Magnificent Mexico Guerreros Complete Historic WSB Quarter-Final Victory Over Azerbaijan Baku Fires

Mexico Guerreros knocked out Azerbaijan Baku Fires in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) quarter-final stages with a 6-4 aggregate victory in Guba, Azerbaijan.

After defeating Azerbaijan 4-1 in the first leg, Mexico began the action on the second night knowing they only needed to win two matches to qualify for the semi-finals, and eliminate the Season IV finalists away from home.

At the end of five engrossing bouts, the Baku Fires won the leg 3-2, but due to the two Mexican victories it was the South American Franchise who won the right to meet defending WSB Champions Cuba Domadores in the semi-finals.

The night began with a win for Azerbaijan at Flyweight (52 kg) where 4-1 Murad Rabadanov widely outpointed Mexico’s Orlando Huitzil Ahuatl.

Rabadanov was sharp from the opening moments of the bout, and exhibited both a tight defence and adventurous attacks which resulted in all three judges awarding him every round of the fight.

Mexican Lightweight (60 kg) Lindolfo Delgado claimed his fifth victory of the season, and a valuable first triumph in the second leg for his team, with a points victory over 1-1 Nasraddin Mammadov.

Delgado is an incredibly resilient boxer with a terrific work ethic, but he was made to work hard in every minute of this fight by the talented Mammadov, who is a very intriguing prospect.

Rasul Saliev (Azerbaijan Baku Fires) vs Joselito Velázquez Altamirano (Mexico Guerreros) QF Leg 1

Although he lost the first two rounds, Delgado regrouped and controlled the rest of the action to claim a unanimous points win.

Welterweight (69 kg) Héctor Andrés Reyes Anguiano sealed Mexico’s qualification as they built up an unassailable lead following his stoppage of Baku Fires debutant Orkhan Khasmammadov.

Despite losing the quarter-final after that clash, Azerbaijan continued to compete in the spirited fashion that has defined their WSB tenure, and they evened up the scoring in the second leg at Light heavyweight (81 kg) when Mikhail Dauhaliavets narrowly subjected Ecuador’s Carlos Mina to his first defeat of the season.

This was the most evenly matched fight in Guba, but the overall experience of Dauhaliavets was just enough to outshine the talented Mina by just one point on all three scorecards.

The Baku Fires claimed the second leg win with a dominant Super heavyweight (91+ kg) performance from 3-1 Haji Murtuzaliyev against 2-4 Edgar Ramirez.

ELMEC PARTNERS WITH WORLD ROWING TO FIND SUSTAINABLE IT SOLUTIONS

FISA, the World Rowing Federation, is proud to announce its new partnership with Elmec Informatica S.p.A. Based in Varese, Italy, the company is a provider of IT services and solutions.

Elmec has been a local partner of the last three World Rowing regattas staged in Varese: the 2014 World Rowing Under 23 Championships, the 2013 World Rowing Masters Regatta and the 2012 European Rowing Championships. The company has helped the organising committee reduce the environmental impact of each regatta.

“This new partnership both supports and complements FISA’s own environmental initiatives and on-going partnership for Clean Water with WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature,” says FISA Executive Director Matt Smith.

Acting as World Rowing’s IT Partner, Elmec will assist FISA in the sustainable development, promotion and organisation of the sport of rowing on a local and global basis. This will be achieved through the provision of consultancy services and state-of-the-art video conferencing and other IT equipment to help improve the efficiency of long-distance communications with its local organising committees and executive team, and reduce FISA’s environmental footprint.

“Based in Varese, also the home of one of rowing’s most beautiful rowing lakes, we place great value on protecting our environment,” says Alessandro Ballerio, Partner of Elmec S.p.A. “Our mission is to help other enterprises do the same, so that whatever their industry or purpose, their own footprint is minimised. Through our partnership with World Rowing, we will help to improve the efficiency of their global communications and event management operations. Elmec is proud to be the Sustainable IT Partner of World Rowing.”

“We have come to know and appreciate the good work done by Elmec over three World Rowing regattas in Varese,” says Smith. “Elmec’s name and logo will be seen on televised banners at all our World Rowing regattas and together, we will prepare a ‘living’ case study to explain and show how their knowledge and experience can also help other sports to reduce their impact on the environment.”

