Airport to a heroine's welcome and the country's athletics authorities wasted no time in defending her.

Leonard Chuene, president of Athletics South Africa (ASA), who has stepped down from the International Association of Athletics Federations council while it investigates Semenya, denied that the controversial former East German coach Ekkart Arbeit, who now works as ASA's head coach, could have doped her.

"Arbeit was never part and parcel of this little girl," Chuene said. "There was no way Arbeit was going to be injecting her."

A German parliamentary inquiry named Arbeit as a key figure in the former East Germany's state-sponsored athletics-doping system.

Former shot putter Heidi Krieger, who eventually underwent a sex change to become Andreas Krieger, blamed him for her condition. But Arbeit insists that since 1989 he has stuck to clean coaching methods.

Sources within the ASA state that Arbeit is more involved with structures and overall programmes than with individual athletes. They add that Semenya has been dope-tested regularly in recent years, including after her African junior championships win in Mauritius last month.

Semenya did not say a word during the press conference and for the most part looked subdued and apprehensive.

However, she laughed as injections were mentioned and shook her head when The Daily Telegraph's revelations on Monday of elevated testosterone levels in initial tests came up. "Those are not our tests," Chuene said. "Why should we worry about the tests of other people?"

The controversy surrounding Semenya has triggered a wave of nationalistic support for her in South Africa and around 3,000 ecstatic fans packed the airport to welcome her and the rest of the team home.

But the possibility of an XXY chromosomal abnormality, which is a rare condition that can give a person characteristics of both genders, for instance, has barely been mentioned in the South African media, and politicians have rushed to Semenya's defence.

The African National Congress youth league leader Julius Malema condemned the IAAF's decision to test Semenya as "racist and sexist" last week and the 18 year-old was flanked by Winne Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela's highly controversial ex-wife, at the press conference on Tuesday.

Introduced as "the mother of the nation" and referring to Semenya as "my grandchild", Madikizela-Mandela added to the anger. "To the world out there who conducted those pseudo-tests, they can stuff their insult," she said. "This is our little girl and nobody is going to perform any tests on her."

Jacob Zuma, South Africa's new president, said: "She has shown the world that if you are determined to win, nobody and nothing will stop you"

History of gender rows

Gender concerns in modern athletics first surfaced in the 1930s when there was much speculation over Polish sprinter Stella Walsh, who won the Olympic women’s 100m title in Los Angeles in 1932 and took silver four years later.

Walsh’s nickname of ‘Stella the Fella’ was well deserved – she was found to have partially-developed male genitalia when she was shot dead in 1980.

Sex tests were introduced in athletics in 1966 following suspicion that Soviet athletes – notably Tamara and Irina Press who won multiple shot and discus medals in 1960 and 1964 – were competing as females were male.

Mandatory sex tests were introduced at Olympics in 1968 but were dropped in 1999.

Sebastian Coe: Lisa Dobriskey sets the pace for Britain’s distance runners

Over the past decade when a British track team has returned from a major championship, those of us asked to assess collective performance have normally concluded that the team has faired significantly less well than the last one.

I wrote in my preview of the World Championships in Berlin that finished on Sunday night that this was a young team and progress, if any, would be modest.

Well the end of term report reads a lot better than that – helped a little by more realistic assessment of medal potential by a newish team management.

Charles van Commenee, the head coach, predicted five medals which included Paula Radcliffe, who, in the end, failed to make the trip.

After a committed performance in the men’s 4 x 400 metres relay, six medals were being tucked into kit bags ready for the trip home. Not since the last time these championships were on German soil in 1993 has a British team performed better.

Most pleasing of all for Van Commenee will be the sizeable increase in the number of athletes making finals. From an all-time low in Helsinki in 2005, 20 made it to the showdown stage in this edition.

Between now and 2012 we will need a higher medal conversion rate from those who make the finals but few sports can claim they have 20 competitors in the top eight in the world and in so global a sport.

This was a team that for the first time in many years walked into the arena looking like they actually wanted to be there. Some of the self-indulgent and precious post-race excuses seem also mercifully to be a thing of the past.

It was good to hear pride when appropriate and disappointment after under-performance.

The triumvirate of Van Commenee, chairman Ed Warner and chief executive Niels de Vos deserve credit for nudging many of the competitors and coaches into the real world. This is never an easy process. After all everybody loves progress so long as it doesn’t mean change.

At the conclusion to these championships there was genuine pleasure among the other federations that British athletics was once again on the march. And nowhere was this more evident that the competitive nature of our female middle distance specialists.

Lisa Dobriskey’s superb silver medal hot on the heels of Jenny Meadows’ brave and intelligent 800m bronze a few days earlier I hope will signpost a similar renaissance in the male ranks where James Brewer’s solid performance in the 1,500m apart, there is still much work to be done.

Dobriskey’s elevation initially from the bronze medal position was courtesy of Spanish Natalia Rodríguez who with one lap to go tried to slip in between the rail and Gelete Burka, one of the favourites from Ethiopia.

The gap never really existed. Forceful contact was made and the Ethiopian sent sprawling to the track. It was inevitable once this case was referred to the Jury of Appeal that the Spaniard was disqualified. I think she would have won without the shove.

As someone who has sat for days at a time on these juries, I can not remember more referrals from the middle distance events nor have I seen such incompetent track craft by many of the so-called older hands in the game.

Middle distance running in general and 800m running in particular demands that the athletes have well-tuned on board computers. Too many of these computers at these championships seem to have been infected by viruses.

Running world-class 800m times means eight athletes running at extended sprint pace over an area you could throw a blanket 10m long and 2.5m wide. It is inevitable that from time to time, rather like bunched traffic on a busy motorway, collisions occur.

But what I witnessed in Berlin this week was more than purely accidental. Too many of the middle distance brigade looked ill at ease in championship racing where the field does not have the luxury of simply following a couple of pace makers.

Under these circumstances on the international circuit the field hits optimum speed within the first 50 or so metres and with no further intellectual rigour follows often in single file to the finishing line as the pace makers shed from the race rather like the modules on a space rocket.

Asbel Kiprop from Kenya who was heavily touted as a potential double medallist ran with significantly less guile than 16 year-olds I have seen in English Schools’ Championships.

Sadly it was the same for many. Simply too many drifted into poor positions often sandwiched against the curb and when it was apparent even to them that the race was drifting away, chose to impose themselves physically in a way that at best disturbed the natural symmetry of the race and at worse took potential medallists to the floor.

On one such occasion, I was sitting next to Hicham El Guerrouj who held his head in his hands. As we look at new formats in the sport which we must the proliferation of pace making and the impact it is having particularly in middle distance should be addressed.

Part of this pathology is also due to the lack of sanction in the showpiece meetings outside of the championships against athletes who routinely think it is an appropriate tactic.

Perhaps a system of yellow cards that would put at risk their trip to a major championship might do the trick.

Overall these were a good championships – well organised with pleasing television figures around the world. The next one in Daegu in South Korea will pose more challenges than Berlin.

