Singapore athletes preparing for next year's Southeast Asian Games and Asean Para Games "can look forward to increased funding and more comprehensive support in their hunt for glory on home soil." The backing is being offered "in the hope of enabling and encouraging more sportsmen to devote themselves to full-time training at least six months ahead of the June 5-16 SEA Games and the Asean Para Games in December" (STRAITS TIMES, 3/3). ... Former Australian rugby player Sandor Earl has "been living as an outcast in Thailand," his mother, Jan, said. Earl, 24, "was still waiting to be informed when he would have his hearing, or whether he would receive a 75 per cent reduction for providing 'substantial assistance' to the inquiry" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/4). ... Ice Hockey Australia VP Andy McDowell said that having a Canberra team in the Australian Ice Hockey League "is crucial to the development of the sport." The AIHL is "expected to make an announcement on Tuesday on the proposition of a Canberra team re-entering the competition" (CANBERRA TIMES, 3/4). ... Hockey India's bid to be the sole body of governance for the national sport in the country "has got a shot in the arm after the Government of India recently accorded it the status of a National Sports Federation." HI, which was derecognized by the Union Sports Ministry in '12 for "not adhering to government guidelines, internal disputes and mismanagement," has finally been recognized as "the sole body for the promotion" of field hockey in the country by the government (PTI, 3/3).
