Pedrosa claims first pole of season
BRNO (Czech Republic): Spanish Honda rider Dani Pedrosa clinched his first pole position of the season with the fastest time in qualifying on Saturday for the Czech Grand Prix. The 25-year-old, who had dominated both free practice sessions on Friday, clocked 1min 56.591sec to edge out Yamaha’s defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain by 0.113sec. Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda teammate Casey Stoner of Australia, the world championship leader, came in third after topping the last free practice on Saturday morning on a wet track that had dried by the qualifying session. Pedrosa’s performance comes on the back of winning the German MotoGp last month, completing a stunning comeback after he broke his right collarbone in the French MotoGp in May which saw him miss three races and ruin his chances of winning the world title. (Agencies)
Arsenal sign Costa teenager Campbell
LONDON: Arsenal agreed terms with Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa to sign teenage striker Joel Campbell on Friday, the English Premier League club announced on their official website. The 19-year-old, who was in the Costa Rica Copa America squad in Argentina and the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia, had been pursued by a host of European clubs. “Joel Campbell has already shown that he is a player with great ability, and has also performed well on the international stage at a young age,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. (Agencies)
Deysi, Olga lead in World Junior Chess
Chennai: With comfortable wins WGMs Cori T Deysi (Peru) and Girya Olga (Russia) built a huge two-point lead in the Girls section after the 11th round of the SDAT-RAMCO 50th World Junior and 29th Junior Girls Chess Championships here Saturday. The pair was followed by Padmini Rout (India), Nazi Paikidze, Keti Tsatsalasvili (both Georgia), Bulmaga Irina (Romania) and Dogodkina Julia (Russia) at 7.5 points. In the open section, Armenian Grandmaster Hovhannisyan Robert drew his game with Polish GM Swiercz Dariusz and maintained his lead with 9.0 points. (IANS)