Violence at West Ham v Millwall a 'disgrace' says Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe

West Ham could face ejection from the Carling Cup as the hooliganism that marred the club's second-round clash with Millwall was condemned as " a disgrace to football" by sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe.

The Football Association are investigating the events in which a man was stabbed outside Upton Park. Three pitch invasions took place after West Ham's goals, with the FA calling for those hooligans identified in the CCTV footage of the violence to receive life bans.

Although West Ham have promised to co-operate with the investigation, one sanction open to the FA includes throwing the club out of the Carling Cup, given that their supporters instigated the majority of the trouble.

Sutcliffe supported the FA's stance, saying: "The scenes last night were a disgrace to football.I completely back the FA's call for any person identified as involved in the violence to be banned for life and urge full and swift co-operation from all parties in the investigation into what happened.

"We have made great progress in the past 20 years in tackling football hooliganism in this country and we will not tolerate any return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when it plagued the game. We will never be complacent in the fight against football violence."

West Ham and Millwall have both denounced the behaviour of the hooligans, while Andy Williamson, chief operating officer of the Football League, said: "We utterly deplore the violence that took place at last night's match between Wet Ham United and Millwall.

"Such behaviour has no place in the game and we will work with all the relevant authorities to ensure that those behind it are held to account. Football has made huge progress in the last 30 years in the management of football matches and the whole game must continue to demonstrate that such behaviour will not be tolerated."

Malcolm Clarke is meeting FA chief executive Ian Watmore later today but warned against "hysterical over-reactions". He said: "I can assure you the vast majority of Millwall and West Ham supporters will be as horrified by events that occurred as everybody else There clearly needs to be a very clear response to try to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Thirteen people were arrested but the officer in charge of policing the match said the mass violence was caused by "a small number of supporters" intent on causing trouble.

Chief Superintendent Steve Wisbey said: "Police worked closely with West Ham Football Club, British Transport Police and the local authority to minimise disorder.

"Officers responded swiftly whilst missiles were being thrown as they tried to separate fans outside the ground after the match.

"Incidents of this nature at a match are thankfully rare, but it would appear that a small number of supporters were intent on causing a confrontation."

Given West Ham and Millwall are two leagues apart, a repeat of the scenes at Upton Park are unlikely to occur in the near future.

Clarke urged those who look at last night's disturbances to examine whether the authorities were prepared for all possibilities.

"Part of the investigation would need to look at whether appropriate measures were put into place to deal with the situation," he said.

England's 2018 World Cup bid team have also joined in the condemnation of last night's violence.

Bid leader Andy Anson is acutely aware pictures of the trouble that erupted around West Ham's Carling Cup tie will be beamed around the world.

For a country which prides itself on the massive strides that have been made in quelling the scourge of hooliganism, it is hardly the ideal backdrop to an attempt to host the game's most prestigious tournament.

The final decision is not made until Dec 2010, and Anson knows the furore surrounding last night's events will have a chance to die down. However, they have been quick to attack the hooligans who caused such mayhem.

A 2018 bid spokesman said: "England 2018 shares the FA's stance in condemning the disorder surrounding last night's Carling Cup fixture between West Ham and Millwall.

"The scenes from Upton Park were a regrettable but isolated example of a culture that the football community has worked tirelessly to eradicate from our game.

"It is extremely disappointing that the mindless actions of a tiny minority have today deflected from the passion and dedication that millions of genuine fans show every week for our national game."

Cartier Awards: Sea The Stars has long lead

Sea The Stars may have been ousted as favourite for the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown by Betfair customers, but it seems it will take an exceptionally successful autumn from one of his rivals to stop him from becoming Cartier Horse of the Year.

John Oxx's colt was displaced as favourite for the Leopardstown race by Fame And Glory, but that is more a reflection of what people think the weather will do rather than how they think the two horses will compare if they both turn up. Clearly, they believe that the ground will be too soft for Sea The Stars and that Oxx will have to find an alternative engagement.

However, the latest Cartier points shown here reveal that Sea The Stars has, by winning the Guineas, Derby, Eclipse and most recently the Juddmonte International, at York amassed 176 points. This gives him a handsome lead of 56 points over his nearest rival Mastercraftsman in both the Cartier Horse of the Year category and the Three-Year-Old Colt award.

After a slow start, Freddie Head's Goldikova, who has had a good month at Deauville winning both the Prix Rothschild and Prix Jacques Le Marois, heads up the older horses. The way she won her latest start, in which she pulverised the opposition to score by six lengths and earn the accolade "better than Miesque" from her trainer, you would not want to bet against her winning this category. That victory enabled her to overtake Vision D'Etat, the long time leader of this category.

Ghanaati still leads the Three-Year-Old Fillies, but the dual Oaks winner Sariska ate into her lead, even though she was only second to Dar Re Mi, in the Yorkshire Oaks last week. Had Sariska won, she would now be leading what is turning out to be one of the tightest categories.

It is still early days as far as the two-year-old awards go. Criquette Head's Papin winner Special Duty scored more points when narrowly beaten by Arcano in the Morny on Sunday and she has a small lead over Lillie Langtry, Lady of The Desert and Misheer. Alfred Nobel and Arcano share top spot in the colts' division.

That there is no one outstanding sprinter is evident from the tightness of their group, which is still headed by Fleeting Spirit. The filly, runner-up in the King's Stand and winner of the July Cup, has been installed as favourite for the Haydock Sprint a week on Saturday. Other Group One winners Art Connoisseur, Borderlescott, King's Apostle and Scenic Blast are hot on her heels and if any one of them can secure a second Group One, they will surely go very close to securing the 2009 title.

LATEST CARTIER STANDINGS

2YO FILLY

• SPECIAL DUTY 32
• LILLY LANGTRY 28
• LADY OF THE DESERT 24
• MISHEER 24

2YO COLT

• ALFRED NOBEL 48
• ARCANO 48
• CANFORD CLIFFS 24
• CAPE BLANCO 24
• RADIOHEAD 24
• XTENSION 24

3YO FILLY

• GHANAATI 104
• SARISKA 97
• ELUSIVE WAVE 78
• STACELITA 64
• MIDDAY 62

3YO COLT

• SEA THE STARS 176
• MASTERCRAFTSMAN 120
• FAME AND GLORY 88
• LE HAVRE 72
• RIP VAN WINKLE 60

OLDER HORSE

• GOLDIKOVA 96
• VISION DETAT 84
• PACO BOY 74
• ALPINE ROSE 64
• FLEETING SPIRIT 64

STAYER

• YEATS 48
• PATKAI 40
• SCHIAPARELLI 32 GEORDIELAND 28
• POINTILLISTE 18

SPRINTER

• FLEETING SPIRIT 64
• ART CONNOISSEUR 48
• BORDERLESCOTT 43
• KING'S APOSTLE 40
• SCENIC BLAST 32

HORSE OF THE YEAR

• SEA THE STARS 176
• MASTERCRAFTSMAN 120
• GHANAATI 104
• SARISKA 97
• GOLDIKOVA 96

Watching Brief by Marlborough

Taking The Drop: Mamlakati (3.30 Warwick) has paid the price in terms of a high Handicap mark for her juvenile form. Consequently, she has found life difficult this year against less exposed rivals. Connections have also struggled to find her most effective trip. The drop to selling company could be just what she needs to regain confidence and in big fields high drawn horses often fare well over this trip.