Hosts Botswana And Mozambique Continue With Victories At Zone 6 All Africa Games Qualifier

Botswana and Mozambique Men and Women teams continued their winning rhythm at All Africa Games Zone 6 qualifiers held at the legendary Ditshupo Hall in Botswana on Wednesday to come closer to clinch the zonal tickets to All Africa Games finals in Congo Brazzaville from 4-19 September, 2015.

In the men’s side Mozambique overwhelmed Zambia 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23) to improve their win- loss ratio to 2-0.

Botswana went also to clean sheet after they topped Zimbabwe 3-1 (26-28, 25-25, 25-23, 25-19) to improve to 2-0.

Botswana men team

In the women’s side Mozambique cruised past Zambia 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-19) to improve their record to 2-0, while Botswana fought aggressively to beat Zimbabwe 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14) as they also went to 2-0.

In the third and final day of the round robin competition on Thursday, Zimbabwe women take on their Zambian counterparts at 12noon, followed by the same countries’ men’s teams squaring up at 14:00. Botswana women will conclude their tournament against Mozambique for the top two positions at 16:00 while the same teams meet at 18:00 on the men’s side final.

Mozambique women team

The top 2 teams in each category confirm their qualification to All Africa Games.

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FEI Tribunal Dismisses UAE Request To Lift Suspension

The FEI Tribunal has dismissed a request from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Federation for an interim lifting of its suspension from the FEI. The Tribunal’s decision means that the suspension remains in force pending the final outcome of the formal appeal by the UAE National Federation against the suspension.

The FEI Bureau provisionally suspended the UAE National Federation on 12 March 2015 for an indeterminate period following an investigation by the FEI into major horse welfare issues and non-compliance with FEI Rules and Regulations in the discipline of Endurance.

The request for interim relief prior to a full hearing was considered by a three-member FEI Tribunal panel made up of Henrik Arle (FIN), who chaired the panel, Erik Elstad (NOR) and Pierre Ketterer (FRA). The full merits of the case will be heard by the same Tribunal panel at a later date.

In its decision, which has been published on the FEI website today, the FEI Tribunal stated that it had “taken note of the FEI’s argument that the FEI Bureau Decision had been taken primarily on horse welfare grounds, due to consistent rule breaching by the Appellant, the effects of which was jeopardising horse welfare . . . The Tribunal therefore finds that the Appellant’s interest in having the suspension lifted does not outweigh the FEI’s interest in protecting horse welfare.”

The FEI Tribunal also ruled that the FEI Headquarters should continue to issue passports for non-Endurance horses from the UAE. This followed a request from the UAE National Federation to be allowed to issue horse passports for non-Endurance horses.

Rwanda Crowned Zone 5 Champions To Book All Africa Games Tickets

Rwanda Men’s Volleyball team confirmed their qualification tickets for the 2015 All Africa Games to be held in Congo Brazzaville from 4-19 September after they finished Sub Zone 5 qualifiers in Rwanda at the top position.

Rwanda will be joined by another qualifier from the other sub zone 5 tournament which is running now in Ethiopia.

This is the second time for Rwanda to qualify for All Africa Games after beating Kenya for the final game in 2011 but rivals Kenya went to revenge for the third position in Mozambique by 3-2 and Rwanda finished on fourth position behind Cameroon, Algeria and Kenya.

Kenyan team

The emerging Rwandan team beat giants Kenya 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-27, 15-7) in the third and final day of the round robin tournament which features also the participation of Burundi and Uganda. The victory improved the Rwandan win- loss ratio to 3-0 with 7 points as the Kenyans gained the same points from a 2-1 win- loss record.

Rwanda won their first match against Uganda also 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-13) and the second against Burundi 3-0 (25 -14, 25-20, 25-18) to clinch the top position of the podium. Burundi finished in the third position with 1-2 record and 3 points, leaving Uganda at the bottom of the table with a single point.

The win gave Rwanda the ticket to the All Africa Games and for the Kenya-born coach Bitok was not only happy with his team’s win and qualification but the fact that he beat his compatriots, who are handled by another ex-Kenyan international Geoffrey Omondi.

Huge turn out of Spectators

“It was a good game to watch for the fans, we are really happy to have achieved our goal to qualify, but we still have work to do for the All Africa Games,” Bitok said, adding that, “we needed to win that game, because it was one of the biggest games for us. It used to be hard game against Kenya and we have to look ahead of us to work for the upcoming competitions,” with three wins against Uganda, Burundi and Kenya, Rwanda qualify for All Africa.

