CALCUTTA, India, Nov. 30-- Iran's national hockey team has qualified for the semifinal round of the 12th Asian Roller Hockey Championship in India.
According to PressTV, the Iranian men's hockey team defeated India and tied Chinese Taipei 2-2 to reach the semifinal round.
The Iranian team also beat Macao 21-2.
Iran will compete with China on Friday to determine the first team of group A.
The championship games are currently being held at the eastern complex of Sports Authority of India and will end on December 2.

Hadi Saei

Behzad Khodadad

Sara Khoshjamal Fekri

HO CHI MINH, Vietnam, Nov. 30--Iranian trio taekwondo players secured 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the qualifying competitions held in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Sara Khoshjamal Fekri in the womenÕs (-)49 Kg category defeated Pakistani athlete 1-0 and ranked third as she booked a place in the 2008 Olympic Games. Khoshjamal Fekri is the first Iranian woman who proceeds to the prestigious event. She had already beaten Surabal of India, Mehr News Agency wrote.
Behzad Khodadad in the men's (-)58 kg class won the gold medal after beating 2-0 Kazakhstan's taekwondo player and advancing to Olympic.
Hadi Saei, Olympic gold medalist, in the men (-)80 kg class bagged the gold medal as he defeated 5-1 his Qatari rival and will be attending the Olympic Games for the third time.
He was IranÕs taekwondo member in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

TEHRAN, Nov. 30--TehranÕs Esteqlal was beaten 1-0 by Pas of Hamedan marking its fifth loss of the season on Friday, here at Azadi Stadium.
Esteqlal as one of the capitalÕs giants, with Firooz Karimi as new head coach, faced never-ending misery since the beginning of the competitions.
AkochaÕs Pas scored in the 13th minute in front of Esteqlal's fans while the host failed to net even despite so many attacks.
Pas ranked 5th with 23 points and Esteqlal occupied 7th place of the table in the 15th weeks of Iran's Premier League(IPL).

Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce reacts after hitting a three point basket in the third quarter of their NBA game against the New York Knicks in Boston, Massachusetts, Thursday .

BOSTON, USA, Nov. 30--The Boston Celtics, led by 21 points each from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, soared to a bruising 104-59 victory over the beleaguered New York Knicks on Thursday.
According to Reuters, only a three-point shot by Nate Robinson at the buzzer kept the Knicks from their lowest scoring total in franchise history.
The Celtics, the top team in the NBA, led by 25 points in the second quarter and enjoyed a 54-31 advantage at halftime. The margin went to 45 in the third quarter and reached a game-high 52 points with seven minutes left in the game.
Knicks coach Isiah Thomas described his team's first-half performance was the most selfish he had ever seen by a team.
"I thought every single player was thinking about himself, as opposed to thinking about the team," Thomas told reporters.
"I ain't never seen nothing like it," Knicks player Zach Randolph told reporters. "Never. Never. Never in my career."
Randolph and Eddy Curry took 15 shots in the first half and made only two. They finished the game with four points each, Randolph going 1-for-10 and Curry sinking just 2-of-11 field-goal attempts.
Stephon Marbury was equally ineffective, scoring four points on 2-of-6 shooting. Only Robinson, with 11 points, finished in double figures for the Knicks.

DALLAS, USA, Nov. 30--The Dallas Cowboys beat the Green Bay Packers 37-27 on Thursday to clinch a playoff berth and take top spot in the National Football Conference.
Quarterback Tony Romo completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to their 11th victory in 12 games this season--the first 11-1 record in team history, Reuters wrote.
Green Bay (10-2) took a 3-0 lead on the game's first possession with a 47-yard field goal by Mason Crosby but Dallas replied through two Nick Folk kicks of 26 and 51 yards for a 6-3 lead.
The Packers were rattled when quarterback Brett Favre had to leave the game with an elbow injury in the second quarter but backup Aaron Rodgers stepped in and kept them in the game.
The seriousness of Favre's injury remained unclear though he sounded hopeful.
"I think I'll be okay," he said after the game.
It was the Cowboys' sixth consecutive victory since they lost to undefeated New England on October 14. The way both teams are playing they could meet up in this season's Super Bowl.
"Our team is playing good football right now," said Romo, who's four touchdown passes gave him 33 for the season -- a franchise record.
Dallas extended their lead to 13-3 after Romo connected with Patrick Crayton but the Packers hit back shortly before the end of the first quarter when running back Ryan Grant burst clear for a 62-yard score.
Romo put the Cowboys up 27-10 with scoring strikes to Anthony Fasano and Terrell Owens before Rodgers hit Greg Jennings just before the end of the half to narrow the deficit to 27-17.
Owens' touchdown was his 14th of the season, tying a club record that has been held since 1962.

