Swimmer David Davies wins silver medal of Britain

David Davies, of Cardiff, added to the British run on medals with a silver in what was only the third 10km marathon swim of his career, finishing 1.5sec behind Dutchman Maarten van der Weijden after dominating for most of the race on in a rain-swept Shunyi Olympic Rowing lake.

The champion’s story is one that will be filed in the book of Olympic lore in the chapter entitled “Against the odds”: he was just 20 when he was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia. Given only a slim chance of survival, his treatment included chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Now 27, he is the first Olympic 10km marathon champion in history.

After having set the pace for almost every metre of the way, Davies put in a blistering turn of speed 1km out but he led the leading three, including Thomas Lurz of Germany down the middle of the course on the way down the home stretch and was forced to swerve across the course in the final 400m. Disorientated and drained, he went too wide, took Lurz with him and gave the Dutchman the perfect line. From 100m out, van der Weijden had his two rivals in his sights every time he turned to breath. The argument was over in 1hour 51 minutes 51.6 seconds, with Davies second 1.5sec adrift and Lurz third a further 0.5sec behind.

Davies's silver medal completes a fine performance in the open water event for Great Britain: three out of three. On Wednesday, Keri-Anne Payne and Cassie Patten took silver and bronze in the women’s race.

As he climbed out of the lake on to the pontoon, Davies collapsed and did not have the energy to fend off stretcher bearers who carried him to a nearby ambulance. Davies played down the incident when he said: "I just wanted to lie down and have a sleep, but before I knew it I was on a stretcher."

Once he had recovered, he found himself being dragged away from media interviews by overzealous Chinese marshals. A scuffle broke out, in which Davies’s coach Kevin Renshaw, and Michael Scott, Britain’s performance director, shouted at the marshals to “keep your hands off him – do not touch him.” The female marshal then shouted at Davies, who broke off from being interviewed to say: “Just shut up!” She did no such thing but before she knew it, Davies had splashed water in her face from the drinks bottle he was carrying. Scott joked: “He was just shaking a champagne bottle, nothing more than that.”

The crown went to the brave Dutchman, van der Weijden, who has recovered from cancer, made a comeback and celebrated gold after a monumental tussle with Davies, who led for the vast majority of the race, having taken the same tactic as Payne and Patten the day before, breaking to the front from the start in order to stay out of trouble. Drafting in swimming is estimated by the English Institute of Sport to save 15 per cent on energy: a lot of energy was saved by Davies's rivals in today's race drafting behind him.

Spyridon Giannotis, the Greek challenger whose mother hails from Liverpool, took the lead for 10mins half an hour hour into the race. But for that, the pace was set entirely by Davies, who hung on to the lead before surging about 1km from home. The Welshman opened up a 10m lead but Van der Weijden, Lurz and world champion Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia followed. Over the course of the next 800m, the Russian, who defeated Davies by a hand for the world crown in May, was given a red card for thumping a rival, his Olympic dream over.

The lead three raced on, but were swimming well into the middle of the lake. With 400m to go, all three had to swerve across the course into the path of the home-straight lane lines. That was decisive: Davies took too sharp an angle, Lurz went with him, while Van der Weijden took the inside lane and sprinted with his rivals in view at every breath.

After recovering from being sick and unable to walk for several minutes after the race, Davies said: "That was a once in a lifetime experience. It's going to take a while for it to sink in. At the last bit (of the swim) I didn't know what was going on. I gave everything and now I've got something to show for it. I've got an Olympic medal, it's a once in a lifetime experience. I need to learn to swim straight, I know that sounds silly. I wanted to be in front as much as possible, but I knew the others weren't far behind."

He added: I want to go on to London 2012 and that's still the aim but right now I never want to do that again. I gave it absolutely everything I had. I'm really proud of what I achieved here today."

So was Van Der Weijden, 6ft 7in and beyond a battle of a different kind – for life. At 20 he was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia. Given only a slim chance of survival, his treatment included chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. The Dutchman has spent his nights in Beijing sleeping in a low-oxygen tent that simulates high-altitude conditions and wearing glasses fitted with lights that wake him up fast and early.