Soft Touch: Boy Blue (3.40 Ayr) has a liking for this galloping track, having won on both of his previous visits, including over this course and distance. Significantly, he has also displayed an ability to show his form on soft ground. On such going, low numbers enjoy an advantage – 15 winners of the 22 races run on soft or heavy ground in the past five years have been drawn in stalls 1 to 5. Thus, beginning from stall 1 today, he is ideally berthed.

Same Again: Now that he has discovered the winning habit it should pay to stay with Addison de Witt (4.50 Catterick). He added a battling Newcastle victory to his Perth win over hurdles and this contest appears no more demanding. His rider's claim can hardly hinder the cause.

BET OF THE DAY: Marine Spirit (2.30 Warwick), from a stable with a good record in this type of race, won in a fast time at Folkestone

Davydenko survives tough test

The top two seeds in the men's draw at the Pilot Pen tournament in New Haven progressed into the third round.

Nikolay Davydenko was pushed all the way by American Robbie Kendrick in the first set, needing a marathon tie-break to move ahead.

He finally won it 12-10, before breaking in game eight of the second set to seal a 7-6 (12/10) 6-3 win.

Things were a little easier for second seed Fernando Verdasco, who cruised to a 6-0 6-3 win over Paul Capdeville.

His fellow Spaniard, and third seed, Tommy Robredo became the highest-profile casualty so far when he was beaten 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7/5) by Jose Acasuso.

Robredo seemed set for a comfortable night when he claimed the first set with a pair of breaks but Acasuso secured the crucial break in the second before a seesaw third set went to a tie-break, which the Argentinian won.

Elsewhere, there were wins for the seventh and eighth seeds, Igor Andreev and Victor Hanescu - the latter needing three sets to get past Janko Tipsarevic - but ninth seed Nicolas Almagro was downed by Bjorn Phau of Germany.

Jurgen Melzer progressed when his opponent, Pablo Cuevas, withdrew, while Igor Kunitsyn and Fabrice Santoro were also second-round winners.

Twelfth and 13th seeds Philipp Petzschner and Andreas Beck lost to Frederico Gil and Simone Bolelli respectively, while Yen-hsun Lu saw off Andreas Seppi and Leonardo Mayer beat Olivier Rochus.

In the women's draw, there second-round wins for Amelie Mauresmo and Anna Chakvetadze.

Eighth-seeded Frenchwoman Mauresmo strolled past Alona Bondarenko 6-1 6-1, while the Russian saw off Sybille Bammer 4-6 6-4 7-5.

Third seed Flavia Pennetta was in first-round action, beating Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-1 6-2, while sixth seed Marion Bartoli and Samantha Stosur also reached the second round.

Champion Caroline Wozniacki made a perfect start to the defence of her crown, the second seed denying Romania's Edina Gallovits a single game in a 6-0 6-0 victory.

There were further seeded casualties in the men's tournament, with wild card Rajeev Ram defeating fellow American Sam Querrey, the fifth seed, 6-3 6-3 while 10th seed Jeremy Chardy lost 6-7 (8/10) 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 to Florent Serra.

Seventh seed Igor Andreev ended the hopes of another American, beating Kevin Kim 6-3 6-1.

Murray seeded second

Andy Murray has been seeded second for next week's US Open.

The 22-year-old climbed above Rafael Nadal to be number two in the world last week after winning the Masters 1000 event in Montreal.

Reigning champion Roger Federer, who is bidding for his third successive major title after triumphing at the French Open and Wimbledon, is the top seed and therefore cannot face Murray until the final.

After recovering from the knee problems that prevented him defending his Wimbledon crown, Nadal is seeded third ahead of Novak Djokovic and SW19 runner-up Andy Roddick.

In the women's event, world number one Dinara Safina again tops the list and will hope to break her grand slam duck.

Defending champion Serena Williams, who currently holds three of the slams, is second with sister Venus seeded third. Former champion Maria Sharapova makes the top 32 at number 29.

The singles draws for the tournament, which begins next Monday, take place at midday tomorrow in New York (5pm).

Roddick ready for home win

Andy Roddick is very confident that he can do well at the US Open in front of his home crowd.

Roddick coming off worst in an epic 30-game final set in this year's Wimbledon final, there were many willing to bet they had witnessed a re-birth of a precocious tennis talent.

Roddick's blistering junior career had marked him out as a star of the future long before grand slam finals were on the agenda and the young American did nothing to disappoint as he cut a swathe right to the top.

The big-serving Nebraskan duly obliged with a US Open title in 2003 most were convinced would prove the first of many. But six years on, Roddick still finds himself searching for that second breakthrough win.

The arrival in his era of multi-tasking players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and latterly Andy Murray seemed to underline that for all his raw power and commitment, at the very top level Roddick was just too one-dimensional.

But Wimbledon seemed to change all that. Roddick was accurate with his volleys and his backhand and his serve was firing as well as ever as he disposed of Murray in the last four and proceeded to push Federer to the brink.

With his favourite Flushing Meadows event approaching, it seemed for a fleeting moment on Centre Court as if Roddick had belatedly blossomed into the kind of player who could stand up to his sport's big three.

"I feel like I've been playing a lot better this year overall," said Roddick. "I've been putting things together more consistently. I don't think I've had a loss to a player outside the world's top 15."

Roddick picked up where he had left off after Wimbledon. He beat fellow big servers Ivo Karlovic and John Isner en route to the final in Washington, which he lost in three tight sets to Juan Martin Del Potro.

Another defeat the following week to Del Potro, this time in the semi-finals in Montreal, perhaps once again raised questions over Roddick's infuriating record of near-misses against those ranked above him.

And in Cincinnati, his pride at his consistent record against lesser players this season came to an end when he was beaten in two tie-break sets by fellow American Sam Querrey.

As a result, Roddick, who must have been many people's favourite for the Flushing Meadows title after Wimbledon, now finds himself back down the betting slip behind the likes of Federer, Murray, Del Potro and, if injury-free, Nadal.

Roddick insists none of his patchy form has anything to do with that epic Wimbledon final, which left him physically and mentally drained after coming so close to scoring a famous victory.

"A lot was made of that but I was like, I'll be back, I'll be fine. I've always been extremely resilient and able to go about my business. If my worst day there is playing one of the greatest finals, it's a pretty good worst day.

"If that's my worst day I don't think I'm going to lose perspective on that. It was definitely the hardest loss I've ever had. But even the next day I didn't feel like I was throwing a pity party for myself.

"I like where my preparation is for the Open at this point. I hope I can start serving the way I'm used to again. I'm confident I can do that. Beyond that it's just a question of competing and trying to play good tennis again."

Champions League Tuesday Review

Atletico Madrid, Lyon, Maccabi Haifa, Debrecen and FC Zurich are through to the Champions League group stages.

Atletico Madrid secured their spot in the Champions League group stage after sealing a 5-2 aggregate win over 10-man Panathinaikos.

