RussiaToday : Sports

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Sports

Football fans promised traffic-free Moscow: Moscow's city administration will provide designated road lanes for English football fans attending the European Champions League final. It's hoped the move will help Manchester United and Chelsea fans to easily get between airports and the Luzhniki stadium.

From sports field to battle field: Dinamo veterans celebrate V-Day: Victory day celebrations hold special meaning for Russia's former sports stars, with many athletes having been among the first volunteers to join the war. Dinamo sports club in particular supplied plenty of heroes.

Rangers’ fixture pile-up could hand Zenit UEFA Cup advantage: Zenit Saint Petersburg have been handed a timely boost ahead of their UEFA Cup final with the news that opponents Rangers are suffering from a fixture pile-up.

Vis-à-vis visas: Zenit ask British to relax rules for UEFA Cup Final: UEFA Cup finalists Zenit St. Petersburg have asked the British Government to simplify its visa procedures ahead of next week’s crucial match in Manchester.

Gamers show-up motor racing champ: A group of gamers have shown up a Russian motor racing champion during a virtual race to road-test a computer game. Vitaly Petrov, who’s won the Valencia and Malaysian GP-2 events, came last in most of the virtual races.

Russian football: can leaders Rubin bounce back?: Lokomotiv’s league tie with Zenit has been postponed to give the St Pete side time to prepare for the UEFA Cup Final. That leaves Dynamo’s clash with Krylya Sovetov as the most eye-catching in the Russian Premier League on week 9.

Match tickets to count as official invitations: embassy: Moscow will change its colours to red and blue on May 21, when more than 40,000 English fans head to the Russian capital to see Chelsea and Manchester United in the Champions League final. The Russian Embassy in London will process up to 6,000 visas a day to ensure every English football fan makes it on time.

Russian football: Rubin defeat gives hope to chasing pack: Matchday 8 of the Premier League saw a rude awakening for leaders Rubin as they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Spartak Moscow. But the Kazan team still remain six points clear due to slip-ups from their main rivals. Neither Lokomotiv nor Dynamo could claim all three points in their respective games.

Red Army men best in Europe!: Russian basketball team CSKA have won the most prestigious club competition in Europe. The Moscow side beat Israeli rivals Maccabi in the Euroleague final in Spain.

Basketball: CSKA man named Euroleague's best player: CSKA's Ramunas Shishkauskas has been named most valuable player (MVP) for this season’s Euroleague.

Football: Lokomotiv’s challenge derailed by Luch: Second-placed Lokomotiv Moscow have missed a chance to significantly close the gap on Russia’s Premier League leaders Rubin Kazan after two late goals saw them draw with Luch Energia.

Cycling fever hits Moscow: All three podium places in Saturday’s Oleg Dyachenko Memorial race in the capital have been taken by Russian cyclists. The event, now in its seventh year, is part of the traditional "Five Rings of Moscow" cycling competition.

Basketball: CSKA through to Euroleague final: Russia’s triumphant week in sport continues. After Zenit St Petersburg’s success against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, CSKA have gone through to the Euroleague Basketball final. The Red Army men beat Spain’s Tau Ceramica 83-76.

Russian cycling season hits the road: Russia's Road Cycling season has got underway, with the Moscow Grand Prix marking the start of a busy month in the Russian capital. Riders from 21 teams went for glory over a 150 kilometre route. Although it was the established professional riders who dominated the podium.

Spartak end Rubin’s run: In the Russian Premier League there's been a rude awakening for leaders Rubin Kazan. Their 100 per cent record was shattered by a 3-0 home defeat to Spartak Moscow.

UK taxpayers face massive bill for 2012 Olympics: The organisers of the 2012 London Olympics are facing harsh criticism for drastically increasing the budget needed to stage the games.

Ice hockey: fans say coach can bring Russia world title: Coach Vyacheslav Bykov will once again be taking charge of the Russian team at the World Championships in Canada. His team start their campaign against Italy on May 2. On the eve of the event, RT takes a closer look at the life of Bykov, a two-time Olympic gold medallist.

St Pete reach UEFA Cup final: Zenit Saint Petersburg hammer Germany's Bayern Munich 4-0 to make it through to the UEFA Cup final for the first time in the club's history. They face Scotland's Glasgow Rangers in the final on May 14 in Manchester.

Tennis star Dementieva aims to go one better in Beijing: Russian tennis star Elena Dementieva is in stellar form this season, having won the 2008 Dubai championship for her ninth career WTA title.

Moscow ready for English invasion: Later this month tens of thousands of English football fans will descend on the Russian capital. The city's Luzhniki Stadium is staging the European Champions League final, which this year is being contested by the English clubs Chelsea and Manchester United.

Russia’s women gymnasts reach for Olympic gold: One hundred days to go until the start of the Beijing Olympics and Russia's athletes are aiming to bring back a record number of medals, with the women’s gymnastics team, in particular, hoping to produce some of the youngest stars of the games.