Kenya started strongly and won opening set 25-17 but Rwanda shown the strong character to the Kenyans after winning the two consecutive sets, 25-18 and 25-22 as both Lawrence Yakan Guma and Olivier Ntagengwa dominated with spikes and services, while Fred Musoni and Vincent ‘Gasongo’ Dusabimana did great work with blocks to lead Rwanda to the opening two sets, it was hard to Kenyans to get the ball down as Flavien Ndamukunda and Libero Bosco Mutabazi did great job in defense.

Kenya came back to win the fourth set 27-25, Kenya’s recovery was led by Chemos Michel and Marua Denis powerful spikes. But it was Bitok’s side, which came on top in the decisive fifth set 15-7. This is the third consecutive win for Bitok against his nation after beating them in 2011 and 2014.

Ugandan team

Kenya played without their best player Fillip Maiyo while Rwanda was without inspiration captain Christophe Mukunzi who is still recovering from arm injury and center player Theodore Muyango.

This is second team qualified for the All Africa Games for the Rwanda Volleyball Federation after Flavien Ndamukunda and Olivier Ntagengwa got the qualification last month in Beach Volleyball which was held in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam.

The final day was attended by government officials among them the Honorable President of Senate, Honorable Minister of Culture and Sport, President of National Olympic Committee, the Director of Sports and the National federation members.

Best Players

Rwanda scooped the most number of awards four in total, skipper Lawrence Guma Yakan walked away with the most valuable award.

Flavien Ndamukunda was the best server, Ivan Mahoro Nsabimana best setter and Vincent Dusabimana was best blocker.

Ugandan born George Aporu went with best receiver, the Kenyan duo of Michael Chemos and Peter Kabati took home the best spiker and best Libero while Bosco Ngezahimana aka Rwarutabura awarded as best supporter.

Team Rwanda

Results
Match 1 BURUNDI VS KENYA 0-3 (14-25, 13-25, 20-25)
Match 2 UGANDA VS RWANDA 2-3 (25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 15-25, 13-15)
Match 3 UGANDA vs KENYA 0-3 (22-25, 20-25, 18-25)
Match 4 RWANDA vs BURUNDI 3-0 (25 -14, 25-20, 25-18)
Match 5 UGANDA vs BURUNDI 1-3 (25 -23, 19-25, 23-25, 18-25)
Match 6 KENYA vs RWANDA 2-3 (25-17, 22-25, 18-25, 27-25, 7-15)

Final Ranking
1. Rwanda: 3-0, 7 pts
2. Kenya: 2-1, 7 pts
3. Burundi: 1-2, 3 pts
4. Uganda: 0-3 zero win

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Peter Kamasa

300 Athletes Listed For Lagos International Taekwondo Classics

300 athletes drawn from Niger Republic, Mali, Ghana and host of this year’s All Africa Games, Congo Brazzaville including Nigeria are at present jostling for honours at the Lagos International Taekwondo Classics holding at Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The taekwondists made of 212 male and 88 female will be aiming for the laurels at the N3.5m prize money three-day tournament organized by the Lagos State Taekwondo Association under the auspices of the Lagos Sports Classics and sanctioned by the Nigeria Taekwondo Federation (NTF).

For the President, NTF, George Ashiru, the classics has indeed helped the country especially in the poomsae event.

George Ashiru, President Nigeria Taekwondo Federation, NTF.

“Through the classics, we have made some headway in the poomsae event and we have won three gold medals at international tournament. This became possible through the efforts made by our national coach, Jim Beom Kim and this has fetched us three international gold medals. And this year has also ignited the interest of the athletes in Poomsae and this is a major plus to the classics. Despite the initial postponement, we still have the presence of teams from Mali, Niger Republic, Ghana and Congo Brazzaville. These teams are our possible contenders for medals at the 2015 All Africa Games and it is good that we can use this competition to assess them as well as tune up our athletes for the world championships holding in Russia,” Ashiru said.

The Commonwealth Taekwondo Union (CTU) Vice President explained that outstanding athletes from the classics would form the second tier of the national team.

Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015: Nine teams chasing points at fifth qualifier in Linz

The fifth qualifier of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 season will take place in Linz, Austria tomorrow, Friday 8 May, attracting a big field of 13 teams.

The starting order, which was determined by a draw held in Linz today, will be as follows:

1. Ukraine
2. ‎ Germany
3. Czech Republic
‎4. Poland
5. Slovakia
6. Bulgaria
7.‎ Luxembourg
‎8. Hungary
9. Russia
10. Lithuania
11. Turkey
12. Austria
13.‎ Finland

This is the first leg of the Europe Division 2 League, and the teams from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine will be eligible for Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping points. A total of 16 nations will compete in Europe Division 2 during the season, and two teams will qualify for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping 2015 Final which will take place in Barcelona, Spain from 24 to 27 September.

