Sports round-up

Boxing: Australia boxing champion Bianca Elmir, a top Olympic Games medal prospect, has been banned from competition after testing positive for a banned substance, authorities said yesterday. A diuretic was found in her urine during the national titles earlier this year where she won the 51kg division, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) said.

Basket, NBA: Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the 2011 NBA Most Valuable Player, could be out between eight and 12 months following knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Chicago Bulls team doctor Brian Cole yesterday said that Rose’s rehabilitation will involve a series of progressive steps.

Giro d’Italia: Italy’s Roberto Ferrari, of the Androni team, won a sprint finish for the 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia in Tuscany yesterday. Spaniard Joaquim Rodriguez retained the overall leader’s pink jersey after the 258km stage, the longest in this year’s race, in which Italy’s Francesco Chicchi was second just ahead of Lithuanian Tomas Vaitkus.

Cycling: Edinburgh could host the Tour de France’s Grand Depart in 2017. EventScotland, combined with the Scottish Government, British Cycling and UK Sport, hope to host the opening prologue in the Scottish capital before further stages south through the Scottish Borders and England.

Athletics: Cuba’s Dayron Robles, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the 110-metre hurdles, will make his first appearance in the US when he runs in the Grand Prix on June 9. Organisers said that the 25-year-old will join Americans Jason Richardson and David Oliver in New York, giving the event the top three hurdlers in the world.

London 2012: David Beckham will bring the Olympic flame from Greece to Britain for the torch relay ahead of the London 2012 Games. Beckham will be joined by five young Britons for today’s handover ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder will then be part of the delegation that brings the flame to Cornwall in southwest England to begin its 70-day journey around Britain and Ireland.