Rugby World Cup Sevens; Olympic Qualifiers for Table Tennis, Wrestling, Shooting, Hoops

Last-Ever Rugby World Cup Sevens Bound for Moscow

Moscow will host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, the last-ever edition of the condensed seven-to-a-side format’s premiere event.

The Rugby Union of Russia and International Rugby Board made the announcement Thursday in New Zealand ahead of Russia’s first-ever Rugby World Cup match.

"The secret is out! There is a revolution taking place in Russian rugby. Russians are taking to rugby like our bears to honey. Rugby is a sport that suits the Russian character," said Russian Olympic Committee president Alexander Zhukov.

"We are committed to delivering an exceptional event. We understand that Rugby Sevens is much more than what happens on the pitch. It is the fans from around the world coming together in a celebration of sport," added Zhukov, also a deputy prime minister of Russia, before pledging full government support.

After the 2013 finals, Sevens switches its four-year cycle to center around the Summer Olympics, an arrangement worked out between the IOC and IRB to secure rugby’s debut at Rio 2016.

"We are excited about the potential of Rugby Sevens," IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset said at Thursday’s joint press conference with the Rugby Union of Russia.

"We are already a long way down the road in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games where our finest men’s and women’s Sevens athletes will have the opportunity to compete on the world’s greatest sporting stage."

The Rugby World Cup Sevens will be scrapped post-2013 to ensure the Olympic tournament remains the format’s flagship event.

FIBA Qualifiers for Asia, Europe

A single Olympic basketball berth is up for grabs at the FIBA Asia Championship just underway in Wuhan, China.

The hosts are expected to win gold, but the same was true two years ago when Iran shocked China for its second straight title.

Jordan, Korea, Japan and Lebanon are the other favorites among the 12-team field. While only one will advance automatically to London, the silver and bronze medalists will get second shots at a special qualifying tournament to be staged just prior to the Games. Play runs through Sept. 25 in Wuhan.

Also this week, Eurobasket comes to a close in Lithuania, where two Olympic berths are at stake as well as four trips to the 12-team qualifying tournament in either June or July of 2012.

Spain and Macedonia will contest one semifinal Friday with France and Russia in the other. Both countries in Sunday’s final will automatically advance to the Games.

Tough Job Ahead for FIFA's New Communications Boss

Swiss sports writer Walter De Gregorio will serve as FIFA’s new director of communications and public affairs.

De Gregorio, a former columnist at daily tabloid Blick, takes up the post in Zurich at the beginning of October with acting comms director NicolasMaingot serving as his deputy.

His first major job will be to manage the Oct. 21 press conference that follows an Executive Committee meeting at which FIFA president Sepp Blatter will reveal his much-anticipated anti-corruption reforms.

Along with British journalist Brian Alexander, De Gregorio helped mastermind Blatter's PR campaign during the 75-year-old's successful re-election bid earlier this year.

"Reforms will be made and not just touch-ups but radical decisions," Blatter told the FIFA Congress at which he won a final four-year term.

In setting out his plans, Blatter will be looking to De Gregorio to advise him on how to manage a skeptical global media who have cast doubt upon the president’s commitment to making meaningful reforms.

FIFA's reputation is at an all-time low in the wake of a series of corruption scandals that have engulfed Blatter and the federation overthe past 10 months.

For more on De Gregorio’s appointment, follow ATR sister site World Football INSIDER.

African Paddlers Secure Olympic Spots

A dozen table tennis players are bound for London 2012 following strong showings at the All Africa Games.

Omar Assar of Egypt won the men’s competition in Maputo, Mozambique while Offiong Edem of Nigeria walked away with the women’s title.

Another three paddlers from Egypt, three from Nigeria, three from Congo and one from Cameroon will represent Africa at the Games, according to the International Table Tennis Federation.

Wrestling Worlds Underway

Azerbaijan and Russia are atop the team rankings at wrestling’s world championship in Istanbul.

Matches kicked off Monday with six berths per Olympic weight category up for grabs. By week’s end, the nationality of the sport’s first 108 participants in the 2012 Games will be known with 42 freestyle, 42 Greco-Roman and 24 female wrestlers all automatically qualified.

Russia tops the Greco-Roman rankings with Turkey and Iran a safe distance away, and Azerbaijan is leading the way in women’s freestyle with Japan and Canada close behind.

Men’s freestyle action unfolds over the weekend.

Shotgun World Champs Over

Five sharpshooters will attend the 2012 Games thanks to top finishes at this week’s shotgun world championship in Belgrade, Serbia.

Stephane Clamens of France will compete in men’s trap, Jun Li of China in men’s double trap, Juan Jose Aramburu in men’s skeet, Shagun Chowdhary of India in women’s trap and Lucia Liliana Mihalache of Romania in women’s skeet.

Russia finished atop the medal tally at Kovilovo Shooting Range with 12 total, half of them gold. China and the U.S. rounded out the top three.

Written by Matthew Grayson.