Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Saturday, Oct 8

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Saturday (times GMT): OLYMPICS IOC wants to give more power to WADA LAUSANNE - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) wants to give more power to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in the fight against drug-cheating by athletes, it said on Saturday. (OLYMPICS-SUMMIT/ (PIX, TV), moved, by Brian Homewood, 400 words) SOCCER 2018 World Cup qualifiers Europe (1845 unless stated) Group C Azerbaijan v Norway (1600) Germany v Czech Republic Northern Ireland v San Marino Group E Armenia v Romania (1600) Montenegro v Kazakhstan (1600) Poland v Denmark Group F England v Malta (1600) Scotland v Lithuania Slovenia v Slovakia Germany host Czechs, England welcome Malta World champions Germany take on the Czech Republic, while England start life after the sacked Sam Allardyce when they face Malta at Wembley under interim coach Gareth Southgate. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP/ (PIX), expect from 1800 GMT/2 PM ET, 400 words) Africa Gabon v Morocco (1500) DR Congo v Libya (1730) Burkina Faso v South Africa (1800) Ivory Coast v Mali (1800) Senegal v Cape Verde Islands (2000) Ivory Coast begin bid for fourth World Cup finals appearance JOHANNESBURG - African champions Ivory Coast begin their bid for a fourth successive World Cup finals appearance with a tough home game against neighbours Mali as the action on the opening weekend of the group phase of the African preliminaries continues. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-AFRICA/, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, by Mark Gleeson, 400 words) MOTOR RACING Japan Grand Prix Rosberg edges Hamilton to take pole SUZUKA, Japan - Championship leader Nico Rosberg seized pole position ahead of Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in a close-run qualifying session. (MOTOR-F1-JAPAN/ (PIX), moved, by Abhishek Takale, 400 words) RUGBY Rugby Championship South Africa v New Zealand, Durban (1505) All Blacks chase 17th successive test win DURBAN - New Zealand have been crowned Rugby Championship winners and are chasing a 17th test victory in a row when they take on South Africa in their final match of the competition at King's Park. (RUGBY UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP/SAFRICA, expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, by Nick Said, 400 words) Argentina v Australia, London (1830) Pumas meet Wallabies in rerun of 2015 World Cup semi-final LONDON - Argentina meet Australia in the first Rugby Championship test to be played outside the southern hemisphere at the close of the 2016 tournament at Twickenham in a rerun of 2015 World Cup semi-final. (RUGBY UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP/ARGENTINA (PIX), expect by 2030 GMT/4:30 PM ET, by Rex Gowar, 400 words) GOLF Dunhill Links Championship (to 13) Fisher leads Lagergren by one stroke ST ANDREWS, Scotland - Former European Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher takes a one-shot lead over Swede Joakim Lagergren into the second round of the European Tour event. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/ (PIX), expect by 1830 GMT/2:30 PM ET, 20 words) BASEBALL Dodgers battle Nationals in NLDS Left-hander Rich Hill takes the mound for the Los Angeles Dodgers while the host Washington Nationals counter with Tanner Roark in the second game of the best-of-five National League Division Series. (BASEBALL-PLAYOFFS-LAD-WAS/ (PIX), expect by 0015 GMT/8:15 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Top-seeded Cubs host Giants in Game Two The top-seeded Chicago Cubs host the San Francisco Giants in a pivotal second game of their best-of-five National League Division Series. (BASEBALL-PLAYOFFS-SF-CHC/ (PIX), expect by 0345 GMT/11:45 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, 500 words) (Europe duty editor: Ed Osmond)