New Delhi: The disciplinary panel of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) Friday adjourned the hearing into the doping cases of quarter-milers Mandeep Kaur and Juana Murmu till July 20. Mandeep and Juana, who failed in out-of-competition tests of International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were represented by their advocates Sandeep Khatri and Rajat Bharadwaj. AFI had to adjourn the hearing as the documentation of the their A and B sample tests conducted by World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) were not available. “Their lawyers wanted the documentation of the samples. But since these reports were not available with us we had to adjourn the hearing. The documents couldn’t be done due to technical reasons. The hearing will held on July 20,” said M.L. Dogra, director of AFI. (IANS)
Rovers agree deal for Argentine Pavone
LONDON: Blackburn have agreed terms with Argentine striker Mariano Pavone, who will sign a three-year deal with the Premier League club during the weekend, the player’s agent said on Friday. Pavone, 29, who has played once for Argentina, will join Rovers on a free transfer after buying out the last year of his contract with Spanish side Real Betis. He spent last season on loan at River Plate, scoring eight goals in 18 appearances for the Argentine club including one in the second leg of their relegation playoff against Belgrano, which ended in a 1-1 draw after Pavone also missed a penalty. His British representative Barry McIntosh told Sky Sports: “Mariano is delighted to get his chance in English football.” (Agencies)
Sacked coach threatens Indonesian FA
JAKARTA: Sacked national coach Alfred Riedl said on Friday he would take the Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) to FIFA if it failed to pay him according to his contract. The Austrian, beloved to millions of football fans across the archipelago, said he was sacked without consultation by the new PSSI chairman on Wednesday. “Until now, no one from the PSSI has contacted me. This is very strange. I never saw these people,” Riedl said of the PSSI’s new leadership committee, elected recently after months of bitter political infighting. Riedl, whose contract ran until May next year, said he expected to “part with each other in a proper way”. “FIFA is the last option, of course,” Riedl said of the possibility he will have to seek redress with international football’s governing body. PSSI was close to being ejected from FIFA in May when it failed to elect a new leadership committee and overcome a fued over a breakaway league. (Agencies)
Chelsea ‘wonderkid’ signs new deal
LONDON: Chelsea’s teenage midfielder Josh McEachran signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League club on Friday. McEachran is regarded as one of the best prospects to emerge from Chelsea’s youth academy for years and many pundits expect him to play a significant role under new Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas. The 18-year-old was part of Chelsea’s FA Youth Cup-winning side in 2010 and has so far made 17 first-team appearances, including four starts. McEachran hopes to feature more often this season and told the club’s website: “I need to keep working. This season my target is just to play more minutes. Hopefully I will play more games and keep improving.” Meanwhile, McEachran’s fellow England Under-21 international Ryan Bertrand has agreed a new four-year contract with the Blues. Bertrand joined Chelsea from Gillingham in July 2005 and had loan spells with Norwich City, Reading and Nottingham Forest before making his Chelsea debut as a substitute against Birmingham City in April. (Agencies)