Woods out to defend title in Japan

Sports Digest - a round-up of today's other stories in brief

Sports Digest - a round-up of today's other stories in brief

GOLF: Tiger Woods returns to Japan this week to defend his Dunlop Phoenix title and the American world number one faces a challenging field of local and international players when the event tees off today.

Fresh from a second place finish at the Champions Tournament in Shanghai on Sunday, Woods arrives in top form and this year's US Masters and British Open champion will be confident of repeating his eight-shot triumph at this event 12 months ago.

New Zealand's US Open champion Michael Campbell is among the strong international contingent hoping to depose Woods, along with American Jim Furyk, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, a two-time Dunlop Phoenix winner.

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Played on the par-70 Phoenix Country Club on the southern island of Kyushu, the tournament is the Japan Tour's richest with $1.7 million in prize money, helping it draw the strongest international field of the season.

BOXING: Kenneth Egan's World Championship ambitions were undone by a familiar opponent in Mianyang. Swede Babacar Kamara had fought Egan four times before but won this their most important bout, performing closer to his potential than the Neilstown man.

Off to a slow start Egan finished the first round 9-5 down. It is very difficult to come from behind in boxing and Egan was forced to chase the fight. He won the second round to close the gap to 18-15 and cut Kamara over the left eye. The medical officials checked the cut several times but ruled him fit to continue.

The gap returned to four points, 27-23, at the end of round three. Egan took a standing eight count after a heavy body shot set him back. He responded with a clean scoring blow but not enough landed to get him level on the scoreboard.

Egan wasn't able to do enough in the last round to close the gap, although the 34-26 final score flattered the Swede. Some of his direct hits failed to impress the judges but Kamara had the job by that stage. Gary Keegan, Team Manager, said: "We are hugely disappointed for Kenny, all of us felt he could go a long way in the tournament. Everything has gone well in preparation but in the ring tonight he didn't show all he has. The slow start dictated the fight and has been seen time and again here, coming from behind is very, very difficult."

MEN'S HOCKEY: Annadale's David Smyth and Chris Jackson have both confirmed their retirement from international hockey, having won 129 caps between them. Smyth was a member of the gold medal-winning Irish team in September's European Nations Trophy in Rome and has chosen to retire due to "a combination of family and work commitments". Jackson's last cap came in the 2003 European finals in Barcelona - he too is retiring due to work commitments.

Last Night Ireland suffered a 5-1 defeat by Belgium in Praxgata, Brussels. Belgium led 3-0 at half time but John Jermyn (C of I) pulled a goal back in a game that saw Ireland command most of the play in the second period but was negated with two late goals from the near full strength Belgian side who were short only two of their world cup panel. Ireland play Belgium again this evening.

ATHLETICS: Haile Gebrselassie will return to action as a late entry in Sunday's Seven Hills Race in Nijmegen, five weeks after winning the ING Amsterdam marathon. Gebrselassie posted the world's quickest marathon time of the year in the Dutch capital.

Meeting director Henk Stevens persuaded the 32-year-old Gebrselassie to step into the breach when Paula Radcliffe withdrew from the women's race and also secured Olympic 10,000 metres bronze-medallist Zersenay Tadesse, who ran the world's fastest-ever half marathon time in September.