Leading 3-2 from the first leg in Athens, Atletico needed just five minutes to further strengthen their stranglehold on the tie when Panathinaikos defender Loukas Vintra put through his own net.

That was a huge setback for the Greek side and their hopes of staging an unlikely fightback suffered a further blow midway through the second half when striker Djibril Cisse was sent off.

The Greek side in fact created some of their best openings when they were down to 10 men, but Sergio Aguero's goal seven minutes from time ensured there were no late scares for the Spanish side.

A first-half hat-trick from Lisandro Lopez sealed the most comprehensive of wins as Lyon strolled past Anderlecht and into the Champions League group stage.

Lopez, who scored one in the first leg as Lyon won 5-1, was on target in the 26th, 32nd and 41st minutes as the French side booked their place in the main draw for the 10th successive year.

Matias Suarez pulled one back from the spot six minutes into the second half, but it did not stop the tie being one to forget for the Belgians.

Maccabi Haifa booked their place in the group stage of the Champions League with a 3-0 win at home to Salzburg in the second leg of their play-off tonight to seal an emphatic 5-1 aggregate success.

Vladimer Dvalishvili opened the scoring in the 31st minute for the Israelis and teenager Eyal Golasa made it two shortly before the hour mark.

Mohammad Ghadir added a third in the 90th minute.

FC Zurich also wrapped up a 5-1 aggregate win, knocking out Latvian side Ventspils.

The Swiss outfit won 2-1 tonight thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Almen Abdi.

Johan Vonlanthen had put them ahead in the sixth minute, only for Igor Tigirlas to level two minutes later.

Debrecen completed a 4-1 aggregate win over Levski Sofia with a 2-0 victory in Hungary tonight.

Two away goals in the Bulgarian capital last week had put Debrecen in the driving seat and they duly finished off the job thanks to efforts from Jozsef Varga (13) and Gergely Rudolf (36).

Anderlecht 1-3 Lyon

A first-half hat-trick from Lisandro Lopez sealed the most comprehensive of wins as Lyon strolled past Anderlecht.

Lopez, who scored one in the first leg as Lyon won 5-1, was on target in the 26th, 32nd and 41st minutes as the French side booked their place in the main draw for the 10th successive year.

Matias Suarez pulled one back from the spot six minutes into the second half, but it did not stop the tie being one to forget for the Belgians.

Lyon started where they left off last week and had early chances through Lopez, whose shot went high and wide, and Anthony Reveillere, whose close-range strike was well saved by the legs of Davy Schollen.

So there was an air of inevitability when Lopez did score after 26 minutes.

He pounced on a misplaced pass by Anderlecht defender Ondrej Mazuch, controlling the ball before scoring with a lob over Schollen.

Six minutes later, Lopez grabbed another, latching onto a right-wing cross by Michel Bastos and touching the ball past a defender, before dispatching it into the bottom right corner from eight yards.

And the Argentina forward completed a hat-trick four minutes before the break with a 20-yard effort which he expertly curled into the corner.

To their credit, Anderlecht produced a little more in the second half and pulled one back after they awarded a penalty when Cris fouled Suarez, who beat Hugo Lloris despite the keeper diving the right way.

Both sides had chances as they played out the meaningless remainder of the game.

Bastos' neat curled effort from the right was well parried by Schollen, saving his team from further embarrassment.

And his opposite number Lloris did well to rush from his line and block an effort from Mbark Boussoufa after he had been put through by Lucas Biglia.

A final goal for Lyon would have been a fitting way to end the tie and it almost came when Bastos' shot from the left was held by Schollen eight minutes before the end.

Atl Madrid 2-0 Panathinaikos

Atletico Madrid secured their spot in the Champions League group stage with a 2-0 win over 10-man Panathinaikos.

Leading 3-2 from the first leg in Athens, Atletico needed just five minutes to further strengthen their stranglehold on the tie when Panathinaikos defender Loukas Vintra put through his own net.

That was a huge setback for the Greek side and their hopes of staging an unlikely fightback suffered a further blow midway through the second half when striker Djibril Cisse was sent off.

The Greek side in fact created some of their best openings when they were down to 10 men, but Sergio Aguero's goal seven minutes from time ensured there were no late scares for the Spanish side.

Panathinaikos came into the match needing to make history if they were to get through to the group stage, having never before beaten a Spanish club on their own patch, losing nine of 10 matches.

And the chances of breaking that run looked even more remote when Vintra put through his own net soon after kick-off.

A deep cross from John Heitinga picked out Diego Forlan running in towards the far post, and although the Uruguayan failed to direct his volley goalwards, the ball still ended up in the net as Vintra sliced his attempted clearance past Mario Galinovic.

Henk Ten Cate's side could hardly have had a worse start, but they tried to mount a response and Sebastian Leto and Cisse both had efforts on goal, although neither really tested Atletico custodian Sergio Asenjo.

Aside from those chances, it was largely Atletico making the running in front of their own fans at the Vicente Calderon and Antonio Lopez curled a free-kick just wide before Forlan saw his header saved by Galinovic.

That Forlan chance was in the 70th minute, and 60 seconds later Pana found themselves a man down as Cisse was dismissed following a challenge on Paulo Assuncao.

With a man less and needing three goals to go through, Pana's hopes had all but vanished, but the visitors battled on and Leto brought a good save out of Asenjo and Jose Sarriegi headed wide.

Atletico always looked capable of extending their lead, though, and Aguero duly did that after working himself a shooting chance and firing through the legs of Galinovic to seal the win.

Lebanon draw with Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan earned their first point in the Nehru Cup after holding higher-ranked Lebanon to a 1-1 draw.

Kyrgyzstan took the lead after a tepid first half through man-of-the-match Zemlianuhin Anton at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday. But Lebanon hit back within 10 minutes, after a good move resulted in Abbas Ahmad Atwi grabbing the equaliser. Neither side did enough to deserve all three points, though, as the game petered out for a draw.

The Kyrgyz coach, Ormombekov Anarbek, agreed, saying, "We tried to win but our team lacks experience. In the end, the result was a fair one for both sides."

Meanwhile, Emile Rustom, the Lebanese coach, admitted that the result had dealt a major blow to his team's aspirations of making the final. "It'll be difficult because we have to get all three points from the next game (against Syria), and hope that other results go our way."

The opening half ended goalless, with neither team exerting any control over the proceedings. Both sides seemed to lack any attacking intent, with most of the play being concentrated in the middle of the park.

The best chance of the entire period fell to the impressive Anton, who hit the post twice in less than 60 seconds. In the 31st minute, the hard-working Kyrgyz striker struck the ball on the turn from a corner, but hit the near post. He was unlucky soon again, when his fierce shot in the 32nd minute hit the crossbar.

Other than that, Kyrgyzstan kept their shape well and went forward on occasions, but had nothing to show for their efforts. Mirzaliev Almazbek, who missed a penalty in the loss to India, had a disappointing game before being taken off in the 63rd minute. This was summed up by his 36th-minute effort, when he completely missed the ball from two yards out.