Hadi Saei

HAMBURG, Germany, NOV. 30--Bayern Munich maintained their advantage at the top of Group F but missed the chance to reach the UEFA Cup knockout rounds with a game to spare as Braga came back to earn a point in a 1-1 draw in Portugal.
According to CNN, the visitors took the lead early in the second half when Miroslav Klose coolly slotted the ball home from Luci Toni's center.
However, Braga fought back and scored a deserved equalizer when Brazilian Wender charged down the left and turned the ball into the path of Roland Linz--who made no mistake.
With the group's other match between Bolton Wanderers and Aris Salonika ending 1-1, a 1-0 win would have secured Bayern's place in the Round of 32.
Meanwhile, Rafael van der Vaart scored one and created another as Hamburg went top of UEFA Cup Group D and sealed qualification for the last 32 on the day coach Huub Stevens turned 54 with a convincing 3-0 victory over French side Rennes.
Hamburg had won 1-0 at Brann in their opening match and they took the lead on the half hour mark when Ivica Olic found space on the left and crossed for Rafael Van der Vaart to side-foot into the bottom corner.
Despite their dominance, the Bundesliga side had to wait until six minutes from the end to add their second goal--this time Van der Vaart provided the assist, cutting inside before feeding substitute Eric-Maxim Choup-Moting, who drilled his shot into the bottom corner.
Mohammad Zidan, added the third goal with an injury time penalty after he had been fouled in the area by Guillaume Borne.
The result means Hamburg are certain of finishing in the top three in the group, while Rennes are rooted to the bottom.
Meanwhile, fellow-Bundesliga side Nuremberg claimed their first point in Group A when they scored a late equalizer to claim a surprise 2-2 draw at Russian champions Zenit St Petersburg.

HELSINKI, Finland, Nov. 30--Roy Hodgson has resigned as coach of Finland on Friday following their failure to qualify for the European Championship, according to the Finnish football association.
"The FA would have liked to have continued working with Roy Hodgson with whom Finland went so close to qualifying for the Euro 2008 finals," the Finnish FA said in a statement, adding that the British coach would help choose a successor.
Finland, who have never qualified for a major soccer finals, finished a close fourth behind qualifiers Portugal and Poland in Euro 2008 qualifying Group A.

SINGAPORE, Nov. 30--Former world number one Maria Sharapova will make her debut in Singapore next month when she takes on compatriot Anna Chakvetadze in an exhibition match.
Sharapova, who has won two grand slam titles, will play the world number six on December 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, organizers said on Friday, Reuters wrote.
The 20-year-old was runner-up in the season-ending WTA tour championship in Madrid after making a top-five finish in the tour rankings for the fourth consecutive year.
The match will be a repeat of this year's Australian Open quarter-finals, when Sharapova beat Chakvetadze in straight sets en-route to the final, where she lost to Serena Williams.
Chakvetadze later reached the semi-finals of this year's US Open in New York.

DAVENHAM, England, Nov. 30--Paula Radcliffe has identified Mizuki Noguchi as a main rival for the 2008 Olympic marathon title in Beijing.
According to BBC, Mizuki, 29, marked her return from injury with a time of 2 hrs 21 mins and 37 secs to triumph in the Tokyo Women's International Marathon.
The Olympic champion is yet to be named in the Japanese team for Beijing but now looks assured of a place.
"I haven't raced against Noguchi for a long time, but certainly she's one of the top contenders," said Radcliffe.
"The depth in Japan is so deep her place isn't even guaranteed, even though she is one of the main contenders."
Noguchi was competing in her first marathon since setting a national record in the Berlin Marathon in October 2005.
Having recovered from a series of leg injuries, she clocked the world's second fastest time of the year.
"She ran very well," said Radcliffe, who won the New York Marathon on 4 November having herself had a long lay-off because of injury and the birth of her first child Isla.
"She's been very unlucky really, having done all the preparations and then having to pull out on the eve of her last two marathons.
"Noguchi was put under pressure in Tokyo- she's not on the team but I was very impressed.
"She can now relax a little bit, while the others are still fighting for selection."

MADRID, Spain,
Nov. 30--World number two Rafael Nadal has no problems that could prevent him pursuing a career at the top of his profession, his doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro has said.
"After carrying out routine tests, I consider Rafael to be in perfect condition to continue developing his career in the coming years," Ruiz Cotorro said in a statement on Friday, Reuters wrote.
The 21-year-old Spaniard's fitness was called into question on Wednesday when his coach and uncle Toni Nadal said in an interview that an old injury to his left foot was "very serious."
Nadal and his coach quickly moved to deny the story saying it had been blown out of all proportion.
"I am absolutely certain the said injury will not be a handicap (to his professional activities at the highest level)," Ruiz Cotorro continued.
"He picked it up in April 2004. It was a stress fracture in the left foot. Once cured, a specific program was instigated along with his fitness trainer Joan Forcades and physiotherapist Rafael Maymo."
This included a physiotherapy program and special insoles for his shoes to help improve the movement and musculature in the area.
"From a medical point of view, by following the program Rafael has been able to develop his professional career to the highest level winning 23 titles over the last three years," he added.
Ruiz Cotorro is also the Spanish Tennis Federation's doctor.

TOKYO, Nov.30--World bronze medalists Bulgaria stopped Russia's match-winning streak to keep their Olympic hopes alive in the men's World Cup volleyball tournament on Friday.
Bulgaria stunned the Athens Olympic bronze medalists 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12 to improve their win-loss record to 7-2, leaving Russia with a 8-1 record, according to AFP.
The top three finishers in the 12-team round robin competition will qualify for the Beijing Olympics next year.
"It was a very difficult game, and I'm really, really happy that we won today," said Matey Kaziyski, the best scorer of his side with 22 points. Russia's coach Vladimir Alekno said his team was still in with a chance of qualifying.
Earlier in the day, world champions Brazil outgunned Argentina 25-20, 25-22, 25-16.
The United States also kept their Olympic hopes alive when they downed Japan 25-18, 27-25, 25-19 for a 7-2 record and now play Argentina and Russia the last two days.
African champions Egypt posted their first win, beating South Korea 21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22, while Puerto Rico were 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 winners over Tunisia.
European champions Spain defeated Asian champions Australia 25-21, 25-19, 25-20.