Thailand to take home cooking to Doha

Thailand has forked out $41,000 on a temporary kitchen to give its athletes a taste of home cooking at next month's Asian Games in Doha.

Sports chiefs have asked one of the Kingdom's major food distributors to donate more than 100kg of supplies to send to Qatar so the team's 480 athletes are fed Thai cuisine rather than unfamiliar dishes.

Chaiyapak Siriwat, a Thai Asian Games committee official, said a kitchen would be set up at the Thai embassy in Doha to cook meals for the team, which will be bussed-in from the athletes' village throughout the day.

The Asian Games take place in Doha, Qatar from Dec. 1-15.

China's Yi set for 2007 NBA draft

China's best young basketball prospect Yi Jianlian is a step closer to his NBA dream after the Guangdong Tigers cleared him to enter the 2007 draft.

The 2.11m teenager was touted for the 2006 draft but blocked by Guangdong after the China Basketball Association (CBA) voiced concerns about players missing national games while warming benches for NBA teams.

Yi, 19, still faces the hurdle of securing permission from the CBA to be exempted from the rule barring Chinese players from entering the NBA draft before their 22nd birthday.

Azinger tipped to be US Ryder Cup captain

Former major champion Paul Azinger is expected to be named as the US Ryder Cup captain for the next match against Europe in 2008.

The 46-year-old, who won the 1993 PGA Championship at Inverness, is a veteran of four Ryder Cups as a player and known for his competitive, gutsy attitude.

His most likely captaincy challengers are former major winners Fred Couples and Corey Pavin. Azinger, however, has been widely tipped by the US media to get the verdict on Monday.