Lebanon, on the other hand, seemed content to just keep possession, which was perhaps surprising given the lower rank of their opponents and the fact that a win in this game would have brought them closer to a spot in the final. The defence dealt easily enough with any possible threat Kyrgyzstan tried to pose, but the Lebanese created no clear-cut chances either as the game was played at a slow tempo.

The second half began on a more promising note. Kyrgyzstan took the lead after a quick counter-attack saw Anton's shot from the edge of the area go in past Lebanese keeper Lary Mehanna in the 48th minute.

But Lebanon got back on level terms in the 55th minute. Hassan Maatouk sidestepped two players before sending a delightful ball to Mohmoud El Ali, who then cut the ball across for Abbas Atwi to slot in at the near post.

That proved to be the last meaningful action of the match, though Ali Yaakoub's header hit the post in the 59th minute, while Atwi missed a good chance in the 63rd to win it for Lebanon.

Having pulled off an unexpected win over hosts India in their opening match, Lebanon have now added just one point to their tally since then, having earlier lost to Sri Lanka. However, denying that complacency was the reason, coach Rustom explained: "Fatigue was a major factor. The temperature makes it tough. Moreover, except our keeper, all the players are fasting due to Ramadan."

The result brightens India's prospects though, who face the Lankans in their next match on Wednesday.

Carling Cup Tuesday Review

Tuesday night saw a long list of English clubs contesting in the opening round of the Carling Cup.

Junior Stanislas struck a late double to give West Ham Carling Cup victory over London rivals Millwall in a tempestuous tie ravaged by crowd trouble and pitch invasions.

Neil Harris had given the Lions a 26th-minute lead and that looked likely to be enough until Stanislas struck three minutes from the end of normal time to secure an extra half-hour.

Stanislas then struck again from the spot eight minutes into the extra period and after a pitch invasion had been cleared Zavor Hines also scored for the Hammers to complete a 3-1 win.

On a night devoid of top-flight casualties Mick McCarthy's Wolves came closest to a surprise exit as they were pushed to a penalty shoot-out after 120 minutes of stalemate against Swindon at Molineux.

However after 11 successful penalties in succession the heartbreak fell to the League One side's Gordon Greer who struck the left upright, giving Wolves a narrow 6-5 win from the spot.

Burnley might be basking in their stunning Barclays Premier League start but they were fortunate to avoid a giant-killing themselves after being pushed to extra-time at Hartlepool.

Adam Boyd gave the hosts the half-time advantage and the lead lasted until six minutes from time when Steven Fletcher scored from close-range. Fletcher grabbed his second in extra-time after Richard Eckersley was sent off.

Alex McLeish's Birmingham survived a similar scare at the St Mary's Stadium as Southampton, bottom of League One, grabbed a 50th-minute lead through Adam Lallana.

The Saints deserved to go ahead after dominating for long periods but McLeish's men hit back through Lee Bowyer on 77 minutes. Lee Carsley hit the Blues winner three minutes later.

Bolton were also fortunate to avoid extra-time against Tranmere at Prenton Park, with Mark Davies grabbing the only goal of the game in the 41st minute when his long-range effort squeezed through keeper Luke Daniels' hands.

David Hoilett scored on his full debut for Blackburn and David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen also found the net as Sam Allardyces men earned a 3-1 win at Gillingham.

Frederic Piquionne, John Utaka, Niko Kranjcar and Richard Hughes were all on the scoresheet in Portsmouth's 4-1 win over Hereford, for whom Tristan Plummer scored a late consolation from the spot.

There was a similar stroll for Hull who beat Southend 3-1 at the KC Stadium. Tom Cairney and Jozy Altidore put the Tigers in front and although Franck Moussa reduced the deficit Geovanni sealed the win in the second half.

Robert Snodgrass scored a double including an extra-time winner as League One Leeds pulled off a minor upset with a 2-1 win over Watford at Elland Road.

Radoslaw Majewski's extra-time winner gave Nottingham Forest a 2-1 win over Middlesbrough at the City Ground while Roy Keane's tough start to the season at Ipswich continued with a 2-1 defeat at Peterborough.

Match Reports

Gillingham 1-3 Blackburn

Hartlepool 1-2 Burnley

Hull 3-1 Southend

Leeds 2-1 Watford

Nott Forest 2-1 Middlesbrough

Petersborough 2-1 Ipswich

Port Vale 2-0 Shef Wed

Portsmouth 4-1 Hereford

Preston 2-1 Leicester

QPR 2-1 Accrington

Southampton 1-2 Birmingham

Swansea 1-2 Scunthorpe

Tranmere 0-1 Bolton

West Ham 3-1 Millwall

Wolverhampton 0-0 Swindon

Reading 1-2 Barnsley

West Ham United 3 Millwall 1

The Carling Cup second round game between West Ham United and Millwall at Upton Park on Tuesday Aug 25, 2009.

On a disgraceful evening for West Ham and Millwall football clubs, involving a stabbing outside Upton Park and several pitch invasions inside the ground, the spectre of hooliganism again returned to blight this most primal of London football rivalries.

It was remarkable that the match – which, for the record, West Ham won – could even conclude at all, so disfigured was it by disorder.

Hundreds of supporters had been involved in violence close to Upton Park underground station before and during the match, but in the second half the unrest spread alarmingly on to the playing surface as West Ham fans broke the police cordons.

Police claimed that the skirmishes outside had been triggered by those without tickets to the second-round Carling Cup match.

The stabbing took place in Priory Road, next to the station, where a large group of Millwall fans broke a police cordon in an ambush of West Ham supporters, and proceeded to throw bottles and bricks.

The stab victim, a 44 year-old man, was in a stable condition in hospital last night.

Such sorry scenes were denounced by the Football Association. It said in a statement: “We absolutely condemn all of the disorder that has occurred at Upton Park, both inside and outside of the ground.

“We will be working with all parties, including the police and clubs, to establish the facts surrounding the events. We expect all culprits to be banned from football for life. They have no place in our game.”

In addition, West Ham striker Carlton Cole claimed he had been racially abused by Millwall fans during the match.

The Metropolitan Police had restricted the number of Millwall fans to 2,300 but far more had gathered for this game. Stewards were powerless to prevent the tension from boiling over when, in the 77th minute, a large object was thrown by a West Ham section of the crowd towards the Millwall contingent.

West Ham fans attempted to surge across the seats separating the two bands of supporters and one fan even made it on to the pitch.

West Ham’s equaliser in the 87th minute, scored by Junior Stanislas to cancel out Neil Harris’s opener, exacerbated the trouble, with around 100 home fans defying the stewards to invade the playing surface.

Their goading of the away end did not stop there, with further invasions ensuing after Stanislas’s penalty made it 2-1 in the second half of extra-time, and the late goal from Zavon Hines which wrapped up West Ham’s victory.

A shaken Gianfranco Zola, West Ham’s manager, has had to deal with a dreadful week at the club, which has also included the stabbing of centre-back Calum Davenport and a family tragedy for midfielder Jack Collison, who lost his father in a motorcycle accident days before bravely playing here.

