RIBS, TIA enter semis:

KATHMANDU: Prayag Gurung netted 21 points as RIBS defeated BRL School 54-31 in the senior boys’ quarter-final of the fourth Gyan Niketan Big Mimi Inter-school Basketball Tournament, here today. Man of the match Rajiv Joshi scored 17 points for BRL. In the other match, Trungram International Academy beat New Shrine School 49-34. While Prem Bogati scored 23 for the winners, Gobinda Dura netted 16 points for the losing team. Bikash Majhi of New Shrine was named man of the match. The semi-finals are slated for Thursday. — HNS

SL U-19 beat Nepal:

KATHMANDU: The U-19 team of Sri Lanka defeated the Nepal team by eight wickets in the third practice match in Colombo today. Batting first, Nepal were packed off for 87 runs in 31.4 overs. Paresh Lohani scored 22 runs. In reply, the Sri Lankans overcame the target in 25 overs losing two wickets. For Nepal, Paras Khadka claimed one wicket. In earlier practice matches, Nepal defeated a Sri Lankan side by three wickets and lost the second match by 85 runs. The Nepali squad are scheduled to leave Colombo on February 18 for the World Cup Qualifying Series Division 2 Cricket Tournament, starting from February 21 in Kuala Lumpur. — HNS

Popov to retire:

MOSCOW: Four-time Olympic champion swimmer Alexander Popov said he is retiring from competition. Popov said that he reac-hed the decision last month while attending the short-course World Cup meet in Moscow. “The time has come to be finished with swimming,”he said. — AP

FIFA suspends Macau FA:

ZURICH: The Macau Football Association (MFA) was suspended from all football activities by world governing body FIFA. FIFA said they had taken the step because of what they saw as interference by the political authorities in the former Portuguese colony. It said this constituted a clear violation of Article 17 of the FIFA Statutes. — AFP