The China-ASEAN CBO Basketball Invitational will be held in Baise city, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in December, Yin Guanghuan, vice secretary general of CBO organizing committee, said at a press conference on Thursday.
Baise is the city where China's late leader Deng Xiaoping led the famous Baise Uprising in 1929.
Source:Xinhua
Friday, September 5, 2008
China sends largest delegation to Paralympics
China has sent its largest-ever delegation to the Paralympic Games, with both athletes and officials looking to breakthroughs in newly added events and enhance exchange with their foreign counterparts.
The delegation was composed of 547 members, including 332 athletes from all walks of life, among whom 68 percent are Paralympic debutants.
Chinese athletes will compete in all 20 medal sports.
Wang Xinxian, China's chef de mission, said the Chinese team has three targets.
"First of all, we will try to get good results," he said.
At the Athens Paralympics, China, by sending 199 athletes to 11 sports, topped the final standings with 63 gold, 46 silver and 32 bronze medals.
But this time, Wang said they set no specific goal for medals.
China's Paralympic strength lies in athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting.
"We are seeking breakthrough in wheelchair basketball, volleyball sitting and wheelchair tennis," said Wang.
The chef de mission said the delegation's "second goal is to show the spirit of the Chinese people."
The third goal, added Wang, is to "enhance exchange with foreign athletes in development of the cause of disabled people."
"Service to the disabled people in China lags behind despite rapid progress in recent years," said Wang, who is also vice chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation.
"The Paralympics will give us a chance to learn foreign expertise."
Wang noted the Beijing Paralympics will leave both tangible and intangible legacy.
"Hopefully people would care more about the disabled people, provide them with more opportunities for medical treatment, education, employment and safeguard their lawful rights," said Wang.
The Beijing Paralympics is scheduled to run from September 6 to 17, drawing more than 4,000 athletes from about 150 countries and regions.
To date, 1.19 million tickets, or 72 percent of the total, have been sold.
Source:Xinhua
The delegation was composed of 547 members, including 332 athletes from all walks of life, among whom 68 percent are Paralympic debutants.
Chinese athletes will compete in all 20 medal sports.
Wang Xinxian, China's chef de mission, said the Chinese team has three targets.
"First of all, we will try to get good results," he said.
At the Athens Paralympics, China, by sending 199 athletes to 11 sports, topped the final standings with 63 gold, 46 silver and 32 bronze medals.
But this time, Wang said they set no specific goal for medals.
China's Paralympic strength lies in athletics, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting.
"We are seeking breakthrough in wheelchair basketball, volleyball sitting and wheelchair tennis," said Wang.
The chef de mission said the delegation's "second goal is to show the spirit of the Chinese people."
The third goal, added Wang, is to "enhance exchange with foreign athletes in development of the cause of disabled people."
"Service to the disabled people in China lags behind despite rapid progress in recent years," said Wang, who is also vice chairman of the China Disabled Persons' Federation.
"The Paralympics will give us a chance to learn foreign expertise."
Wang noted the Beijing Paralympics will leave both tangible and intangible legacy.
"Hopefully people would care more about the disabled people, provide them with more opportunities for medical treatment, education, employment and safeguard their lawful rights," said Wang.
The Beijing Paralympics is scheduled to run from September 6 to 17, drawing more than 4,000 athletes from about 150 countries and regions.
To date, 1.19 million tickets, or 72 percent of the total, have been sold.
Source:Xinhua
CBA league set to be expanded to 18 teams
The Chinese Basketball Association league is set to be expanded to 18 teams with the Beijing Aoshen and an NBL team having chances to compete the top domestic league next season, the league office announced here on Wednesday.
The Aoshen, whose top player Sun Yue signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last week, was ordered to submit all the candidate files to the league office before the deadline of 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 20. Otherwise the club will be considered to waive its right of come-back.
The Beijing-based club was wiped off from the CBA league two seasons ago when it refused to release Sun and other players to play for the national senior and junior teams.
If the Aoshen doesn't compete in the 2008-09 CBA season, the Qingdao Double Stars will be the substitution while Tianjin Ronggang got the nods of all the existing 16 CBA clubs to be the 17th team of the league at the league meeting on Wednesday.