Among the game’s most distinguished purists, Zola said: “I’m not pleased. I’m a sport man – I love the game, and I try all the time to make it exciting.

"This had nothing to do with football. It was beyond my powers. In all the time I have spent at Chelsea and West Ham I have never seen anything like it.”

Millwall fans had to be penned in for 20 minutes after the match as the chaos dispersed.

Rubbish, shards of glass and beer cans were scattered across Green Street, and bricks could be seen in rubbish bins.

As the crowd streamed out of the ground, most of the roads around the stadium were closed while 200 riot police, reinforced by at least 20 mounted officers, patrolled close to the tube station.

It was the final act on this night of hate and hostility, but it was by no means the final word.

Match details:

West Ham (4-4-1-1): Green; Gabbidon, Spector, Tomkins, Parker; Kovac (Noble 62), Faubert, Collison, Payne (Hines h-t); Stanislas; Cole (Upson 109).
Subs: Kurucz (g), Collins, Daprela, Lee.
Booked: Gabbidon, Parker, Cole, Collison.

Millwall (4-4-2): Forde; Dunne, Frampton, Barron, Smith; Martin (Price 91), Hackett, Fuseini, Laird; Alexander (Bolder 99), Harris (Grimes 99).
Subs: Sullivan (g).
Booked: Frampton, Laird, Barron.
Referee: P Taylor (Hertfordshire).

Sol Campbell turned down Premier League offers to sign five-year deal with Notts County

Sol Campbell revealed that he turned down a number of Premier League offers to join Sven Goran Eriksson at League Two Notts County after his contract with Portsmouth expired.

Aston Villa were believed to have been primary among them but Campbell identified the long term future on offer at Meadow Lane as the reason for turning them down.

“I’m looking career wise and [the move to Notts County] sat perfect with me where I am with my life in football," said Campbell. "There were offers in the Premier League but they were short term.”

County, who were taken over by Middle East consortium Munto Finance this summer, unveiled the former Tottenham, Arsenal and Portsmouth defender on Tuesday afternoon where they confirmed Campbell was on a five year deal with a view to coaching, Campbell himself saying he was to play on “for three years at least.”

Asked why he decided to drop down from the top flight to League Two Campbell identified the long term plans of the club as paramount in a decision that took just three weeks to mull over.

“Because of the future, they’ve got great ambitions and I want to be a part of it,” he said.

“I’ve had 3 months off but have been training by myself so not ground zero but not ready to play at the moment.

“There was a few [offers] but I’m looking at the future. This club has fantastic heritage and I want to a part of that. They have guaranteed me that the club will move forward.

“They have a lot of ideas. The main thing is football. I’m here as a footballer. I want to win promotions and get to the Premier League.

Club manager Ian McParland, who took exception to suggestions that Campbell would have problems adjusting to a lower standard of football, said: “Sol’s record speaks for itself and he’s achieved just about everything in the game.

“He’s a great player and a great organiser and his experience will be invaluable to our push for promotion this season.

“We are very happy that he has taken on the challenge and we are looking forward to getting him settled into the team and seeing him pull on a Notts County shirt as soon as possible.”

Campbell cited the influence of his former England manager Eriksson and stressed he was not at County for the money but the challenge of taking the oldest league club in the world back to the top division.

"[Eriksson] is a great man and has managed all over the world, knows his football and is a proper guy," said Campbell. "He’s seen the future, it’s a challenge but everyone connected with the club accepts that challenge.

“You have to adjust. Of course it will be different but I don’t mind starting again. And it isn’t even starting again. It is dropping down but we have ambitions to move up and we will.”

Lance Armstrong says cycling moving ‘in the right direction’ in battle against dope cheats

Lance Armstrong has said he feels cycling has finally turned a corner in its battle against the drug-culture that has so long tainted the sport.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, talking at the second day of the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, said: “We’re [moving] in the right direction”.

After years of negative coverage thanks to the numerous positive dope tests, this season enjoyed its cleanest Tour for sometime.

Only one rider, Spain's Mikel Astarloza, fell foul of the International Cycling Union’s (UCI) testing programme after he failed an out-of-competition doping test eight days prior to the start of the Tour and was duly handed a provisional suspension.

Armstrong, 37, said the sport’s clean new image can only be a good thing.

“It’s good for sport, good for the event. It’s good for all the things that come with that — the teams, the riders, the sponsorship, the public.”

However, the Texan was quick to point out that cycling is far from perfect.

“I don’t think that’s cause to stand up and say — you guys are great.”

“You’re still going to have people who do stupid things, foolish things.”

Meanwhile, Armstrong has backed Alberto Contador, his former Astana team-mate to retain his Tour title next year saying the Spaniard would be “tough to beat.”

Following his third-placed finish at this year’s Tour, a determined Armstrong added: “I should be a bit better than I was this year on the bike.

“With a year under my belt, I’ll come back stronger.”

Armstrong also confirmed that Johan Bruyneel, his Belgian directeur sportif at US Postal Service, Discovery Channel and Astana, will leave the Kazakh-funded team at the end of the season and reacquaint himself with the American at his new Radio Shack sponsored team.

Muhammad Ali returns to Britain for Henry Cooper reunion

Muhammad Ali will return to the UK one last time to pay tribute to his adoring British fans as he attends a series of fund-raising events for charity over the coming week.

Ali will visit Ricky Hatton's gym in Manchester this morning, but in contrast to the athletic man of hype and bluster, and blistering physical skills who came to these shores in May 1966 to fight Henry Cooper, there will be no media interviews or speeches this time, just that silent shuffle from the iconic sportsman, now 67, who has been living with Parkinson's Disease since 1984.

Ali came here in 1966 ahead of the then heavyweight world champion's second world title defence against Cooper, the British and Empire champion, at Arsenal's Highbury stadium. Now the two men, Ali and Sir Henry, will come face to face again when they meet in the private grounds of Windsor Castle on Friday evening.

Yet according to Bob Arum, Ali's promoter at the time, his arrival here in May 1966, and the gushing reception he received despite his open objection to the Vietnam War draft in the United States, cemented a long-standing love affair between Ali, the British media, and the British public. In 1999, he was voted the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century, and three times Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.

Arum, speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph, said Ali's visit this week would be part of the gratitude he felt at that time for his treatment from the British public.

Ali had left the United States under a cloud when he came here in 1966. The outspoken fighter had fallen foul of the American authorities over his conscientious objection, through his Islamic beliefs, to the Vietnam War draft. That year saw the beginning of Ali's five-year legal battle with the authorities, after which he was exonerated.

Arum said yesterday: "You have to look at the backdrop at the time. You have to understand what was happening in the US. They virtually threw us out. We were chastised, clothed in notoriety. Ali refused to fight in Vietnam – and soon afterwards he was banned for three years, stripped of the world title, they took away his passport. Understand this – when he took up his position, I was even horrified because it was so contrary to what you were taught as an American.

"You did not go and question your country being in a war. But the fact was that this guy, who barely had an education, was eventually proved right and all these 'geniuses' were proved wrong. To me it showed him to be a great figure."