Friday’s competition will begin at 16.00 CEST (local time in Austria, GMT+2 hours) and will be broadcast live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official online video platform.

The FEI is providing a wide range of online information resources in connection with the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup™ Jumping.

Scott Brash Back At The Top Of The Longines Rankings

Scott Brash (GBR) is now back at the top of the Longines Rankings as world Jumping number one.

Brash, 29, the youngest member of the London 2012 Olympic Games gold medal winning British team, jumped into the lead of the Longines Rankings for the first time in his career in December 2013, and held on for an impressive 16 months.

Germany’s Daniel Deusser then managed to break this run last month, and headed to the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas (USA) to defend his title wearing the coveted Longines Rankings leader armband.

Brash now has a 143-point lead on second-placed Deusser, and the reigning Olympic champion Steve Guerdat (SUI) has now been catapulted into third place from ninth in the Longines Rankings after winning the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Las Vegas.

Scott Brash (GBR), pictured here at the Miami Beach 2015 CSI5* on Hello Sanctos, is back as world Jumping number one at the top of the Longines Rankings. (FEI/Amy Dragoo-arnd.nl).

Scott Brash in 2015

Brash, from Peebles in Scotland, is no stranger to success. After his Olympic début at London 2012, he went on to win team gold and individual bronze at the ECCO FEI European Jumping Championships in 2013.

In the same year, he became the youngest athlete to win the Longines Global Champions Tour, winning it again in 2014, and is currently top of the leaderboard for this year’s series.

With the FEI European Championships in Aachen (GER) now less than 100 days away on 11-23 August, Brash will be looking to be back on the individual podium and defending the British team title.

Longines Rankings Top 10:

1 Scott Brash (GBR) 2,834
2 Daniel Deusser (GER) 2,691
3 Steve Guerdat (SUI) 2,585
4 Kent Farrington (USA) 2,570
5 McClain Ward (USA) 2,480
6 Elizabeth Madden (USA) 2,465
7 Ludger Beerbaum (GER) 2,425
8 Maikel Van Der Vleuten (NED) 2,421
9 Kevin Staut (FRA) 2,400
10 Rolf-Göran Bengstsson (SWE) 2,369

Boxing Is Out Of SportAccord World Combat Games

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has decided to withdraw its participation in the SportAccord World Combat Games along with suspending its SportAccord membership following its AIBA Executive Committee’s decision of May 5, 2015.

The AIBA President, Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, said “We have aimed to create a clear identity for the sport of boxing in the past 8 years of my Presidency. Boxing is a Noble Art and a traditional Olympic sport and we feel that the participation in the World Combat Games challenges this identity among boxing fans”.

He also added that “It is with much regret that we suspend our membership with SportAccord with immediate effect. AIBA’s work is based on the Olympic values and it is the values of integrity and respect that we must protect first and foremost”.

AIBA had been a member of SportAccord since 1967 and had previously participated in SportAccord World Combat Games in Saint-Petersburg in 2013 and in Beijing in 2010.

FEI RuleApp Launched On Apple Store And Google Play

The FEI has launched the free FEI RuleApp, which gives access to the full official FEI rules and regulations.

The app, available now on the Apple Store and Google Play, allows users to easily view the latest FEI rules and regulations in a “virtual bookshelf” approach, both online and offline, on mobile devices.

Instant search and find

With the simple instant search feature embedded in the FEI RuleApp, users can immediately find exactly what they need by typing a few key words.

Getting organised

The FEI RuleApp has a host of additional features, including a share function for social applications, and the option to print pages for reference.

The app also has a handy bookmark feature, allowing users the opportunity to go back to specific parts of the FEI rules and regulations for quick reference.

Staying up-to-date

FEI RuleApp users will be kept up-to-date with any changes to the FEI rules and regulations with instant notifications, and thanks to automatic updates by the FEI, access to the very latest rules and regulations is guaranteed.

The FEI RuleApp is currently available in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Russian.

“The new FEI RuleApp is the latest of our stable of tailored apps for athletes, officials and our growing equestrian fan base,” explained Gaspard Dufour, FEI Head of IT. “All of our apps are designed to cater to specific needs, and the FEI RuleApp is perfect for everyone preparing for competition and on the ground at events with the helpful online and offline modes.”

