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Upset Dokic May Skip Fed Cup

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From Staff and Wire Reports

Angered by Australian news reports about her father, tennis player Jelena Dokic says she may never play for Australia again.

The Daily Telegraph reported Friday that Dokic was so angered by a magazine article suggesting her father, Damir Dokic, needed psychological help that she would drop out of the Fed Cup.

“I am going to speak to my Fed Cup captain Lesley Bowrey . . . and tell her I don’t want to play for Australia again,” she said. “I don’t care what people say and do to my Poppa--the bond between us, my mother and [brother] Savo, no one can break.”

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Dokic, 17, lost in the Olympic bronze medal match to Monica Seles of the United States.

Damir Dokic was barred from the WTA Tour after several outbursts at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He also was not given Olympic accreditation.

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A New Zealand judo referee reportedly received a death threat amid criticism from Japan for his handling of an Olympic final.

Craig Monaghan angered Japanese judo fans by his ruling in favor of a Frenchman over a fighter from Japan during the over-100-kilogram final.

The New Zealand Judo Federation has received a number of angry e-mails including one from a man who said he wanted to kill Monaghan, federation President Harry O’Rourke said.

Irate e-mails and letters from Japanese fans were also being sent to the New Zealand Herald.

O’Rourke filed a complaint with the Internet provider used by the person who sent the death threat, but has not complained to police.

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O’Rourke said the decision against Shinichi Shinohara was “completely above board.”

Judo effectively has three referees--the scoring umpire and two sideline judges.

If the judges do not agree with the scoring referee’s decision, they can overrule it. This was not done during the final.

The complaints arose after Frenchman David Douillet threw Shinohara to the floor. Shinohara tried a counter-throw, but Monaghan ruled it was unsuccessful and gave the points to Douillet.

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Svetlana Pospelova of Russia, the European indoor 400-meter champion, has tested positive for the banned steroid stanozolol in an out-of-competition drug test carried out at the Sydney Games, Olympic officials said today.

However, the test cannot be regarded as a complete positive case until all the details have been discussed and analyzed.

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Mexican walker Bernardo Segura lost his appeal against disqualification in the men’s 20-kilometer event, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said.

It said a three-person CAS panel had found that even though Segura was not shown a red card until 15 minutes after he crossed the finish line in first place, the delay did not invalidate the disqualification.

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Segura had already completed his victory lap in Olympic Stadium draped in the Mexican flag and was speaking to President Ernesto Zedillo on the telephone, with television cameras rolling, when a judge showed him a red card.

Segura was ruled to have failed to maintain continuous contact with the ground during a spectacular finish.

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