In the spring of 1966, Arum was contacted by Jarvis Astaire and Harry Levine, the British promoters who said they would host a world title fight in London, at Arsenal Stadium. Levine and Astaire flew to meet Arum in Boston, and the deal was completed with alacrity.

Arum said: "We flew early in the morning to London – we took a taxi into central London, and when Ali emerged into Piccadilly, and walked out of his hotel, people went nuts. There were thousands of people cheering and screaming for him. It was like that everywhere we went.

"Here was Ali, a pariah in his own country, denounced, with everyone considering him a traitor because he had spoken out against the Vietnam draft. Yet he comes over to England and he is seen as larger than life. People want to touch him, follow him everywhere, they almost treated him like a deity.

"We did so many media calls. It was incredible. Reggie [Gutteridge], Harry [Carpenter], David Frost, the media guys did so much with him, they played off each other. They enjoyed Ali's cheekiness, his banter."

The Cooper-Ali contest was also the first fight seen live and free on terrestrial television in the United States, on ABC. "They thought it would have legs. That was great for us. The ratings were phenomenal," Arum explained.

"We stayed in the Piccadilly Hotel for three weeks. Ali went running in Hyde Park in the morning, the paparazzi were everywhere trying to get his picture, an American film crew were there filming The Dirty Dozen, we had a riot. Angelo [Dundee, Ali's trainer] and I hung out in a casino rumoured to be mob-connected – we had a helluva time."

Arum, who admits the visit to Britain "had a tremendous impact" on his life, added: "We were stunned. Even in Canada three months earlier they had to have a vote in the Ontario parliament whether or not they would allow Ali to fight George Chuvalo – like it was their business – and we won by one vote and by using political pressure to get it.

"Coming to London was like fresh air, and Ali never ever forgot it. It felt like we'd escaped from prison in the US. Ali's impish charm could suddenly come out again, he could say outrageous things, and the UK media loved it.

"That's why Ali has come back. He has never forgotten the following he had in the UK."

Muhammad Ali schedule this week:

• Wed Aug 26 :Morning: Visit to Ricky Hatton’s gym in Hyde, Manchester
• Evening: Black tie fundraising dinner at Manchester United FC, at Old Trafford.
• Thursday: Black tie fundraising dinner at Britannia Stadium, Stoke on Trent.
• Friday: VIP reception at the Alltech FEI European Jumping and Dressage Championships, private grounds at Windsor Castle.
• Sunday, Aug 30: Black tie dinner at Wembley Stadium, London.
• Monday, Aug 31: Charity fund-raiser in Dublin.
• Tuesday, Sept 1: Visit to see the birthplace of his great-grandfather Aby Grady in Ennis, Co Clare, where he will be made the first Honorary Freeman on Ennis Town.

Britain in bronze medal position in European Dressage Championships

Britain finished the first day of the Alltech European Dressage Championships at Windsor in the bronze medal position after the first two of their four riders, Carl Hester and Maria Eilberg finished in the top 10.

Hester and Libeling II are in third place after scoring 71.277 per cent, while Eilberg and Two Sox are in ninth place with 69.362 per cent. The other two members of the team, Laura Bechtolsheimer on Mistral Hojris and Emma Hindle on Lancet compete today.

Dressage is historically the Cinderella discipline in equestrianism but the squad have been confident of medal delivery on home soil. They are only two per cent behind title defenders Germany, though Holland have taken their anticipated clear lead.

Despite numerous team appearances and national titles, Hester, 43, has never won a medal. He has been riding Liebling for just 10 months. "It suddenly fell to pieces last week and I panicked," Hester said. "Richard Davison [team trainer] simply said 'give the horse a few days off', which is not what you'd normally do on the eve of a championship. Clearly, it's worked."

The concurrent show jumping championships commence on Wednesday. The quartet who staved off Nations Cup relegation earlier this month at Dublin – Ben Maher, Tim Stockdale, Geoff Billington and Peter Charles – were confirmed as Britain's team following Tuesday's horse inspection.

Adam Freeman-Pask makes Sculling semi-final at World Rowing Championships

Britain’s lightweight sculler, Adam Freeman-Pask, made the semi-finals from his repechage on Tuesday, but is having a harder championships than expected.

First his sculling boat was run over, and then he was beaten in a race he would have hoped to win. His boat was accidentally damaged by Germany’s boatman, cycling past last week, and despite a perfect repair job being done, the incident has rattled him.

Iran’s new under-23 champion, Mohsen Shadi Naghadeh, overtook the Englishman deep into the repechage, balking him of a confidence-building win.

“I wanted to put some demons to rest there, which I didn’t quite do”, said Freeman-Pask “Now I’ve given myself a really hard job, going into the semi as one of the lowest-ranked scullers.”

Samantha Scowen and James Roberts have struggled to recover from Scowen’s knee injury. They booked the last place in the adaptive doubles final with second place in their repechage, but sadly their early-season speed has not returned and a medal is unlikely for this promising combination.

Wednesday’s group B repechages spell crunch time for the women’s quads and eight, their last chance to reach the final. Both should do it, but need convincing performances to be in the running for medals on Sunday.

Results

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (Poznan, Poland)
Repechages Group A & Adaptive events

Men
Lightweight singles (1st 2 to semi) Rep 1: 1 S Africa 7-33.47. Rep 2: 1 Japan 7-36.14. Rep 3: 1 Hungary 7-40.58. Rep 4: 1 Iran 7-34.17; 2 GB (A Freeman-Pask) 7-36.23.

Women
Lightweight singles (1st 3 to semi, rest to C final) Rep 1: 1 Denmark 8-35.77. Rep 2: 1 US 8-30.69; 6 GB (E Johnstone) 8-53.44.

Adaptive
Trunk/arms mixed doubles (1st 2 to final) Rep 1: 1 Poland 4-42.42. Rep 2: 1 Italy 4-46.42; 2 GB (J Roberts, S Scowen) 4-48.53.

Bloodgate: Tom Williams says Harlequins attempted cover-up after club doctor cut his mouth

Harlequins have been left reeling from bombshell revelations from Tom Williams, the player at the centre of the 'Bloodgate' scandal, who has claimed that the club’s doctor cut his lip to cover up the scam. The player claims he was then pressurised to lie by the club at the original disciplinary hearing.

Read full details of the Tom Williams 'Bloodgate' appeal hearing

Williams also claimed that the club effectively tried to limit the scope of his appeal with a lucrative compensation deal offered to him by the club chairman, Charles Jillings, which included a two-year extension to his contract, a testimonial, and a “three-year employment opportunity” at the club after his retirement.

In an explosive 38-page judgment released on Tuesday from the European Rugby Cup appeal hearing into the controversy, Williams said he had been cut by team doctor Wendy Chapman in an attempt to cover-up the use of a fake blood capsule in the Heineken Cup match against Leinster in April and later agreed to say he had cut his own lip to protect Chapman’s reputation.

Williams also revealed that he had been told to lie to the original hearing by former director of rugby, Dean Richards, who later resigned and received a three-year worldwide ban for his role in the deception and subsequent cover-up

Williams also said chief executive Mark Evans warned him that a “full disclosure” at the appeal hearing would “make life extremely difficult for him at the club".

