Maradona, who will appear before a FIFA disciplinary committee in Zurich tomorrow over his foul-mouthed rant after last month’s World Cup qualifier in Uruguay, told Spain’s Marca newspaper that many people were out to get him.

“Much worse things have been said and there are people who do terrible things in soccer...,” the paper quoted Maradona as saying in an interview conducted in Madrid on Wednesday.

World number two Nadal, who has won the French Open on the other side of town four times but never this event at the Bercy hall, will meet Novak Djokovic for a place in tomorrow’s final.

The Serbian world number three earlier ruined Robin Soderling’s hopes of making the World Tour Finals in London by beating the Swede 6-4 1-6 6-3. ]]> no_reply@themalaysianinsider.com (Praba Ganesan) Sports Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:45:44 +0000 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43388--france-match-sprinboks-power-to-claim-20-13-win http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43388--france-match-sprinboks-power-to-claim-20-13-win TOULOUSE, Nov 14 — France matched the physical power of South Africa to secure an entertaining 20-13 win yesterday and claim their fourth successive home victory over the world champions.

Helped by a stiff wind, South Africa were leading 13-11 at halftime thanks to a soft try scored by captain and prop John Smit, with flyhalf Morne Steyn adding the conversion, a penalty and a drop goal.

However, the Boks struggled in the second half with the breeze in their face and paid the price for having Steyn and number eight Ryan Kankowksi sin-binned. ]]> no_reply@themalaysianinsider.com (Praba Ganesan) Sports Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:14:23 +0000 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43387--ireland-star-hunt-we-dont-fear-france http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43387--ireland-star-hunt-we-dont-fear-france By Andy West

DUBLIN, Nov 14 — Stephen Hunt insists the Republic of Ireland have nothing to fear as they prepare to take on the might of France for a place in the World Cup Finals this weekend, and believes that their underdog status may prove a blessing.

The two nations go head to head in Dublin’s Croke Park this evening after being paired together in the European zone play-offs, with the return leg scheduled to take place in the Stade de France in Paris four days later.

Hunt says that his team’s approach strikes a balance between respecting the power of their opponents but retaining full confidence in their ability to cause a major upset — with that upbeat approach largely drawn from Ireland’s unbeaten record in the group stage fixtures, including two hard-fought draws with reigning world champions Italy. ]]> no_reply@themalaysianinsider.com (Praba Ganesan) Sports Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:06:34 +0000 http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43374-man-city-warn-brazil-not-to-play-robinho-in-friendly http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/sports/43374-man-city-warn-brazil-not-to-play-robinho-in-friendly LONDON, Nov 13 — Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has warned Brazil against playing his recovering forward Robinho in their friendly with England in Qatar tomorrow.

Robinho, who has not played since suffering an ankle injury during Brazil’s 3-1 win over Argentina on Sept. 5, has joined up with his national squad in Doha with the English Premier League side’s approval.

“They (Brazil) felt they wanted him to be involved in the squad and... the decision was made that he could stay with them under the proviso that he doesn’t take any part in the game,” Hughes said after his team lost 1-0 to a youthful UAE side in Abu Dhabi.

“It will be really important for me because you are playing against one of the best teams in the world,” the Italian told a news conference on Friday.

“This is very important for me to understand the different style and what we will have to do in the future when probably we will have to play in South Africa against a South American team.”

“It’s nice to be noticed but I’m really happy at United and, unless they tell me otherwise, I can’t see myself leaving,” Today’s British newspapers quoted him as saying ahead of England’s friendly against Brazil in Qatar tomorrow.

“I’ve got two years left after this year on my contract so I’m sure we’ll be negotiating a new deal in the next few months.

Woods, co-leader overnight, made two of his four birdies in his first two holes to take the outright lead, then held firm with six successive pars to finish with a 10-under total of 134 in bright sunshine at Kingston Heath Golf Club.

“Today I didn’t really do anything great but I made two big par putts at nine and 14 to keep the round going,” the world number one told reporters.

The southern city was picked after organisers took into account its experience in hosting major badminton events.

“Due to the short time, we felt that Johor Baru will be in a better position to host the event,” Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager Kenny Goh told The Star.

Launched two months ago as a collaboration between the government, who hold no equity in the team, and a trio of entrepreneurs, Lotus insisted it had the means to compete.

A team director told Bernama the company would look to attract investors from various corporate bodies, including government-linked companies (GLCs).