Sporting briefs

Croatia: Coach Slaven Bilic named a full-strength Croatia squad yesterday for upcoming World Cup 2010 qualifiers against Belarus and England early next month. Croatia faces Belarus at home on September 5 before travelling to London for a showdown with England four days later. Bilic's 24-man squad features several players from the English Premier League including the in-form Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric and Brazil-born Arsenal striker Eduardo Da Silva.

Ribery: Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery returned to training yesterday following a knee injury that has kept him out of action for around two weeks. Bayern are desperate for Frenchman Ribery to play against champions Wolfsburg on Saturday after their worst start to the season in 43 years. They have taken only two points from their opening three Bundesliga matches. Italian striker Luca Toni, who has yet to play this season, is still out with a heel injury.

Fatal beating: Police in southwest China have detained a football coach over the alleged beating of a 14-year-old boy who was left in a coma and later died. The coach, Lin Lin, "educated and physically punished" the boy, Mu Shihao, for not following instructions during a practice session in Chongqing on July 24. The teen lost consciousness and was rushed to hospital, where he died on August 17 after 25 days in a coma.

Uhrin goes: Dusan Uhrin, coach of Slovakia champions Slovan Bratislava, announced he was resigning after a trio of defeats in the European and national league. "I quit. I think the players need a new impulse," said the 66-year-old Czech Uhrin, who had only coached Slovan for two months.

League Cup: Second round - Norwich vs Sunderland 1-4.

In Italy: Serie B - Cesena vs Reggina 0-1. Prima Divisione B - Pescara vs Rimini 2-0.

Rugby Union: Sacked Australia winger Lote Tuqiri has stopped legal action against rugby authorities after reaching a settlement through mediation. Tuqiri, a 67-test veteran and formerly one of Australia's highest-paid players, sued the ARU, after his shock sacking in July for disciplinary reasons not made public. The 29-year-old, whose contract was reportedly worth $840,000 a year until 2012, has flagged a return to National Rugby League and has denied Australian media reports that said he had signed a big-money deal with an overseas club.

Motor Racing: Dario Franchitti went wire-to-wire at the Infineon Raceway to capture the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday. Franchitti began on the pole and managed to avert an opening-lap seven-car smash to win the final road course event of the season. Franchitti earned his fourth win of the season by leading all 75 laps and holding off Ryan Briscoe. The latter placed second and took the lead in the IndyCar Series championship standings. Danica Patrick was part of the opening-lap smash and finished 16th.

Golf: The United States maintained their unbeaten record on American soil by clinching the Solheim Cup for a third consecutive time on Sunday, beating Europe 16-12 with a sparkling display in the last-day singles. Needing 14 points to keep possession of the prestigious trophy, the home team secured the decisive point when Morgan Pressel beat Swede Anna Nordqvist 3&2 in the penultimate match at a sun-baked Rich Harvest Farms. Europe have now lost eight times in 11 editions of the women's competition.

Sumo: Controversial sumo champion Asashoryu is in hot water again after skipping training because he did not want to risk catching the H1N1 flu on a bus. The Mongolian 'yokozuna' told reporters he would take the matter up with the wrestlers' union after being reprimanded for a morning no-show at the weekend. "(The infected wrestlers) were on the same bus which was a reason," said Asashoryu, adding that the Japan Sumo Association (JSA) had done little to protect wrestlers from infection.