Ice hockey: Ovechkin to play at World Championship: Ice hockey’s equivalent of the World Cup, the World Championship, kicks off in Quebec on Friday and Aleksandr Ovechkin's involvement is a major boost for the Russian team.

Sochi on road to staging top cycling event: The Russian city chosen to host the Winter Olympics in 2014 is a breath away from holding a stage on the cycling U.S.Pro-tour event. Members of the event's council inspected Sochi’s routes, as well as hotels and the other facilities along the Krasnodar-Krasnaya Polyana route.

More Russian football stars staying at home: Despite the success of the Russian national side in qualifying for the Euro 2008 Championships, very few Russian players are plying their trade abroad. There has been a marked drop in the number of Russian footballers playing in Europe.

Russian football: Rubin Kazan still unstoppable: A draw helped Lokomotiv climb to second spot in the Russian Premier League table. They are now level on points with Dynamo, but have a better goal difference. However, the leaders, Rubin Kazan, are seven points ahead after a victory in Moscow.

Champions League: Luzhniki to get new turf: The Champions League final is just three weeks away now. Preparations at the Luzhniki Stadium are going into overdrive in a bid to get everything ready. This includes the laying of the new turf on the pitch.

Spartak fails to beat league’s worst team: Last year’s runners-up, Spartak Moscow, continue struggling in Russia’s Premier League as they failed to beat FC Moscow. After the match that ended 1-1 Spartak find themselves in mid-table, while their rivals are two points adrift at the bottom.

Russia progress to Fed Cup finals: Russia's Fed Cup team is through to the final for the second year running, following an impressive performance at Moscow's Luzhniki, where they beat the U.S. team. Vera Zvonareva, a last minute replacement for Svetlana Kuznetsova, gave Russia the win by beating Vanya King in the first of Sunday's singles.

Vladivostok’s swamp pitch unable to drown CSKA: CSKA have beaten Luch Energia 3-1 in the Russian Premier League. The match turned into an absurdity though as the players could hardly keep feet on a swamp of a pitch in Vladivostok.

Russia names best sportsmen of 2007: Long jumper Tatyana Lebedeva was named sportswoman of the year at a star-studded ceremony in Moscow. Fencer Stanislav Pozdnyakov won the men's accolade. Man’s Basketball and women’s Handball teams also received their awards.

Russian Fed Cup team dominates U.S. rivals: Russia’s tennis team have taken a 2-0 lead in their Fed Cup semifinal with the U.S. It was Anna Chakvetadze who put the hosts ahead beating Vanya King in straight sets in the opening singles at Moscow's Luzhniki arena. The second singles saw Svetlana Kuznetsova eliminating U.S number two, Ahsha Rolle, 6-2 6-1.

Football: Who will stop Rubin?: The seemingly unstoppable Rubin Kazan beat Dynamo 2-0 to shatter the Moscow side's record of six on the trot at the beginning of the season.

Casino kickboxing of Russia: Kickboxing is one of Russia’s fastest growing sports whether it be for self-defence, keeping-fit or just as a hobby, the martial art’s popularity here is soaring.

Bayern Munich's own goal gives Zenit St. Pete vital draw: Away from home, Zenit St. Petersburg have drawn 1-1 with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup semi-finals. They've been dubbed the dark horse of the UEFA Cup and a team with a chance to win it.

CSKA marks 85th anniversary: CSKA, or the Central Sports Club of the Army, celebrated its 85th anniversary on Thursday in Moscow. The event was attended by top Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin, who offered his well-deserved congratulations to the athletes.

Russian football legend bids farewell: One of Russia's best footballers over the last couple of decades, Dmitry Alenichev, will bid farewell to the sport next week. A testimonial will be held in his honour, pitting team-mates from his former side Spartak Moscow, up against a World Eleven. The visitors will be coached by José Mourinho, and will feature the likes of Emilio Butragueño and Zinedine Zidane.

Russia firms as Fed Cup favourites: Russia opens this year's Fed Cup competition at home to the USA. Last year, the U.S. lost away to eventual champions Russia in the semi-finals. This time around, the visitors arrived in Moscow without any of their star players.

Ovechkin boosts Russian hockey hopes: Aleksandr Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals hockey side have had their Stanley Cup dreams ended for the season after they lost in overtime in their deciding play-off match against Philadelphia.

8000 join giant chess game: Former world chess champion, Russia’s Anatoly Karpov, has taken part in a giant tournament in Cuba. The massive event involved 4,000 simultaneous games, with Cuban students and teachers taking part.

Kostya Tszyu V Jackie Chan...for real: Russian-born boxing champ Kostya Tszyu is ready to win over Hollywood kung-fu star Jackie Chan in a display fight during September’s Beijing Olympics.