bits and pieces

World champion Strachova hangs up skis

PRAGUE: Slalom world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Sarka Strachova said on Tuesday she was retiring from the sport.

“Over the past few years I struggled more and more, it was tougher to make skiing my top priority,” the 32-year-old Czech told a news conference in Prague.

The decision is “due to my strong inner feeling that this is the right time to say goodbye”, she added.

A slalom specialist, Strachova won the world title in 2007, under her maiden name of Zahrobska.

She also won the silver at the 2009 world championships and bronze at the 2005 and 2015 worlds and at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.

In her last season, Strachova earned two podium finishes and finished sixth overall in the World Cup slalom rankings.

Italian police foil plot to steal Ferrari founder’s body

ROME: Italian investigators said on Tuesday they had foiled a plot to steal the body of legendary Formula One racing pioneer Enzo Ferrari and demand a ransom.

Ferrari, founder of the company that produces some of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars, died in 1988 at the age of 90 after making the company’s prancing horse logo an internationally recognised brand.

Police in Nuoro on the island of Sardinia told a news conference they suspected that a gang had planned to demand a ransom from the Ferrari family or company after spiriting away the body.

They gave no further details about the plot but said it was discovered during an investigation into arms and drug trafficking that led to a number of arrests.

Ferrari is buried in an above-ground family tomb in the San Cataldo cemetery in Modena, near the Ferrari plant at Maranello in central Italy.

Everton want derby victory for injured Coleman

LONDON: Everton captain Phil Jagielka said on Tuesday his side will be especially fired-up to win this weekend’s Merseyside derby against Liverpool after a horrific injury suffered by team-mate Seamus Coleman on international duty.

Republic of Ireland defender Coleman is set to be sidelined for months after undergoing an operation on leg bones broken as a result of a tackle by Neil Taylor of Wales, who was sent off for the challenge, in last week’s goalless World Cup qualifier in Dublin

Jagielka hopes to speak to Coleman ahead of Saturday’s short trip to Liverpool’s Anfield ground — a venue where Everton have not won since 1999.

Just three days after the derby clash, Everton face Manchester United at Old Trafford and Jagielka told everton.tv on Tuesday: “We’ll all be thinking about him and, come Saturday and Tuesday, I’m sure he’ll have the TV on and be cheering us on.

“There’ll be no incentive needed, but the circumstances over the last few days might add a bit of a motivational edge on our behalf.

“We want to go out there and play well and it will be nice if we can all get to speak to Seamus beforehand.”

Right-back Coleman has started 26 of Everton’s 29 Premier League matches so far this season and fellow defender Jagielka added: “Seamus is a massive part of the furniture. He’s been here a long time now, he’s one of the leaders.

“All we can do is be there for him. He’s had the operation, it’s been a success and he’s on the slow road to recovery.”

Injured Kohli may miss start of IPL

DHARAMSALA, India: India’s firebrand skipper Virat Kohli may miss the start of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament as he races against time to recover from a shoulder injury.

Kohli, the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, hurt his right shoulder while diving to stop a boundary during the drawn third Test against Australia in Ranchi.

He sat out the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala which India won by eight wickets to seal the series 2-1 on Tuesday.

“It’s still a few weeks to go before I can be 100 percent on the field,” Kohli, who managed only 46 runs in the series, told the post-match press conference.

“But these things happen in your career. Got to take it in my stride and move forward.”

Kohli, 28, said his shoulder was taking a while to heal because it was not a simple stress injury but an impact injury.