Van Weijden, given a medical all-clear more than three years ago, said: "Lance Armstong's story is the one that everyone knows. In his book he talks about fighting the cancer and being desperate to get back on his bike, but I didn't feel like that. I was lying in my hospital bed feeling at peace with which ever way it would go. I was diagnosed in March 2001 and didn't think I would ever swim again. I had been to the world championships in 2000 in Hawaii and finished 9th and 10th. I was 19 years old and it was expected that I'd do good things in open water swimming."

"After my treatment I lost 13kg, I couldn't sit, stand or anything. Two weeks after getting out of hospital my mother persuaded me to go swimming again, to enjoy the feeling of being in the water and start to get back into some sort of shape again. I hadn't even thought about a come back at that stage. I would look at my body in the mirror all the time and wonder if I was getting better or whether the cancer would come back, but in the pool I didn't feel any fear that the cancer would come back. I felt relaxed and happy in the water.'

The Olympic champion said: "By 2003 I was back in the team and finished 15th and 16th at the Barcelona World Championships. Before the decision that the 10k would be in the Olympics my main goal was to be world champion at the 25k. I trained a lot of hours and I didn't think I had the speed for the 5k or the 10k. I decided to do a swim across a Dutch lake, Ijsselmeer. It is 20km wide and I won in a new record time and raised E50,000 for Dutch Cancer. I believe that I didn't fight cancer, I just had the right treatment, so I wanted to raise money to help fund treatments for other people."

Women's duet synchro swimming

IOC president criticises Usain Bolt for lack of respect

Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has accused Usain Bolt of showing a lack of respect to fellow competitors following his record-breaking gold medal performances in Beijing.

Despite comparing Bolt to Jesse Owens, after the Jamaican became the first man in 24 years to complete the Olympic blue riband double of the 100 and 200 metres, Rogge criticised the 6ft 5in sprinter for gesturing and flaunting as he celebrated his victories.

"That's not the way we perceive being a champion," Rogge said. "I have no problem with him doing a show but I think he should show more respect for his competitors and shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones immediately after the finish and not make gestures like the one he made in the 100 meters."

Having built a huge lead in Saturday's 100m final, Bolt slowed, glanced around with arms outstretched and pounded his chest before crossing the finish line in a world record time of 9.69 seconds.

"I understand the joy," Rogge said. "He might have interpreted that in another way, but the way it was perceived was 'catch me if you can'. You don't do that. But he'll learn. He's still a young man."

Bolt, who turns 22 today, stormed to victory in the 200m yesterday in a time of 19.30sec, knocking two hundredths of a second off Michael Johnson's mark, set at the Atlanta Games of 1996. However, following the race critics accused Bolt of making little effort to congratulate his competitors as he wrapped himself in a Jamaican flag and set off on a solo victory lap.

"He still has to mature," Rogge said. "I would love him to show more respect for his competitors.

"But he will learn in time. He should shake hands with his competitors and not ignore them. He'll learn that sooner or later. But (he is) a great athlete, of course.

"Bolt is in another dimension in sprints. He must be considered now the same way like Jesse Owens should have been in the 1930s.

"Bolt has a bigger edge than Owens on his rivals. Of course, Owens had the long jump too, so you can't compare people. If he maintains that in the future, Bolt will be someone that probably leaves a mark like Jesse Owens."

Track and Field

Jamaica's Usain Bolt celebrates winning the men's 200m final at the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Bolt won the men's 200 metres gold medal at the Olympics on Wednesday to complete the sprint double in a new world record time of 19.30 seconds.

(AFP/Olivier Morin)

Dutch cancer survivor wins marathon swim

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Dutchman given only a slim chance of survival after being diagnosed with leukemia won one of the Olympics' most grueling events on Thursday, the marathon open-water swim.
Maarten van der Weijden fell ill sevenyears ago but a stem cell transplant and chemotherapy saved his life.

He battled back to become the world's leading open-water swimmer and timed his surge to perfection to win a sprint finish after a three-man fight for gold in the Games' inaugural 10km men's race, after a contest lasting nearly two hours.

"That makes it extra special," van der Weijden said when asked about his recovery from cancer. "It proves that even after such an illness you can win gold."

Relentless rain descended on Day 13 of the Olympics, but failed to deter walkers, decathletes and bikini-clad women playing out the medals games in beach volleyball.

The rain did not dampen the buzz around Jamaica's Usain "Lightning" Bolt, celebrating his 22nd birthday on Thursday after winning a second sprint gold and setting another world record the night before, in the 200 meters.