The Aoshen had problems to choose their home court. Beijing Olympic basketball arena Wukesong Indoor Stadium was excluded by the league office due to some commercial reasons.
"Leaders of the club Aoshen was informed to come to the CBA headquarters for additional discussions tomorrow morning," CBA league office director Zhang Xiong said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Foreign players will have more playing time next season as the league has dismissed the time limit for the foreigners when they meet the military team Bayi Fubang, the only team that has no foreign players in the league.
Each team can have two foreign players so far.
"The Beijing Olympic Games showed that how much foreign players could help the domestic leagues. Both our foreign head coaches of the national teams, Jonas Kaslauskas and Tom Maher, suggested us togive more playing time to foreign players in the league," Zhang said.
Source:Xinhua
The Aoshen, whose top player Sun Yue signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers last week, was ordered to submit all the candidate files to the league office before the deadline of 3:00 p.m. on Sept. 20. Otherwise the club will be considered to waive its right of come-back.
The Beijing-based club was wiped off from the CBA league two seasons ago when it refused to release Sun and other players to play for the national senior and junior teams.
If the Aoshen doesn't compete in the 2008-09 CBA season, the Qingdao Double Stars will be the substitution while Tianjin Ronggang got the nods of all the existing 16 CBA clubs to be the 17th team of the league at the league meeting on Wednesday.
The Aoshen had problems to choose their home court. Beijing Olympic basketball arena Wukesong Indoor Stadium was excluded by the league office due to some commercial reasons.
"Leaders of the club Aoshen was informed to come to the CBA headquarters for additional discussions tomorrow morning," CBA league office director Zhang Xiong said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Foreign players will have more playing time next season as the league has dismissed the time limit for the foreigners when they meet the military team Bayi Fubang, the only team that has no foreign players in the league.
Each team can have two foreign players so far.
"The Beijing Olympic Games showed that how much foreign players could help the domestic leagues. Both our foreign head coaches of the national teams, Jonas Kaslauskas and Tom Maher, suggested us togive more playing time to foreign players in the league," Zhang said.
Source:Xinhua
Powell equals 2nd fastest 100m time set by Bolt
Jamaica's Asafa Powell looks on after winning the men's 100m race and clocking the world's second best time during the athletics IAAF Super Grand Prix Athletissima meeting, on Tuesday at the Olympic stadium in Lausanne.
Former world record holder Asafa Powell equaled the second fastest time ever over 100m when he clocked 9.72 seconds at the Lausanne grand prix on Tuesday.
The Jamaican, who finished a disappointing fifth in the Beijing Olympics final, equaled the mark set by compatriot Usain Bolt in New York City this year.
Bolt reduced his own mark to 9.69 seconds in the Olympic final and also set a world record in the 200m. He was a member with Powell of the Jamaican quartet who set a world record in the 4x100m relay final.
On Tuesday Bolt cruised to victory over the 200m in 19.63 seconds.
"After all my problems this year I'm satisfied with my performance tonight," said Powell after racing away from a strong field comprising all of the Beijing finalists except for Bolt.
"It's also great to set a new personal record."
Making the fastest start out of the blocks, Powell finished 0.2 of a second clear of Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix of the United States, with Jamaica's Nesta Carter taking third place, a further 0.06 seconds back.
Bolt cruises
Victory in the 200m was never in doubt for Bolt who finished more than half a second clear of runner-up Churandy Martina.
While Powell was greeted to rapturous applause by the Lausanne crowd, Bolt, though, heard the rare sound of jeers from the spectators after slowing up in the final meters.
"It was a good time," Bolt told reporters after matching Xavier Carter's 2006 Lausanne track record. "But I've made history now so a lot of people are looking to me for big times and great things.
"I'm always going out to do my best but it's been a long season and I trailed off tonight because I want to stay injury-free right the way to the season end.
"I'm happy for Asafa tonight. He has always been there, but he's looking pretty good now. There are a lot of guys to think about in the 100m."
Powell and Bolt were among six Jamaicans celebrating on Tuesday as the country's athletes won all but two of the sprint events.
Jamaican night
After owning the podium in the Olympic women's 100m, Jamaica sealed a one-two finish in Lausanne with Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser again finishing in front of joint Beijing silver medalist Kerron Stewart.
