Balaju dojo triumph

KATHMANDU: Balaju dojo won the team championship with seven gold and five silver medals in the third Valley-wide Shito Ryu Karate and Kick Boxing Championship here today. Bouddha dojo finished second with five gold and four silver medals followed by Samakhusi dojo who claimed two gold medals and a silver. Rajesh Bajracharya of Bagalamukhi dojo and Kalpana Basnet of Balaju dojo were declared the best male and female kickboxers respectively. Dhiraj Lama of Bouddha dojo and Samjhana Lama of Naxal dojo were adjudged the best male and female players in the official karate. — HNS

Stepanek in final

HAMBURG: Radek Stepanek defeated Jose Acasuso 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Saturday to reach the final of the Hamburg Masters and secure a top-10 ranking for the first time. The 15th-seeded Czech will be in the top 10 of Monday’s rankings regardless of the result of Sunday’s final. He is currently ranked No 16, with his previous career best 12th last month. The last Czech to reach the final in Hamburg was Karel Novacek, who won the title in 1991. — AP

Jean to join Auxerre

PARIS: Jean Fernandez will reportedly quit Marseille and sign a three-year contract as Auxerre coach. French daily Le Parisien said on Saturday that Fernandez will sign the contract on Tuesday, having guided Marseille to fifth place in his only season in charge. Fernandez would replace Jacques Santini, the former France coach fired by Auxerre last week. The paper said Marseille is considering former France teammates Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc, and France under-21 coach Rene Girard as replacements for Fernandez. — AP