Sports Shorts: Indian cagers go down fighting to Asian champions Iran

India went down fighting after taking a surprise first-half lead over reigning continental and defending champions Iran in a Group A game of the 5th FIBA Asia Cup Basketball Championship in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday.

After leading in the first half by a dozen points at one stage, India conceded the advantage to Asian champions Iran, ranked 20th in the world, in the third quarter and then went down 49-62 to finish the five-team group with two wins and as many losses, according to FIBA Asia website.

Their only other loss was against Japan on the first day of competition.

India, who had ensured their berth in the quarter-finals on Monday by blanking bottom-placed Indonesia 91-55 after shocking hosts and former continental champions China 65-58, were powered in the main by 17 points from Amjyot Singh.

But a purple patch was struck by the duo of Arsalan Kazemi and Hamed Hadadi that helped Iran muster 18 points on the trot without reply from their rivals to overturn India's advantage in the third quarter.

Kazemi, who drew a blank in his two attempts in the first half, got seven of his 13 points in this period while Hadadi accounted for nine of his 16 points.

India, ranked 61st in the world and 11th in Asia and coached by American Scott Fleming, made it to the second stage of a FIBA Asia event after a long gap by riding on some superb play by their key player Vishesh Bhriguvanshi.

Raghuvanshi accounted for 16 points, five rebounds and as many assists and the others to lead the scoring chart were Prasanna Sivakumar (15 points) and Amjyot Singh (14).

NEXT: Fresh troubles for Pistorius, gets involved in night club altercation

South African Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius was involved in an argument at a night club over the weekend, local media reported on Tuesday, days after his lawyers wrapped up their defence in his murder trial.

The Star newspaper said Pistorius had an altercation with businessman Jared Mortimer at a club in Johannesburg's upmarket Sandton business district, reportedly after the athlete made disparaging comments about Mortimer's friends.

Pistorius's family spokeswoman Anneliese Burgess said the argument started after Mortimer started to "aggressively interrogate" Pistorius about the murder trial, which has attracted huge domestic and international attention.

"Our client regrets the decision to go into a public place and thereby invite unwelcome attention," she said in a statement.

The 27-year-old, known as "Blade Runner" is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, whom he shot and killed at his luxury Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius says he killed Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder hiding in the toilet next to his bedroom. The state accuses him of shooting her in cold blood after an argument.

The case was adjourned until August 7 to allow the legal teams to prepare closing arguments. Judge Thokozile Masipa will then begin her deliberations, extending a trial that has already dragged on over four months.

- NEXT: Mo Farah doubtful for Commonwealth Games

Double Olympic and world champion Mo Farah may not be fit enough to take part in the Commonwealth Games which begin in Glasgow later this month, he said on Monday.

"It's a good question. I don't know," said Farah, when asked on BBC radio if he was going to be fit for the Games.

"Hopefully I should be good. I have missed a bit of training, but we'll make a decision further down the line."

The 31-year-old is due to run in the 5,000m and 10,000m.

Farah was admitted to hospital in the United States with abdominal pains at the start of the month and has had further tests in the United Kingdom.

He said team doctors have given him the all-clear to return to training but he has not confirmed whether he will run in his next scheduled race, over two miles at the London Anniversary Games on Sunday.

The 5,000m final is on July 27 and the 10,000m on Aug. 1.

- NEXT: Scolari resigns as Brazil manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari has resigned as Brazil manager after the hosts suffered two of their worst defeats in World Cup history, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Monday.

Scolari's men were favourites to win the tournament but were demolished 7-1 in the semi-finals by eventual champions Germany. To compound their misery, they lost the third-place playoff 3-0 against the Netherlands.

CBF president Jose Maria Marin confirmed Scolari's much expected departure in a statement and thanked the experienced coach for helping ‘rescue the Brazil team’s self-esteem.’

"Scolari and all his backroom staff deserve our respect and thanks," Marin said in a short statement published on the CBF’s website. "They were responsible for returning to the Brazilian people a love for the national side, even if they did not achieve our highest aim."

Scolari, who led Brazil to the last of their record five World Cups in 2002, took over the post for a second time in November 2012 and lost just five of his 29 games in charge. He had the support of the nation going into the World Cup and there was very little opposition to his squad selection, a rarity in Brazil, which is famously known as the "nation of 200 million coaches."

Marin did not say who might take over but said a press conference will be held on Thursday. One Brazilian sports channel reported Alexandre Gallo, the coach of the Brazil under-20 side, would take over until the end of the year. Among the other names mentioned are Tite, who led Corinthians to the Libertadores Cup and Club World Cup in 2012, and Muricy Ramalho, the current coach of Sao Paulo.

- NEXT: First US black woman to win Olympic gold dies

US track and field star Alice Coachman, who overcame segregation to become the first black woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic games, died in Georgia on Monday at the age of 90.

Coachman, who won her gold medal in the high jump at the 1948 summer Olympics in London, died at a hospital near her home in Albany, Georgia, according to AlbanyStateUniversity.

"Alice literally set the bar with her accomplishments at the 1948 Games, but Olympic champion is only part of the incredible legacy she leaves behind," United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement.

"Alice Coachman Davis has inspired generations of athletes to be their best and she will be missed,” Blackmun said.

Coachman, who was born in Albany in 1923, the fifth of 10 children, took an interest in high jump after watching a boys track meet and trained herself in the sport using home-made equipment, according to a biography issued by AlbanyState.

The university said Coachman was denied access to public training facilities because of segregation but worked herself into competitive shape, in part by running barefoot on dirt roads.

After the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were canceled due to World War Two, Coachman was able to compete in the Olympics for the first time in 1948 and won the gold medal by setting a record for the high jump.

She won a total of 34 national titles, was inducted into nine halls of fame and became the first black woman to endorse an international product when Coca-Cola signed her as a spokeswoman in 1954, according to AlbanyState.

She married Frank Davis and was the mother of two children.

"Although she will sorely be missed, her achievements outside the fields of competition are on par with the great accomplishments within the athletics lines," the university's athletic director, Richard Williams, told the Albany Herald newspaper.

"We will continue to honor her legacy within the athletic department at AlbanyStateUniversity,” Williams said.

- NEXT: World Cup ticket fugitive surrenders to Rio court

Ray Whelan, the fugitive chief executive of a Swiss hospitality company implicated in an investigation into the illegal resale of VIP World Cup tickets, surrendered to a Rio de Janeiro court on Monday, a court spokeswoman said.

Whelan gave himself up to the Rio de Janeiro-state Justice Tribunal in downtown Rio and would be picked up by police, the court said.

Rio state prosecutors have accused 12 people of engaging in criminal organisation, bribery, money-laundering and tax evasion in connection with a World Cup ticket "scalping" ring.

Scalping, or reselling tickets for profit, is illegal in Brazil.

Briton Whelan is chief executive of MATCH Services which had been granted the exclusive right to sell VIP tickets for the World Cup from FIFA, the world soccer governing body.

MATCH is the main provider of hospitality packages for the World Cup and paid $240 million for the exclusive rights to sell corporate hospitality at the 2010 World Cup and this one.

In a statement, MATCH said all sales followed FIFA's procedures, denied Whelan participated in any illegal scheme to resell tickets and vowed to collaborate with the Brazilian police.