While Saudia Arabia twiddles its thumbs wondering if it should send a contingent of female athletes to the London Olympics (or if they should allow female sports teams at all!), the United Arab Emirates has decided to take London by force. The UAE will be sending some of their strongest women to England this July, as their female weightlifting team has qualified for the 2012 Summer Games. They actually qualified for only one slot, so they will have to decide which of their individual competitors they will send. But how will they decide? An arm wrestling showdown perhaps? An 80's music trivia challenge? A game of Hungry, Hungry Hippos? I guess this is for greater minds to decide. Congrats to the Lady Lifters of the Desert!

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Could it be that "The Executioner" has now been reduced to "Dead Man Walking?!" Say it ain't so BHop! The ageless Bernard Hopkins went down in defeat this past Saturday to Chad Dawson in a celebrated rematch. Hopkins lost a 12 round majority decision. The 47-year-old Hopkins had already set a world record for oldest belt-holder last year, but it was clear to most onlookers on Saturday night that he was hardly a threat to Dawson, who is no spring chicken himself at the age of 29. After the fight, Dawson spouted the usual blah, blah, blah about BHop being a dirty fighter, but he ultimately gave the man his due as a great champion.

But, now, Hopkins needs to see if he has any mojo left in the tank. It seems to me that the age of 50 is just too big and juicy a number for Bernard to ignore. So perhaps he could rest for a bit, and then schedule one or two fights tops before calling it a career after a half century on this earth. At least, that's what I'll tell him if I happen to bump into him anywhere. Either way, a salute, and a salaam, to the pugilistic brother from Philly.

Athlete Tag: Bernard Hopkins

LAHORE: Britain has denied the baby son of Pakistan’s jailed former captain Salman Butt a visa, crushing the family’s hopes of visiting him behind bars, his father said Tuesday..

Story Cited From: http://www.timesofummah.com/2012/03/14/jailed-salman-butts-baby-refused-british-visa/

Athlete Tag: Salman Butt

LONDON: Lamont Peterson has declared himself “ready to die” in the ring to keep his belts when he meets Britain’s Amir Khan in a Las Vegas title rematch on May 19.  \nThe American, who took Khan’s WBA super-lightweight and IBF light-welterweight belts in a controversial split points decision in Washington last December, told a televised news conference on Tuesday that he was training already...

Story Cited From: http://www.timesofummah.com/2012/03/14/peterson-ready-to-die-in-ring-rematch-with-amir-khan/

Athlete Tag: Amir Khan

The World Squash Federation has stepped in to back a Canadian initiative to boost squash development in Africa ...

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ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh promised Saturday to work towards bringing international cricket back to Pakistan after a three-year hiatus, kicking off a visit to assess security for a proposed series in April.\n“We will work hand in hand to convince our other colleagues there in the ICC (International Cricket Council) to bring back cricket to Pakistan at the earliest,” said Mustafa Kamal, chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).\nHe spoke to reporters in Islamabad, beginning a visit to assess security for Bangladesh’s proposed tour to Pakistan three years to the day after attacks on Sri Lankan players saw international cricket suspended in the troubled country.\nThe nine-member Bangladesh delegation held talks with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and is to tour facilities in Lahore and Karachi, before returning home on March 5 to submit a report for approval to the government in Dhaka...

Story Cited From: www.TimesofUmmah.com

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Former Australian batsman Dav Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to World Cup glory, arrived in Pakistan to sign a contract as the new coach of the national team, an official said Friday.

Story Cited From: www.Vcricket.com

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Former light heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Bernard Hopkins, vows not to retire despite losing his belt in controversial fashion to challenger Chad Dawson on Saturday night. Los Angeles was the setting of this two round debacle in which referee Pat Russell ruled that there was no foul when Dawson dumped Hopkins to the canvas. Dawson claimed that Hopkins was leaning on him and that he was simply moving Hopkins off of him. But Hopkins landed awkwardly on his shoulder and was unable to continue for the first time in his career.

Just ten days after winning the US Open, Egypt's Amr Shabana suffered one of the biggest shocks of his illustrious career when he went down in straight games to unseeded Swiss opponent Nicolas Mueller in the first round of the Qatar Classic ...

