Hendry at a stroll

Stephen Hendry cruised to the Scottish Open trophy in Aberdeen last night and admitted: "I'd almost forgotten what it's like to be a winner."

Hendry notched the 30th ranking snooker title of this career in his 90th major final with a 9-1 victory over Glaswegian Graeme Dott. Hendry won every frame of the first session and then needed only 20 minutes to put the finishing touches to an 8-0 advantage. It was his first ranking tournament success since the Thailand Masters last March.

Athletics: In a significant statement yesterday, Dr James McDaid, Minister for Sport, said that it is not his intention to provide separate funding for different athletics bodies after 2001. The move is seen as heightening the pressure on BLE, the NACA and the Irish Schools Athletics Association to form a unified structure for the administration of the sport.

Cricket: The future of Mohammad Azharuddin as Indian captain and Eden Gardens as a Test venue were at stake after the acrimonious loss to arch-rivals Pakistan on Saturday. India's humiliating 46-run defeat in the Asian Test championship opener amidst two days of crowd violence was widely condemned in the Indian media.

Rowing: A SUPERB performance by Neptune's open eight, with world lightweight silver medallists Tony O'Connor and Neville Maxwell in the stern, saw them finish almost a minute ahead of Trinity in the Laganside Head of the River on Saturday. The Dublin club, showing excellent technique, coped best with the strong headwind conditions. Neptune enjoyed rich pickings, also winning the open fours, novice eights and junior 16 quadruple scull.

Boxing: The Central Council of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association decided on Saturday to appoint an anti-drugs officer in accordance with the drug testing programme set out by the Minister for Sport, Jim McDaid.