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) questioned the Jamaican's sportsmanship, taking exception to his exuberant celebration of his 100 meter win on Saturday when he pounded his chest even before crossing the finish line.

"I think he should show more respect, shake hands, give a tap on the shoulder to the other ones. Not making gestures like the one he made," said Jacques Rogge. "He still has to mature."

Jamaican coach and former sprinter Don Quarrie defended Bolt, saying his celebrations were just youthful high spirits, from a man who is "playful, funny, happy."

Former athletes searched for superlatives to describe Bolt.

"It was the most amazing athletic performance I have ever seen in my life," said former U.S. track champion Michael Johnson, who lost his 12-year world record to Bolt.

The finals of women's beach volleyball went ahead in the rain. An excited home crowd sheltered under umbrellas as China's Tian Jia and Wang Jie lost to the defending champions, U.S. pair Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh in straight sets.

May-Treanor and Walsh, who have dominated the sport for five years, left the door open to a return in London 2012, but said that might depend on plans to have children.

JAMAICA, U.S. SHOWDOWN

The limelight returns to the Bird's Nest in the evening, and another intriguing showdown between Jamaica's extraordinarily successful sprinters and the United States.

Jamaican women followed Bolt by sweeping the 100m medals and a trio of strong sprinters are looking to add 200m glory at 7:30 p.m. (1130 GMT). The Americans, the traditional superpower of sprinting, are desperate for at least one gold.

Cuban world record-holder Dayron Robles says he is confident of winning Thursday's 110m hurdles final, which was shaping into one of the high points of the Games but is now deflated by the absence of Chinese favorite Liu Xiang.

A foot injury forced the Olympic champion to limp from the track before his first race, leaving Chinese fans in tears.

"I'm very calm. I'll win the gold medal," said Robles.

The Chinese can at least console themselves with a look at the gold medal table, where they have built up a seemingly unassailable lead of 45 golds to the Americans' 27.

In Athens the U.S. team topped the medals table with 36 golds to China's 32, but the hosts have invested heavily in selecting and training their athletes over many years, an effort that mirrors the nation's growing global economic and political clout.

"The world has to learn to live with a change of geopolitical nature," the IOC's Rogge said, adding that China's sporting success would last "as long as their sports system lasts."

On a packed day of athletics, Americans Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merrit go head-to-head in the 400m on Thursday too.

Later, the women's soccer tournament wraps up with the U.S. team facing Brazil and hoping to repeat their victory against the South Americans in Athens four years ago.

Sports

Beijing 2008
He takes gold in a unique tiebreak
Ap, Beijing



Chinese He Kexin performs her final somersault on way to a perfect landing during the women's uneven bars final of the artistic gymnastics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics yesterday. Photo: AFP
Nastia Liukin's loss of an Olympic gold medal couldn't have come in a closer or more convoluted manner.

The Beijing Games all-around champion from the United States received the same 16.725 score as China's He Kexin on uneven bars on Monday. A tiebreaker was used because dual medals are no longer awarded in gymnastics.

And that tiebreaker was so complex that long after the medals were handed out, International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officials still were explaining it.

Suffice it to say that because of the deductions from a perfect 10 for each gymnast in their execution scores, He had gold and Liukin had her second silver and fourth overall medal of these Games.

"For me, it's not correct," said FIG president Bruno Grandi, who noted the rules for dual medals were dropped in 1997 at the direction of the IOC. "When two people arrive on the same level, they are champions. But this competition doesn't belong to us. It is the IOC's.

"I believe it's correct to have two gold medals, but this is my modest opinion. The IOC is different."

Liukin would not criticise the scoring system.

"It's nothing I can control, and honestly, I can say it has been very fair to me, and I got the biggest gold medal of them all," said Liukin, winner of the gold in women's all-around gymnastics.

She doesn't have the latest one, but her four medals tie her father Valeri's haul when he competed for the Soviet Union. Coincidentally, one of Valeri Liukin's golds, on high bar in 1988, came in a tie with teammate Vladimir Artemov.

"I tied in my Olympics," he said with a shrug. "There were people that tied in the all-around back when I was competing. I guess they don't want that now."

He Kexin, at the centre of an age eligibility controversy, admitted to being surprised by the outcome.

"I didn't expect to win a gold medal because the more I want it, the more pressure I feel," she said. "It's more nerve-wracking than competing with the whole team."

