Olympic Times - Sports Daily

Asia is a rising continent with so much to exhibit for the future so it should not get involved in scandals and allegations.
Even in a historic sport like Sumo, there are match-fixing allegations.
Each time when winter comes along, there are many who enjoy this ancient Japanese cultural sport. There are many who are crazy about the discipline.
Therefore it is shocking that this historic sport which is the pride of Japan has been tarnished with match-fixing allegations.
A keen Korean follower of sumo, Maj Wong Bok Lee, who is also the secretary of the Korean Boxing Federation, told me in a long-distance call yesterday that he would never believe the allegations because of sumo wrestlers’ pride in their performances, and the fact every sumo wrestler wants to get to the top of the sport.
Hence he believes it is unfair to make such an allegation.
While this unfortunate sumo scandal has broken out and has tarnished the discipline, it was shocking to hear that two Indian weightlifters have been banned for life for their second doping offences.
I thought, doping in weightlifting was a scandal of the past and weightlifters today shone through their own physical abiliy and talent.

That is why it is surprising to hear that two Indians have been banned for life for repeated drug use.
Only those who have little time to train seek the use of drugs and stimulants to do well in the discipline.
Over to the sad plight, Newcastle United Football Club is facing. Club chairman Mike Ashley must be a confused, angry man with what is happening today.
A family man and keen football fan, he is also a self-made multi-millionaire who took over the club and is reported to have sunk 200m of his own money into the Toon outfit with a view to taking them to the top in the Premier League.
Newcastle’s last major trophy was 53 years ago in 1955 when they lifted the FA Cup at Wembley. Since then they have been on a roller-coaster ride often promising much to their 50,000 fans but delivering nothing.
Ashley must have known this when he took over but went through with the deal anyway.
The whole thing has turned into a nightmare for him.
He can’t even attend home games with his young family without running a gauntlet of personal verbal abuse from fans inside St James’ Park.
He is being blamed for the sudden departure of Kevin Keegan, the manager who was in his second tenure at Tyneside.
Reports say that Keegan was demanding a bigger say in transfer dealings at the club. It is thought that the Newcastle board was trying to curb the huge outgoings in transfer fees from the club as well as the wisdom of some of the signings.
This isn’t the first time Keegan has quit this post. In 1997 he resigned after his first spell at Newcastle telling then chairman Sir John Hall he had taken the club as far as he could.
As he had won no trophies during that period he obviously felt there would be none forthcoming in the future.
To be fair, although he did not win little during that spell, his gung-ho style of football excited the Toon fans and it is a style they love.
Following his resignation Keegan had a spell at Fulham, a much publicised spell as manager of England which were largely unsuccessful. There were four years at Manchester City which also proved fruitless despite many forays into the transfer market which left City in debt.
That was a handicap from which they only recovered when Thaksin Shinawatra bought the club.
After a spell away, Keegan was tempted back to Newcastle following the short reign of Sam Allardyce which ended with the ex-Bolton manager and stalwart being sacked. Was this a massive error? Well, they say lightning doesn’t strike twice and in the return of Keegan it looks the case.
Newcastle have remained a buying team, producing little or no local talent, and relying on foreign purchases of dubious quality which have cost the club millions of pounds.
It would be fair to say that apart from keeper Shay Given, there isn’t a single player who could stake a claim for a place in any of the top four sides in the Premier League, and that is bearing in mind the presence of Michael Owen, who is no longer the potent striker of old and clearly lacking half a yard of his old pace.
This is a serious situation for a club like Newcastle to be in and must have come into Ashley’s thoughts when he made any move to curb his manager’s activities.
There is a line of thought that says Ashley put all his own money into the club and should have some say on how it is run, and that should apply to all chairmen who employ individuals.
With managers receiving upwards of 40,000 a week in some of the top jobs, chairmen are becoming more demanding of their managers and _ when you think about it _ are right to do so. With the Premier League drowning in a sea of debt, and with receipts not enough to pay wage bills, let alone outrageous transfer costs, maybe it is right to take a stand.
My attention was drawn a few days ago, to South African golfer Ernie Els lament his inability to win any major prize during the last six years. As one who has met Els a few times, I am not surprised at his dejection. His biggest problem is lack of self-confidence. He forgets that that it is through confidence that success is born.
I remember, when he was leading in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket a few years ago and seemed certain to win and suddenly displayed cold-feet. Tiger Woods claimed that he needed to force a play-off to win, which he did and Els lost. Why? Because Els lacked self confidence.

from: bangkokpost.com