GAMES ZONE

GAMES ZONE

Serbia volleyball team qualifies for the Games
Serbia booked their ticket to the London Olympics on Saturday, beating Iran to secure top spot in the men’s volleyball qualifying tournament in Tokyo. With a 30-28 30-28 25-22 victory over their nearest rivals, Serbia chalked up a sixth straight win against no defeats for an unbeatable 18 points in the eight-team round robin competition. The winners of the tournament and the best-placed Asian team qualify for the London Games, starting next month.

Pak swimmers given wild card entries
Two swimmers from Pakistan will participate in the London Olympics this year after the sport’s governing body FINA gave Israr Hussain and Anum Bandey wild cards based on their performance at the World Championships in Shanghai last year. The Pakistan Swimming Federation (PSF) had sent three swimmers for the event that served as Olympic qualifiers and while they failed to gain direct entry, FINA rewarded Israr and Anum for their decent show of late.

Australian duo’s London trip cut short
Australian swimmers Nick D’Arcy and Kenrick Monk will be sent home from the Olympics as soon as their events have finished as punishment for posting pictures of themselves posing with guns on social media sites. An Australian Olympic Committee selection panel met Saturday to discuss the latest controversy involving the swimmers and decided on sanctions, which also include a ban on them using social media from July 16 to August 15.

London bus crews threaten strike
Thousands of London bus crews have voted to strike unless they are paid extra for working over the Olympics, the Unite union said on Saturday, raising the prospect of a walkout during the Games. Unite had previously warned that “strike action could take place up to and during the Olympic Games”, which last from July 27 to August 12. More than 8,000 workers on the famous red buses took part in the vote and backed industrial action by more than nine to one. Unite represents about 20,000 bus workers in the capital in total.

Luka finishes third in Italian meet
Tintu Luka came up with a below par performance but that was enough for her to finish third in women's 800m race in the Primo Nebiolo Memorial Meeting at Turin, Italy. Luka clocked 2:02.71 secs behind Cuban Yuneisy Santiusty (2:00.93 secs) and Marta Milani (2:02.65 secs) of Italy. Luka has already crossed the London Olympics ‘B’ mark of 2:01.30 secs though she is yet to touch the 'A' standard of 1:59.90 secs.

GB triathlon team named
World triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee has been named to Britain's Olympic team along with his brother, Jonathan, who finished second in the final series standings last year. The Brownlee brothers are part of a six-member team for the London Games that includes three men and three women.
BOA ends Cook’s Olympic hopes
European Taekwondo champion Aaron Cook’s hopes of going to the London Olympics are over after the British Olympic Association (BOA) ratified GB Taekwondo’s controversial decision to omit him. In a statement, the BOA said their Olympic Qualification Standards (OQS) panel had reached a “unanimous” decision to leave out Cook.

IOC issues strict warning to athletes
Refusing to compete against a fellow athlete at the London Games because of nationality or religion would be a “serious breach” of the Olympic code of ethics, the IOC said Friday. The
IOC said athletes and teams should “stay at home” if they are not prepared to compete without discrimination. The IOC comment came after an Algerian kayaker withdrew from a World Cup last month in which an Israeli was entered.