Particularly when it comes down to such a miniscule margin.

Liukin's silver gave the United States six overall medals. China has five, including team gold.

Oddly, there also was a deadlock for the men's vault gold, which went to Poland's Leszek Blanik over France's Thomas Bouhail.

Blanik's 16.6 on the first vault was the highest of the four total attempts by the two gymnasts, giving him the gold. Bronze went to Anton Golotsutskov of Russia.

Silver and bronze on pommel horse Sunday also were decided by a tiebreaker.

Chen Yibing extended China's perfect run of gold by winning the still rings competition. That string ended only because no Chinese men qualified for vault.

It seemed as if a hurricane couldn't have swayed Chen, the two-time world champion, during his routine. He was perfectly still on nearly every move in registering a 16.600 that blew away the field of eight.

"I was nervous, but I was prepared mentally and I believed I had the ability to win," Chen said.

Chen hammed it up bigtime. He lingered on the podium after his performance to soak in the cheers, and exulted with both arms high in the air when his name was announced at the medals ceremony. After an arm bump with silver medalist Yang Wei, Chen looked like he was smelling his medal before he kissed it and held it up to the crowd. He sang every word of China's national anthem, his eyes tearing toward the end.

"This is the highest individual honour for me," he said, "and I waited a long time."

All-around champion Yang Wei wasn't nearly as impressive as in his previous rings routines, but his strength and steadiness earned him silver. Oleksandr Vorobiov of Ukraine took bronze.

Five-time Olympian Jordan Jovtchev went first -- and soon was gone. After he missed a handstand, the five-time Olympian knew he wasn't getting a fifth Olympic medal. Jovtchev left the arena moments later.