In a thrilling race, Fraser crossed the line in 11.03 seconds, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Steward with American Marsehevet Hooker coming up in lane one to take third place, a further 0.03 seconds back.
Melaine Walker, another Jamaican Olympic champion, finished more than a second clear of her rivals in the 400m hurdles while silver medalist Shericka Williams won a 400m race in the absence of British gold medalist Christine Ohurogu.
Delloreen Ennis-London completed Jamaica's strong showing, clinching the 100m hurdles after a late mistake by Olympic champion Dawn Harper.
The American brought down the final hurdle while leading the race, recovering to cross the line 0.03 seconds behind Ennis-London.
Bizarrely the same thing then happened in the men's sprint hurdles with Cuba's Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles also catching the last barrier to finish second behind American Olympic bronze medalist David Oliver.
Olympic 400m champion LaShawn Merritt provided the United States with its only other victory on Tuesday.
In the absence of his main rival and fellow American Jeremy Wariner, Merritt posted a respectable time of 43.98 seconds.
Twice Olympic 400m hurdles champion Angelo Taylor demonstrated his talent on the flat, finishing second behind Merritt in 44.38 seconds to complete an American one-two.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
Former world record holder Asafa Powell equaled the second fastest time ever over 100m when he clocked 9.72 seconds at the Lausanne grand prix on Tuesday.
The Jamaican, who finished a disappointing fifth in the Beijing Olympics final, equaled the mark set by compatriot Usain Bolt in New York City this year.
Bolt reduced his own mark to 9.69 seconds in the Olympic final and also set a world record in the 200m. He was a member with Powell of the Jamaican quartet who set a world record in the 4x100m relay final.
On Tuesday Bolt cruised to victory over the 200m in 19.63 seconds.
"After all my problems this year I'm satisfied with my performance tonight," said Powell after racing away from a strong field comprising all of the Beijing finalists except for Bolt.
"It's also great to set a new personal record."
Making the fastest start out of the blocks, Powell finished 0.2 of a second clear of Olympic bronze medalist Walter Dix of the United States, with Jamaica's Nesta Carter taking third place, a further 0.06 seconds back.
Bolt cruises
Victory in the 200m was never in doubt for Bolt who finished more than half a second clear of runner-up Churandy Martina.
While Powell was greeted to rapturous applause by the Lausanne crowd, Bolt, though, heard the rare sound of jeers from the spectators after slowing up in the final meters.
"It was a good time," Bolt told reporters after matching Xavier Carter's 2006 Lausanne track record. "But I've made history now so a lot of people are looking to me for big times and great things.
"I'm always going out to do my best but it's been a long season and I trailed off tonight because I want to stay injury-free right the way to the season end.
"I'm happy for Asafa tonight. He has always been there, but he's looking pretty good now. There are a lot of guys to think about in the 100m."
Powell and Bolt were among six Jamaicans celebrating on Tuesday as the country's athletes won all but two of the sprint events.
Jamaican night
After owning the podium in the Olympic women's 100m, Jamaica sealed a one-two finish in Lausanne with Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser again finishing in front of joint Beijing silver medalist Kerron Stewart.
In a thrilling race, Fraser crossed the line in 11.03 seconds, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Steward with American Marsehevet Hooker coming up in lane one to take third place, a further 0.03 seconds back.
Melaine Walker, another Jamaican Olympic champion, finished more than a second clear of her rivals in the 400m hurdles while silver medalist Shericka Williams won a 400m race in the absence of British gold medalist Christine Ohurogu.
Delloreen Ennis-London completed Jamaica's strong showing, clinching the 100m hurdles after a late mistake by Olympic champion Dawn Harper.
The American brought down the final hurdle while leading the race, recovering to cross the line 0.03 seconds behind Ennis-London.
Bizarrely the same thing then happened in the men's sprint hurdles with Cuba's Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles also catching the last barrier to finish second behind American Olympic bronze medalist David Oliver.
Olympic 400m champion LaShawn Merritt provided the United States with its only other victory on Tuesday.
In the absence of his main rival and fellow American Jeremy Wariner, Merritt posted a respectable time of 43.98 seconds.
