Lim wins Euro badminton title
DEN BOSCH, The Netherlands (AFP): Lim Xiaoqing, who left China five years ago to live in Sweden, became the first singles champion of Asian origin when she won the European badminton title here yesterday.
The left-handed Lim triumphed 11-5, 12-9 against surprise finalist and compatriot Catrine Bengtsson in a contest of doubles experts.
Lim, who left her country of origin after the Tiananmen Square riots, had been favorite to take the title last time two years ago in Glasgow, but managed only to win the women's doubles.
This time, however, she was in better physical shape than before, and despite some unforced errors in the second game, she always posed a major threat with wristy round-the-head smashes or fast sliced drops.
That completed victory and a little piece of badminton history, and later there was a little more when Andrei Antropov and Nicolai Zuev became the first Russians to contest a European final.
In a nervy final full of short, fast rallies the Russians were beaten 18-16, 15-4 by the hard-hitting Englishmen Chris Hunt and Simon Archer.
W. Cup to review security forms
NEW YORK (Reuter): World Cup organizers are reviewing a controversial move to try and probe the backgrounds of reporters seeking accreditation.
"The whole thing is under review," said World Cup senior press officer John Griffin on Friday.
"It will be reviewed by our people in Los Angeles, to what extent I don't know."
The media has been asked to sign waivers authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and all state and local U.S. law enforcement agencies to release criminal histories and records to World Cup officials.
The move has been widely attacked.
Major U.S. newspapers have slammed World Cup officials. The New York Times declared it was "aghast".
"It strikes us as the grossest invasion of the personal privacy of the journalists," the Times said in a letter sent to World Cup USA 1994 chairman Alan Rothenberg.
"To carry on their livelihood, members of the media should not be required to yield their civil rights."
Maradona wants to be a coach
SANTA ROSA, Argentina (AFP): Diego Maradona would like to become Argentina's national football coach when his playing career is finally over.
Maradona, who is fighting for a place in Argentina's World Cup squad, gave no details of his ambition, saying only that it was something he wanted to do "one day."
The former national skipper, who is in Argentina's squad for a friendly against Morocco next Wednesday, was optimistic about his chances of playing in the cup finals in America.
He has been included in Argentina's squad for their World Cup friendly against Morocco next Wednesday.
Coach Alfio Basile has included the former skipper in a 19-man squad for the game in the northern city of Salta -- but will make him take a fitness test.
Maradona, who has not played since ending his contract with Argentine league club Newell's Old Boys last December, said he felt he has made excellent progress on his way back to match fitness.
World snooker c'ship results
SHEFFIELD, England, April 17 (AFP) - Results from the snooker world championship here on Saturday night: 1st round: Stephen Hendry (Scot) bt Surinder Gill (Eng) 10-1. Frame scores (Hendry first): 81-14, 100(100)-0, 68-65, 81-26, 65-38, 35-73, 70-22, 120 (120)-0, 58-37, 74-56, 73-5. Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) bt Denis Taylor (N. Ire) 10-6. Frame scores (O'Sullivan first): 85-14, 101-7, 82-1, 9-64, 53-77, 73- 47, 34-77, 58-73, 69-18, 9-70, 86-46, 75-0, 64-53, 101-6, 16-75, 94-17.
Mourning fined after fight
NEW YORK (AFP): Charlotte's Alonzo Mourning was suspended for one game and fined US$7,500 Saturday for starting a fight with Chicago center Luc Longley during a game.
Longley, the first Australian ever to play in the National Basketball Association, was fined $4,500 for retaliating. Both players were ejected for fighting in the third quarter of Friday night's game.
Chicago went on for their 10th straight victory, beating the host Hornets 88-85 on B.J. Armstrong's 3-point shot with 4.5 seconds to play.
Mourning had 11 points, six rebounds and four blocks when he and Longley were ejected after throwing punches at each other.
Mourning jeopardized his team's bid for a playoff berth. He will be sidelined Sunday (this morning in Jakarta's time) when the Hornets play New York.
The Hornets, who had won five in a row, are chasing Miami for an NBA playoff berth as the season enters its final week. Charlotte trails by 2.5 games with five games remaining.
Holyfield, Lewis fight arranged
NEW YORK (AFP): America's Evander Holyfield and Britain's Lennox Lewis will meet in November in a world heavyweight title unification bout, a newspaper report said Saturday.
The New York Times reported an agreement has been reached but final details have not been concluded. The report said the fight would be announced after each champion completes an upcoming title defense.
Holyfield will defend his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles against Michael Moorer next Friday in Las Vegas.
Lewis will defend the WBC crown against Phil Jackson in Atlantic City on May 9 and face challenger Oliver McCall in July or August.
No more Magic for hapless Lakers
INGLEWOOD, California (AFP): Basketball legend Magic Johnson has quit his short-lived coaching career to devote himself to his family and business interests.
He announced the decision as his team were beaten 105-100 at Portland on Friday night and missed all chance of a place in the National Basketball Association play-offs.
"Now I want to get away and do the things I didn't get a chance to do," said the 34-year-old Johnson.
"It's never been my dream to coach", added Johnson, whose glittering playing career with the Lakers was cut short by the announcement in November 1991 that he had contracted the AIDS virus, HIV.
But he insisted that his decision to quit after only 11 matches had nothing to do with his health.
Mali soccer squad get rewards
BAMAKO (Reuter): Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare on Thursday rewarded the country's national soccer squad, The Eagles, for gaining fourth place in the African Nations Cup.
State television said Konare gave each of the 22-man squad a lease on a building plot and made the team's trainer an officer of the National Order of Merit.
The Eagles were beaten 3-1 in the match between the losing semifinalists by Ivory Coast's Elephants last Sunday in Tunisia. Ivory Coast gave each member of its squad a one million CFA franc (US$1,700) handshake.
The Nigerian team, who beat Zambia 2-1 in the final, each received a three-bedroomed flat and the equivalent in dollars and local currency of $17,400 from military ruler Sani Abacha.