Download the FEI RuleApp:

Apple Store https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fei-ruleapp/id982217322
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.fei.ruleapp

Azerbaijan Baku Fires Require At Least Four Victories In Second Quarter-Final Against Mexico Guerreros

After Mexico Guerreros claimed victory in the first leg of the quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory, World Series of Boxing (WSB) Season IV runners-up Azerbaijan Baku Fires begin the second leg knowing that they have to to win at least four bouts in this match to give themselves any chance of qualifying for the semi-finals.

Mexico require just two victories to take them through to the last four where they would meet defending Champions Cuba Domadores.

The second leg begins at Flyweight (52 kg) where 3-1 home star Murad Rabadanov meets Mexico’s Orlando Huitzil Ahuatl.

Week 13 Group B Weigh In Puerto Rico Hurricanes vs Azerbaijan Baku Fires

Rabadanov is a speedy and aggressive fighter who has won his last two matches in Guba, while Ahuatl has achieved success in four of his last five WSB bouts, and has the power advantage in this clash.

An excellent Lightweight (60 kg) contest follows between 1-0 Nasraddin Mammadov and 4-1 Lindolfo Delgado.

Mammadov replaced Albert Selimov in the Baku Fires team during the last round of the Regular Season, and won his opening contest against Argentina’s Brian Ivan Nunez.

He has a far tougher opponent in this fixture however, as the number five ranked Delgado is a points machine in this competition, with four victories coming via unanimous decision.

Delgado did lose his lone away match in Algeria however, which will give Mammadov confidence that he can assert his dominance in front of the Azeri crowd.

Orkhan Khasmammadov then makes his debut for Azerbaijan at Welterweight (69 kg) against tough Guerrero Héctor Andrés Reyes Anguiano.

Mikhail Dauhaliavets (Azerbaijan Baku Fires) vs Carlos Mina (Mexico Guerreros)

Perhaps the most entertaining bout of the evening will take place at Light heavyweight (81 kg) as two excellent boxers battle for team and individual glory.

After losing his first match of the season to Croatia’s Hrvoje Sep on points, WSB veteran Mikhail Dauhaliavets stopped Argentina’s Juan Gabriel Rizzo Patrón inside a round to show just why he is so feared in this competition.

Ecuador’s Carlos Mina has been superb for Mexico this season, with a flawless 3-0 record which includes a sensational away victory against two-time AIBA World Champion Julio Cesar De La Cruz in Cuba.

Both of these boxers are in impressive form heading into this fixture, and it will be very interesting to see if the power of Dauhaliavets or the composed boxing of Mina will prevail.

The last official bout of the evening will be at Super heavyweight (91+ kg) as 2-1 Haji Murtuzaliyev fights 2-3 Edgar Ramirez.

If there is a need for a tie-break bout at the end of the evening, it will be a Light flyweight (49 kg) contest between 1-0 Javid Dadashov and Mexico’s José Alejandro Burgos Ferrer.

LATEST FIFA/COCA-COLA WORLD RANKING May 2015

* There is no movement into the top ten and no country moved out of the top ten

* Russia made the biggest move by points (up 47 points)

* Suriname made the biggest move by ranks (up 14 ranks)

* Montenegro made the biggest drop by points (down 34 points)

* Mauritania made the biggest drop by rank (down 9 ranks)

FIFA

1 Germany 1687 points

2 Argentina 1494 points

3 Belgium 1457 points

4 Colombia 1412 points

5 Brazil 1372 points

6 Netherlands 1301 points

7 Portugal 1221 points

8 Uruguay 1176 points

9 Switzerland 1135 points

10 Spain 1132 points

11 France 1127 points

12 Romania 1086 points

13 Italy 1085 points

14 England 1030 points

15 Costa Rica 1016 points

16 Chile 1002 points

17 Croatia 977 points

18 Czech Republic 923 points

19 Slovakia 920 points

20 Algeria 917 points

Top Ten African teams in World Ranking;

1. Algeria (20) 917 pts

2. Côte d’Ivoire (23) 907 pts

3. Ghana (26) 833 pts

4. Tunisia (31) 793 pts

5. Senegal (36) 752 pts

6. Cape Verde (37) 737 pts

7. Guinea (41) 678 pts

8. Nigeria (45) 659 pts

9. Cameroon (48) 628 pts

10. Republic of Congo (49) 624 pts