MMC enter final

DHARAN: Sunil Subedi scored twice as Manang Marsyangdi Club beat Sikkim-XI 4-1 to enter the final of the second Hriday-endra Gold Cup Football Tournament today. Sikkim-XI took went ahead in the 48th minute, but Jibesh Pandey levelled two minutes later. Basanta Gauchan put MMC ahead in the 63rd minute and Sunil Subedi scored in the 75th and 77th minutes. The other semi-final pits Tarun Sangh Samnagar of Kolkata and Three Star Club. — HNS

Int’l Karate C’ship begins

KATHMANDU: The first All Karate Open International Championship, under the auspices of Nepal Kwanmukan Karate Do Association (NKMKA), began here today. In the day’s matches, Nepal’s Bipin Maharjan beat Gaman Kumar of India in the boys’ 20-kg section, and Nepal’s Minu Lama beat India’s Chandani Thakur in the girls’ section. In all, 250 athletes from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Iran and America are taking part in the three-day tournament. Earlier, Minister for Education and Sports Bimalendra Nidhi inaugurated the championship. — HNS

Jaya Devkota College win

KATHMANDU: Jaya Devkota Memorial Manakamana College beat Loyala College 45-34 in a friendly basketball match here today. Hare Ram Subedi of Jaya Devkota scored 20 points, and Sunil Puri of Loyala netted 18 points. The match was organised in Jaya Devkota campus to promote student interaction, said principal of Jaya Devkota College Bhawani Prasad Poudel. — HNS

Charity match sold-out

MELBOURNE: More than 75,000 fans and a television audience of more than one billion people in 122 countries will watch an Asian XI all-star side play a World XI team in the sold-out World Cricket Tsunami Appeal, Cricket Australia said on Saturday. Proceeds from match at the MCG will be donated to the global relief and development organisation World Vision. — AP

NBA donates $500,000

NEW YORK: The NBA players’ union has decided to donate $500,000 to help victims of last month’s Indian Ocean tsunami, and the NBA will match the gift, a league spokesman said on Friday. The donations are to be made to UNICEF, NBA spokesman Brian Flinn said. Several NBA players decided to donate $1,000 for every point they scored or assist they recorded in games played earlier this week, and many teams are donating money and collecting funds from fans. — AP

Aussie Law now Brit

MANCHESTER: Former Australian one-day international batsman Stuart Law, who plays county cricket for Lancashire, has been granted British citizenship after deciding to make his move to the UK permanent. He has spent nine seasons in England spending six seasons with Essex before moving to Lancashire. Law has scored 23,000 first-class runs, with 68 centuries and at an average of 51.21. — AP

Pakistan to tour India

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s cricket team will tour India from February 25, Indian cricket board secretary Karunakaran Nair said on Saturday. “The Pakistan team will tour India from February 25 till April 18,” Nair said. “The itinerary is still being worked out and will be announced shortly.” Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and five one-day internationals apart from two practice games during their 53-day tour. — AFP