The damning evidence will throw the club into chaos with kick-off to the Premiership campaign just 10 days away.

Williams’s testimony about the incident in the changing room as panic grew because Leinster immediately began questioning the authenticity of the blood injury makes for gruesome reading.

“I believe it was at this point that I asked Wendy to make the cut,” said Williams. “I cannot recall exactly what was said, but I do remember that she was not happy about it.

“We were both anxious and the atmosphere was extremely tense. I believe Wendy pulled down my lip and attempted to cut it with a scalpel.

"I think she may have had to leave the room to get the scalpel. I believe that I had rinsed my mouth before she cut it.

“Wendy was initially too gentle, and we needed to try again to open a cut. When she was successful, there was no need for stitches as it was a clean cut.

"She put a gauze on it and told me to apply pressure to the cut. It took a long time for the bleeding to stop.

“I would like to emphasize that, as far as I am concerned, Wendy was as much a victim in all this as me.

"I do not believe that she had any prior knowledge that the fake injury was going to take place and she was put in an extremely hostile and tense atmosphere alongside me in the physio room.”

The judgment said that Chapman’s evidence at the original hearing was “not consistent with this version of events” and as she was not present at the appeal hearing she has not had the opportunity to respond to the allegations that she cut Williams’s lip.

Caster Semenya's coach tells her 'you can do it man' before 800 metres final

South Africa's world champion athlete Caster Semenya declined to speak about the order for her to undergo gender tests, instead praised her coach as she addressed reporters alongside President Jacob Zuma.

"I called my coach and my coach told me 'you can do it, man'," she said. "You lead from start to finish. You can do it, girl," she added, recalling her coach's comments.

"I took a lead in the last 400 and I killed them. They couldn't follow the race. It was good man. I saw gold at the last 200."

The comments were the first time that the 18-year-old has spoken about her gold medal at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin last week, where she powered to a 1minute 55.45seconds win in the 800 metres - the world's best this year.

Shortly before the race, world athletics governing body, the IAAF, announced that Semenya would undergo tests to verify her gender, sparking an outcry in South Africa and feeding a debate about what makes a woman a woman.

Athletics South Africa again denied criticism that it failed to prevent the global controversy by quashing any doubts about her gender ahead of the competition.

"Athletics South Africa, we did not have any information that people are doubting," ASA president Leonard Chuene told journalists.

South Africans have rallied behind Semenya in a national show of support. Her arrival was broadcast live on television, while police made special traffic arrangements around the airport to accommodate the crowds.

Women wearing brightly coloured traditional dress typical of her region in rural Limpopo province blew horns and waved South African flags as she entered the airport.

Semenya arrived along with fellow gold medalist Mbulaeni Mulaudzi, long jump silver medalist Khotso Mokoena, who will later meet President Jacob Zuma in Pretoria, where the athletes will parade through the streets.

Caster Semenya greeted by Jacob Zuma after wading into gender controversy

South African President Jacob Zuma has denounced the athletics world governing body's handling of gender tests for track champion Caster Semenya, but the runner stayed focused on her gold medal and refused to wade into the debate.

Semenya met Zuma after receiving a rapturous welcome at the Johannesburg airport, where thousands of people sang and danced in the corridors to welcome her back from the World Athletics Championships.

The 18 year-old powered to a 1minute 55.45seconds win in the 800 metres - the world's best this year - in Berlin last week, but shortly before the race the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced that she would have to undergo tests to verify her gender.

"It is one thing to seek to ascertain whether or not an athlete has an unfair advantage over others, but it is another to publicly humiliate an honest, professional and competent athlete," Zuma said.

"We wish to register our displeasure at the manner in which Ms Semenya has been treated," Zuma told reporters, as the athlete sat nearby.

He said sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile had written to the IAAF to express the government's concern.

But Semenya declined to speak about the controversy, instead praising her coach and reveling in her victory.

"I called my coach and my coach told me 'you can do it, man'," she said. "You lead from start to finish. You can do it, girl," she added, recalling her coach's comments.

"I took a lead in the last 400 and I killed them. They couldn't follow the race. It was good man. I saw gold at the last 200," she said, smiling as she spoke.

The gold medalist's deep voice has raised questions about her gender her entire life, according to her family.

But the IAAF says it was her rapid speed gains this year that prompted the gender test, which will take weeks to complete and include physical, medical, and psychological examinations.

Semenya's electric performance stunned sports-mad South Africans into an outpouring of national pride after the country's dismal summer Olympics performance of just one silver medal in Beijing last year.

The gender-testing debate sparked outrage here, with the ruling party and its youth and women's wings calling the tests "sexist and racist".

Semenya's return was broadcast live on television, while The Times newspaper ran a wrap-around souvenir poster headlined "Welcome home Caster, our champ" with a life-sized portrait of her.

At the airport, supporters waved home-made placards which read "Our first lady of sport" and "100 percent female woman", cheering her and her gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.

"Caster is a girl...I am not worried about that too much. Caster is like my child. I know where she comes from. For myself, I know Caster is a girl," her uncle Ben Semenya said at the airport.

"I think it was unfair," said Amo Moroka, a physician who was among the crowd.

"On the date of her final, that is when they decided to test her. There were midwives and parents that raised her. They are undermining South Africa as a country," the doctor said.

The furore has seen countless debates over often grey areas of gender, chromosomes and hormones, and what makes a woman a woman, in a debacle which has overshadowed one of the best performances by a South African athlete in recent years.

"At the end of the day she is our hero. She is our African girl and we do not need to question that," said Michael Masdmola from Limpopo, cheering at the airport.

World champion Usain Bolt to race 100m in China after Berlin exploits

Usain Bolt, the Jamaican triple Olympic and world champion, will return to China next month for a 100 metres race in Shanghai.

The race on Sep 20 will be Bolt's first in Asia since his triumphant Beijing Olympics, his agent Ricky Simms said.

The 23-year-old is also considering a sprint race on Sept 25 in Daegu, South Korea. The city will host the next world athletics championships in 2011.

A book deal on Bolt's dramatic rise to become the world's top sprinter also is being finalised, Simms said.

"We have been in negotiations for a long time and I think it is almost coming to a conclusion," the agent said.

Still under discussion is the focus of the book. It could encompass Bolt's entire life or just his success in recent years.

"There may be a couple of books," Simms said.

Bolt sprinted to triple gold in the Beijing Olympics with world record performances in the 100 and 200 metres and 4x100 metres relay. He nearly duplicated the showing at the recently completed world championships in Berlin.

The lanky Jamaican lowered his world record in the 100 metres to 9.58 seconds and his 200 mark to 19.19 seconds with dramatic runs on the blue Berlin track. He also helped Jamaica take the gold in the 4x100 metres relay.

Bolt will complete his European season with races in Zurich and Brussels in the coming days. He will face countryman and former world record holder Asafa Powell over 100 metres in Zurich on Friday.

The distance remains to determined for his race on Sept. 4 in Brussels, where is scheduled to meet American Tyson Gay, Simms said.