Story Cited From: http://www.worldsquash.org/ws/?p=6489

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Junior welterweight boxing champion of the world Amir Khan recently addressed over 700 people at Islamic Help’s charity dinner at the Hilton London Metropole.

Having returned recently from a visit to the White House, Amir was intent on making a difference and to contributing to ease the plight of those caught in the worst drought to have hit the region in over 60 years.

When addressing guests last week he spoke of his passion for the cause and how moved he had been “I wanted to give something back and that is the reason we all got together and joined Islamic Help and thought about having this charity event”.

Over £80,000 was raised during the evening and a pair of Amir’s boxing gloves was auctioned for a staggering £7500; a Team Khan T-shirt and Khan–Judah fight poster raised £825 and £750 respectively. Zaheer Khan, Head of Fundraising at Islamic Help was overwhelmed by the response to the event – “We knew that by bringing in a big name and someone as popular as Amir we would have a great response but we have been taken aback!. Amir’s a great guy and a brilliant ambassador for the sport, the country and Muslims worldwide – we’re honoured to have worked with him to raise money for such a cause.”

The Horn of Africa Crisis is, according to the United Nations, set to worsen over the coming months and as many as 750,000 people may lose their lives. The UN has recently declared a famine in Bay, the sixth area in Somalia to have been declared a famine zone.

Inside the boxing ring, it is looking more and more like Khan will be defending his title belts against Lamont Peterson, likely in December, with an eye towards possibly facing Floyd Mayweather, Jr. after that.

Athlete Tag: Amir Khan

Former world number one women’s tennis player Dinara Safina has “no chance” of making a comeback from her back injury and will soon announce her retirement, according to big brother Marat Safin.

Safina, 25, has not played since early May because of persistent low back pain. She announced in August that she would not play again this year."I don't know how long my time out is going to last because I don't want to torture myself and my body anymore," Dinara announced at that time.

But brother Marat said she had quit for good."If you recall, Dinara first suffered the injury in Beijing two years ago," the former men's world number one was quoted as saying on Saturday by Russian media. "She had tried several times to make a comeback but it only caused her more problems.

"Now she must think of herself, not if she could play again, but just to live a normal life. She must continue with her therapy, but would not be able to play again. She will make an official announcement, but being her brother, I think she has no chance at all of making a comeback."

Athlete Tag: Dinara Safina

Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi formed a triumphant pairing with Oliver Marach of Austria to go on to win the Thailand Open men’s doubles tennis tournament this past weekend. Qureshi and Marach defeated the German pair of Michael Coleman and Alexander Waske to clinch the title. The final score was 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

Qureshi and Marach were the top seeded team in the tournament, and they gathered enough momentum to lose only one set during the entire tournament. Qureshi said winning in Thailand was a great experience and he expressed solidarity with the flood victims of Pakistan and Thailand.

“I feel very excited and great. Oliver is a great player. He’s been in the Top Ten for so many years. It’s my pleasure playing with him this week. I love coming back to Thailand, where I won Futures and Challengers also,” he told the official website of the Thailand Open.

“On behalf of myself and the Pakistanis at home, we all support the flood victims because Pakistan has been hit by floods as well as Thailand. I wish all the Thai people and the country all the patience and courage to overcome the natural disaster,” he added.

Qureshi is by all accounts still expected to return to playing with his regular doubles partner, India’s Rohan Bopanna, with whom he has formed the celebrated pairing dubbed “The Indo-Pak Express.”

Athlete Tag: Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi

British-Pakistani boxer Haroon Khan has been told by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) that he cannot represent Pakistan in international competition. Khan’s father, Shah Khan, told the BBC that they intend to appeal the decision which, if supported, would prevent Haroon from representing Pakistan at the 2012 Olympics in London.

Khan, age 20, is the younger brother of WBA and IBF light welterweight boxing world champion Amir Khan. Their father told BBC Radio Manchester, “The Pakistan boxing federation got an email that Haroon can't represent them as he represented England as a youth. We sent letters out to AIBA and we're hoping that they'll accept all this."

