Armenian wrestlers won’t participate in European Championship in Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - Chess: European Individual Chess Championships finished in Rijeka, Croatia on March 17. Armenia’s Arman Pashikyan came 10th, gaining a chance to participate in the World Cup to be held in Abu Dhabi on July 11-20.

Vladimir Akopian, Robert Honhannisyan and Gabriel Sargsyan (with 7.5 points each) played in tie-break on March 18.

Meanwhile, Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian shares the 7-10th positions with Sergey Karjakin (Russia), Peter Svidler (Russia) and Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan) at Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Championship.

Boxing: Armenians boxers won 3 medals at the International Boxing Championship held in the Czech Republic on March 14. Armen Yepremyan (w/c 69kg) won silver. Ara Puluzayan (w/c 60kg) and Tsolak Ananikyan (w/c 91kg) won bronze.

Tennis: ATP stalwarts Carlos Moya and David Nalbandian have been awarded main draw wildcard berths for the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, to be played March 22 - April 4. The first round of the men's singles draw begins Wednesday, March 24.

Moya, a former world No. 1, has 20 career singles titles since turning pro in 1995, including one Grand Slam victory in the 1998 French Open. His accolades are not confined to the court. In 2005, Moya was named the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year by the ATP for his tireless charitable work. This year marks Moya's 13th appearance at the Sony Ericsson Open. His best showing came in 2003 when he reached the finals.

Nalbandian continues to be a force on the ATP tour a decade after beginning a professional career that has seen him rise to as high as the No. 3 ranked player in the world. To date, he has 10 singles titles to his credit, and is one of only four active players to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, including a finals appearance at Wimbledon in 2002. This year's tournament will be Nalbandian's 10th Sony Ericsson Open entry.

Moya and Nalbandian join an already deep and accomplished men's field which includes World No. 1 and 2010 Australian Open champion Roger Federer, six-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, British sensation and defending Sony Ericsson Open champ Andy Murray, World No. 2 and 2007 Sony Ericsson Open Champion Novak Djokovic, 2009 U.S. Open Champion Juan Martin del Potro and American superstar Andy Roddick just to name a few.

In addition to the wildcards awarded to Moya and Nalbandian, three more wildcard berths will be given out to men prior to the event. The qualifying rounds played March 22-23 will determine the final 12 entrants to complete the 96-man field, sonyericssonopen.com reported.

Sambo: Vanadzor city hosted Armenian Sambo Championship on March 12-14. 206 sportsmen from sports schools from Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh were participating. The winners were awarded certificates.

Handball: Armenian women’s handball team will participate in Challenge Trophy International Tournament to be held in Israel on March 18-21.