Sports

Tamim fireworks not enough
TigerCricket.com, Darwin
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful pulls one during his knock of 71 against Australian Institute of Sports in the Tigers' one-day practice match at the Gardens Oval in Darwin yesterday. PHOTO: TIGERCRICKET.COM Bangladesh squandered a perfect start in chasing down a massive total and fell short by 14 runs in the first of four practice matches against the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) at the Gardens Oval yesterday. The Tigers were given a target of 331 and were 212 for 2 in 33 overs before five wickets fell for 41 runs.A brave rearguard action by Abdur Razzak (33 from 19 balls) and Forhad Reza (30 not out off 36 balls) inched Bangladesh closer but with 15 required of the last over Shahadat Hossain, the last batsman in, missed the first two deliveries before hitting one uppishly straight to mid on. "We probably lost it when we lost all those wickets in the middle," said Tigers captain Mohammad Ashraful who made a sparkling 71 (59 balls) and shared 95 for the fourth wicket with Rokibul Hassan (34). Both batsmen had played sensibly and had creamed the off side with AIS skipper Moises Henriques keeping an attacking field throughout. But Rokibul holed out at deep mid-wicket when he should have continued rotating the strike with low-risk options and Ashraful after an exhibition of classy strokes including a couple of spanking pulls, was bowled while trying to sweep a half volley on the stumps.Bangladesh had started off in lambasting fashion with Tamim Iqbal bludgeoning a 45-ball 85. He played on the up, swung it around and no bowler was spared. The score went racing along as Tamim flayed new ball duo Grant Sullivan and Ben Cutting. The left-hander took a runner in Ashraful following back spasm but still stood there and pulled and flicked sixes and fours. So dominant was he that when he went from 49 to 53 with yet another boundary, his partner at the other end Mehrab Hossain was on just seven and happily playing second fiddle. The entertainment ended when Tamim skied one but Bangladesh were cruising at 111 for one in 14 overs.Earlier, the AIS batsmen had shown maturity and good cricket sense as they dominated the Bangladesh bowling from the onset. With pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza rested, Shahadat and Nazmul Hossain opened the bowling. But they were inconsistent with line and often bowled too short or too full on a placid wicket. Shakib Al Hasan (10-1-45-1) was by far the best bowler for Bangladesh. He varied his flight and kept a stump line and displayed the importance of variation on such a flat track. For the AIS the first five in the order made 74, 55, 83, 69 and 34 and the eventual score of 330-4 was reward for that consistency. They also hit hard whenever the opportunity arose and at least three times the ball got lost."We have to bowl better. It's as simple as that. We were poor in that department and almost made up for that with our batting. But we need more control from the bowlers," said Ashraful.Bangladesh also left out batsman Alok Kapali and pacer Dollar Mahmud from Monday's match besides injured Nazimuddin.The next warm-up against the AIS is on Wednesday.SCORES IN BRIEFAIS: 330-4 in 50 overs (G Moller 74, M Wade 55, P Forrest 83, M Henriques 69*, M Hill 34, L Davis 3*, extras 12; Nazmul 1-62, Razzak 1-51, Forhad 1-67, Shakib 1-45).BANGLADESH: 316 all out in 49.3 overs (Tamim 85, Mehrab 24, Ashraful 71, Rokibul 34, Shakib 20, Riyad 1, Dhiman 1, Razzak 33, Nazmul 1, Forhad 30*, Shahadat 1, extras 15; G Sullivan 1-60, M Henriques 3-38, J Holland 4-43, S Smith 1-21).Result: AIS won by 14 runs.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Swimming
Beijing 2008
China cries with Liu
Afp, Beijing
TEARS OF A HURDLER: China's athletics medal hope, Liu Xiang grimaces in pain as he retires from the first round of the men's 110 metres hurdles at the Bird's Nest in Beijing on Monday. Photo: AFPChina suffered a huge setback Monday to its hopes of winning gold on the track when superstar Liu Xiang sensationally pulled out of the 110m hurdles, taking the gloss off the hosts' best Olympics ever.The country's 1.3 billion people had been banking on Liu to shine, but he has been troubled by a foot tendon injury and was clearly in pain when he lined up for his race and pulled up before the first hurdle in a false start.The dejected star, one of the faces of the Beijing Olympics along with basketballer Yao Ming, limped down the tunnel of the Bird's Nest stadium to a stunned silence from the 91,000 watching fans.Liu, the defending champion, has been absent from international competition for most of the year and his coach Sun Haiping said the hurdler has been suffering from the Achilles' heel injury for six to seven years."It just got worse," Sun said at a hastily arranged press conference in which he broke down in tears."His right heel injury has been a problem since six years ago, even before the Athens Olympics."On August 16, we arrived at the Olympic village, medical experts analyzed Liu's injury and specified there was a problem on Liu's Achilles's tendon."The Chinese team's head coach Feng Shuyong added: "I think the Chinese people will understand the situation and will encourage him to come back to the track and perform well."Seldom could there have been more pressure and expectation placed on an athlete than there has been on Liu since he confirmed his class in winning the title in Athens four years ago.The 25-year-old looked a certainty to defend his title successfully until Cuban Dayron Robles threw down the gauntlet this season.While Liu has not been seen on the European circuit, 21-year-old Robles has torn it up with some devastating performances.He capped it by breaking Liu's world record in a stunning hurdling display in the Czech Republic, timing 12.87 seconds in June. He clocked 13.39 seconds in his heat Monday to be hot favourite for gold.The sudden withdrawal of Liu, whose face can be seen on billboards and in TV ads pushing everything from local milk to big Western brands, shocked fans, who count him as a symbol of China's burgeoning success in the world."I can't believe this has happened. He is my hero," said Sun Yejun, 30, a Volkgswagon quality control engineer in Beijing as she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief."I came here especially to see him. I am devastated. I just bought one ticket. The Olympics is over for me as well as Liu Xiang."It took the shine off China revelling in its best Olympic gold medal achievement.The host country has bettered the 32 gold it won in Athens and is on its way to becoming only the third country since World War II -- after the United States and the Soviet Union -- to top the end-of-Games medal tableSo far it has 39 gold to the United States' 20, but track and field is traditionally an American domain and the balance of power is expected to shift.Cui Dalin, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese delegation, admits the medals will likely start drying up."With events like track and field, China's pace in winning gold medals will slow down," he said.The country's gymnasts continued their dominance.The have already had their best Olympics since Los Angeles in 1984 where they won four gold, having now won eight.He Kexin won the women's uneven bars Monday, with Nastia Liukin of the United States taking silver even though she scored the same mark as her rival.In the men's rings competition, Chen Yibing won gold with compatriot Yang Wei making it a one-two finish for the home nation.He Wenna capped the day by taking the women's trampoline title.Elsewhere, China's men's table tennis team -- Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Wang Liqin -- beat European powerhouse Germany in the team final.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Athletics
Beijing 2008
Taylor leads US sweep
Afp, Beijing



US athlete Angelo Taylor crosses the final hurdle ahead of the chasing pack during the men's 400m hurdles final of the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the National Stadium on Monday. Photo: AFP
Veteran hurdler Angelo Taylor and discus thrower Stephanie Brown-Trafton opened America's track and field gold account on Monday but their gymnasts were undone by a controversial new scoring system.