Haroon Khan was originally scheduled to represent Pakistan in the upcoming World Boxing Championships in Azerbaijan, which act as an Olympic qualifying even. Khan represented England as a youth in 2009. He initially hoped to box for England in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, but after being overlooked, opted instead to fight for Pakistan, and won a bronze medal.

"Their rulings say when a boxer becomes a national in more than one country then he has decided which country he wants to represent," Shah Khan added. “He became a national of Pakistan in 2010, now that was after he'd boxed for England. Then he decided he wanted to box for Pakistan, which he did in the Commonwealth games, where he won a bronze medal. If you go by that rule he did decide to box for Pakistan so he should be entitled to box for Pakistan. There is another qualifier in February and we're keeping our fingers crossed he'll be going there."

Athlete Tag: Haroon Khan

Senegalese footballer Birahim Diop welcomed a new Muslim teammate to Sporting Kansas this season with the arrival of heralded striker Soony Saad. But Diop himself has been in Major League Soccer (MLS) for three seasons now. He originally began his career in Senegal with US Rail de Thiès. In one year at the club he appeared in 25 matches scoring 15 goals. He then went on to ASC Jeanne d'Arc and scored 12 goals and added 7 assists in his one year at the club.

In 2001 Diop moved to the United States and joined the New York/New Jersey MetroStars reserve squad. He then impressed the coaching brass to move up to the senior squad appearing in 4 league matches in 2002. Following his stay in New York, Diop moved to Colombian side Deportivo Pereira, before being re-united once again with his former coach in New York Octavio Zambrano at CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol in Moldova. In his first season with CS Tiligul-Tiras Tiraspol Diop appeared in 15 league matches and scored 3 goals playing as a holding midfielder. In 2008 Diop returned to the U.S. and played for FDR United in New York City's amateur leagues, scoring 19 goals in 25 matches.

On March 17, 2010, Diop joined the Kansas City Wizards, as an addition to their midfield. Diop was reunited with coach Octavio Zambrano once again, as he was now an assistant coach for Kansas City. Diop scored his first two MLS goals on August 21, 2010 in a 4-1 victory over the New England Revolution. Diop than recorded the first hat trick of his career on October 23, 2010 in a 4-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes. Diop enjoyed his best year in Major League soccer in 2010 with the Kansas City Wizards appearing in 14 league matches and scoring 5 goals.

This season, the 22 year old midfielder has yet to score a goal in 18 games played with Kansas City. He has, however, started eight games, and has recorded an assist. At 6’3” and 175 pounds, Diop is an imposing figure in the Sporting Kansas City midfield. And as a result of his size he often plays as a striker. But with Soony Saad part of the strikeforce nowadays, he and Diop could have the makings of quite a scoring pair moving forward.

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Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott and Sachin Tendulkar battle for Cricketer of the Year award

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Diego Maradona discusses Al Wasl club's play prospects for the season

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Al Ahli coach pleased with pre-season preps despite loss to Qatar champions Lekhwiya

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Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat in the second One Day International at Harare Sports Club here on Sunday.

Story Cited From: http://www.vcricket.com/rss/Pakistan/index.xml

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He will face either defending champion Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray in Monday's final

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Al Jahouri completed the 160-km championship ride in 8 hrs, 38 mins, 10 secs

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Al Wahda fully deserved the win though they missed a penalty during full time and lost a 1-0 lead to trail 2-1 before they leveled scores and clinched the etisalat Super Cup in the sudden death

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Egypt beat China in Shaikh Rashid International Championships

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UAE;s leading representative in global circuit motor sport is confident of results

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Twitter photo sends signal that Gyan will bolster 2003 Asian Champions League winners' firepower

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And eventually it will be time for yet another coach to come and take over

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The former Koln skipper had a lot of tongues wagging earlier this summer

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Misfir replaces Slovenian Srecko Katanec whose contract was terminated by the UAE FA following the team's shock 3-1 loss to Lebanon in a 2014 World Cup qualifier last Tuesday

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Johnson's men need late youngs try to beat Argentina after rare off day for wilkinson

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Football legend has not seen national team since World Cup 2010 loss to Germany

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Australia lead by 237 runs in first innings

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