Twice Olympic 400m hurdles champion Angelo Taylor demonstrated his talent on the flat, finishing second behind Merritt in 44.38 seconds to complete an American one-two.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
In Switzerland: diamond made of ashes of dead
Diamonds really are forever. Algordanza, a small company based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.
And with prices starting at less than 5,000 euros , the jewels are not solely the preserve of the jetset.
"Some people find it helpful to go to the cemetery and grieve, and they leave their grief in the cemetery," said Algordanza Chairman Veit Brimer.
Photo shows a grain of yellow diamond which was made by LIfeGem company of the U.S. using human bone ash.Algordanza, a small company based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.
"There are some people who, for whatever reason, do not want to have this farewell.
"Astonishingly these are mainly Christian people. They say: 'Why should I say goodbye? I'll see my husband in 15 years in heaven anyway'," Brimer said.
Source: China Daily
And with prices starting at less than 5,000 euros , the jewels are not solely the preserve of the jetset.
"Some people find it helpful to go to the cemetery and grieve, and they leave their grief in the cemetery," said Algordanza Chairman Veit Brimer.
Photo shows a grain of yellow diamond which was made by LIfeGem company of the U.S. using human bone ash.Algordanza, a small company based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.
"There are some people who, for whatever reason, do not want to have this farewell.
"Astonishingly these are mainly Christian people. They say: 'Why should I say goodbye? I'll see my husband in 15 years in heaven anyway'," Brimer said.
Source: China Daily
Aussie secrets row "lame" excuse
Chinese swimming coaches have slammed reports about the "big-money training program" allegedly sold by Australian guru Ken Wood which helped turn Liu Zige into an Olympic champion at the just-concluded Beijing Games.
China's Liu Zige won the women's 200m butterfly gold medal in a world record time at the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 14.
They said such claims degraded their own efforts to train the 16-year-old and was a "lame" excuse to explain the shocking defeat of Jessicah Schipper, the Aussie world record holder who was unexpectedly relegated to third place by the Chinese duo of Liu and silver medal winner Jiao Liuyang in the women's 200m butterfly.
"That is purely an excuse and such claims are lame and unprofessional," Liu's coach Jin Wei told Titan Sports.
"They are just looking for an excuse for Jessicah's defeat. Anyone with a knowledge of professional swimming knows that no training program is confidential."
Schipper, 21, won three medals, including a relay gold in the women's 400m medley. She has split with Wood who coached her for nearly 10 years.
Her camp, including her parents, are angry with Wood for helping Liu to beat Schipper in Beijing as they believed the coach sold Schipper's training program to Liu, who trained alongside the Aussie in Brisbane earlier this year for several months.
Wood denied the program he sold to the Chinese side was specific to Schipper.
Jin, a former swimmer from Shanghai and a member of China's new generation of coaches who are willing to spend a lot of time training overseas, said he respected Wood and learned a lot from the Aussie but that does not mean all of Liu's winning ways come from Wood.
"Ken is a very nice person and gave me a lot of help. I sort of see him as my mentor.
"But for training, everyone has their own program. We have some very advanced methods in China. If we copied everything from overseas, I don't think we would be able achieve so much."
In the past two years, Jin has repeatedly taken Liu and men's swimmer Shi Feng to Australia to train with local coaches, including Wood.
"The main reason for these overseas trips is to open their eyes," Jin said.
Another Chinese swimming coach, Wei Yaping, whose protg Tan Miao won a silver in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, said the comments were discriminatory and humiliated Jin and his fellow Chinese coaches.
Liu Zige of China receives congratulations from Jessicah Schipper of Australia after the women's 200m butterfly final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 14, 2008. Liu won the gold medal with a new world record of 2 minutes 4.18 seconds.
"They always have doubts, whether we are good or bad," he said. "Now they say we bought their training program. That just proves they are looking at Chinese swimming in a distorted way.
"Jin is a very good coach and has his own training program. Ken Wood is not the only person he learnt from."
In comparison to the shock in the Australian camp regarding Liu's victory, the Chinese side looked calm.
"Liu broke the world record in May's nationals and we expected a good performance at the Beijing Games," Chinese coach Pan Jiazhang said after Liu's race.
"There are many things that led to Liu's triumph, such as her swimsuit and spectators. But I think the home advantage which allowed us to prepare well was the main reason."
