WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix

Cuban Rafael Alba won a silver medal in the 80kg division after loosing to Uzbek Dmitriy Shokin by points 1-2 in the finals of the WTF World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Manchester, Great Britain.

Alba scored a point first in the fight on the second period but his opponent tied the bout in less than five seconds before the end of the fight to win later in extra time.

The Cuban athlete lost the chance to gain 40 points in dispute to climb in the world ranking to qualify for Río de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

Shokin achieved a second victory against Cuban fighters this year. He won over Robelis Despaigne of the +87kg division semifinals of the World Championship in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Despite Alba's defeat, he ended with an outstanding performance because he defeated established top figures as South Korean Dong-Min Cha, Olympic Champion in Beijing 2008, and Ivorian Firmin Zokou, runner up champion in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Badminton in Chile

Cuban Osleni Guerrero could not reach the semifinals of the Challenge International Tournament in Chile after his defeat on Friday playing Spanish Ernesto Velázquez with store of 23-21 and 22-20.

After winning over Canadian Martin Giuffre in the third round, the Cuban athlete tripped in quarterfinals into the same stone twice. The Spanish had beaten Guerrero in the Mexico Open bu scored of 21-13 and 21-14.

Guerrero, 69 in the standings of the world ranking early Friday, could not win a medal but won 2,200 points to still hope to join those privileged to participate in Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

Osleni Guerrero has yet to participate in other events in 2015, including some in the U.S. and Mexico, to try to improve his place in the ranking.

Germany May Have Bought its 2006 World Cup Bid: Report

Germany's winning bid for the 2006 World Cup was possible thanks to bribes paid to FIFA executive committee members, German news weekly Der Spiegel reported on Friday, fueling even more the corruption scandals surrounding the World's soccer governing body. 

According to the investigation, the German bidding committee set up a slush fund that was filled secretly by then-Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus to the tune of 10.3 million Swiss francs (some $11 million dollars).

The money was allegedly used to pay for the votes of the four Asian members of the Executive Committee, including South Korea’s Chung Mong-Joon, who was last week banned from football for six years by FIFA’s ethics committee.

This adds to one of the greatest crises in German football history, as the country's justice is also investigating a 6.7 million euros ($7.6 million dollars) contribution for a gala FIFA Opening Ceremony that had been planned at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, but was later canceled, indicating that it could have been used for money-laundering.