Jiao, finished second to Liu, who also broke Schipper's former world mark, and praised her winning teammate.
"She trained really hard and I am not surprised that she came out as the winner," said Jiao who finished fourth in the event at the 2007 Worlds.
As for Liu, it seemed she was not affected by the fuss as she returned to training on Tuesday quietly in Beijing after concluding an exhibition trip to Hong Kong and Macao, alongside other Chinese Olympic gold medalists.
"I miss water," Liu said before her first post-Games training session. "Nothing makes me happier than swimming."
After the showcase trip where she was treated with huge enthusiasm from Hong Kong and Macao residents, the swimmer said she is more comfortable with a quiet life rather than living as a star.
"The trip was more exhausting than the training. I am not used to it," she said. "I like quietness and I like to sit alone."
Source: China Daily
China's Liu Zige won the women's 200m butterfly gold medal in a world record time at the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 14.
They said such claims degraded their own efforts to train the 16-year-old and was a "lame" excuse to explain the shocking defeat of Jessicah Schipper, the Aussie world record holder who was unexpectedly relegated to third place by the Chinese duo of Liu and silver medal winner Jiao Liuyang in the women's 200m butterfly.
"That is purely an excuse and such claims are lame and unprofessional," Liu's coach Jin Wei told Titan Sports.
"They are just looking for an excuse for Jessicah's defeat. Anyone with a knowledge of professional swimming knows that no training program is confidential."
Schipper, 21, won three medals, including a relay gold in the women's 400m medley. She has split with Wood who coached her for nearly 10 years.
Her camp, including her parents, are angry with Wood for helping Liu to beat Schipper in Beijing as they believed the coach sold Schipper's training program to Liu, who trained alongside the Aussie in Brisbane earlier this year for several months.
Wood denied the program he sold to the Chinese side was specific to Schipper.
Jin, a former swimmer from Shanghai and a member of China's new generation of coaches who are willing to spend a lot of time training overseas, said he respected Wood and learned a lot from the Aussie but that does not mean all of Liu's winning ways come from Wood.
"Ken is a very nice person and gave me a lot of help. I sort of see him as my mentor.
"But for training, everyone has their own program. We have some very advanced methods in China. If we copied everything from overseas, I don't think we would be able achieve so much."
In the past two years, Jin has repeatedly taken Liu and men's swimmer Shi Feng to Australia to train with local coaches, including Wood.
"The main reason for these overseas trips is to open their eyes," Jin said.
Another Chinese swimming coach, Wei Yaping, whose protg Tan Miao won a silver in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, said the comments were discriminatory and humiliated Jin and his fellow Chinese coaches.
Liu Zige of China receives congratulations from Jessicah Schipper of Australia after the women's 200m butterfly final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube in Beijing, China, Aug. 14, 2008. Liu won the gold medal with a new world record of 2 minutes 4.18 seconds.
"They always have doubts, whether we are good or bad," he said. "Now they say we bought their training program. That just proves they are looking at Chinese swimming in a distorted way.
"Jin is a very good coach and has his own training program. Ken Wood is not the only person he learnt from."
In comparison to the shock in the Australian camp regarding Liu's victory, the Chinese side looked calm.
"Liu broke the world record in May's nationals and we expected a good performance at the Beijing Games," Chinese coach Pan Jiazhang said after Liu's race.
"There are many things that led to Liu's triumph, such as her swimsuit and spectators. But I think the home advantage which allowed us to prepare well was the main reason."
Jiao, finished second to Liu, who also broke Schipper's former world mark, and praised her winning teammate.
"She trained really hard and I am not surprised that she came out as the winner," said Jiao who finished fourth in the event at the 2007 Worlds.
As for Liu, it seemed she was not affected by the fuss as she returned to training on Tuesday quietly in Beijing after concluding an exhibition trip to Hong Kong and Macao, alongside other Chinese Olympic gold medalists.
"I miss water," Liu said before her first post-Games training session. "Nothing makes me happier than swimming."
After the showcase trip where she was treated with huge enthusiasm from Hong Kong and Macao residents, the swimmer said she is more comfortable with a quiet life rather than living as a star.
"The trip was more exhausting than the training. I am not used to it," she said. "I like quietness and I like to sit alone."
Source: China Daily
Sunday, August 3, 2008
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