The 29-year-old Taylor regained the 400 metres hurdles title he won in 2000 to beat home compatriots, world champion Kerron Clement and 2005 world champion Bershawn Jackson.

Lolo Jones, meanwhile, ran the fastest 100m hurdles time in the world this year, winning her semifinal in 12.43 seconds, to set up another US-Jamaican athletics showdown in Tuesday's final.

One night after Jamaican women swept the 100m medals with three Americans behind them, Jones, Damu Cherry and Dawn Harper all went through.

"We're going to go for an American sweep, 1-2-3, and see what happens," said Cherry.

Brown-Trafton was also a winner in the discus with a throw of 64.74m with Cuba's Yarelys Barrios and Olena Antonova of Ukraine taking silver and bronze.

But there will be no gold for 110m hurdler Terrence Trammell whose bid to turn two successive Olympic silvers into gold ended in tears in his first round heat.

The 29-year-old failed to get past the second hurdle because of a left hamstring injury while defending champion Liu Xiang of China also limped away with a foot injury.

China won three of the four gold gymnastic medals on offer, but the US were denied a place on top of the podium under a complicated tiebreak system never before used at the Olympics.

The new scoring system, under which the old "perfect 10" has been replaced with two marks, features one mark out of 10 for execution and another reflecting the difficulty of the routine.

In the uneven bars final, China's He Kexin and America's Nastia Liukin both scored 9.025 for execution and 7.7 for difficulty, to give each a final score of 16.725.

But instead of sharing gold, officials implemented a countback system where the highest and lowest of the five judges marks for execution were progressively removed until a winner emerged.

"I don't know if anybody understands what the hell is going on," Liukin's father and coach Valeri said.

The United States won the team gold medal in the Olypmic show jumping competition in Hong Kong after a dramatic jump off with Canada, the first time the medal has been decided by showdown.

The American victory came after both teams finished the competition even on 20 penalty points.

Sports
Football
Barclays English Premier League
MU's struggling start
Ap, London
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney (R) and Newcastle United defender Fabricio Coloccini fight for the ball during their Premier League encounter at Old Trafford on Monday. Photo: AFPChelsea gained an early advantage over Manchester United in the Premier League title race on Sunday, routing Portsmouth 4-0 as the defending champion were held 1-1 by Newcastle.Aston Villa suggested it can improve upon last season as American goalkeeper Brad Friedel made his league debut for the Villans in a 4-2 win over Manchester City in Sunday's other match on the opening weekend of the season.Chelsea, which last season finished runners-up to Manchester United in England and in the Champions League, showed a new verve in manager Luiz Felipe Scolari's first game and thoroughly outclassed the FA Cup holders with goals by Joe Cole, Nicolas Anelka, Frank Lampard and Deco.It suggested that United will find it tough to hang on to its titles as it struggles through the opening weeks of the campaign with a weakened squad.Cristiano Ronaldo, last season's top scorer, is sidelined until October and United will now have to contend without Michael Carrick (ankle) and Ryan Giggs (hamstring) for at least two weeks. Alex Ferguson also had to cope Sunday without Carlos Tevez after the Argentina striker went home due to a family death.Obafemi Martins put Newcastle ahead in the 22nd minute, when the unmarked Nigeria striker evaded Darren Fletcher and buried a powerful header.But Fletcher took just two minutes to strike back. Ryan Giggs cut through the visiting defence with a low cross from the left and Fletcher was to deftly steer it past Shay Given, who continuously denied United's pursuit of a winner.Villa, which finished sixth last season, looked a better bet than Portsmouth to challenge for fifth place and a UEFA Cup spot after an eight-minute hat trick by striker Gabriel Agbonlahor.John Carew put the home side ahead with a 47th-minute header from Ashley Young's left-wing cross.Although Elano made it 1-1 with a penalty kick awarded for Luke Young's foul on Michael Johnson, Agbonlahor, who on Saturday was left out of Fabio Capello's England squad for a midweek friendly against the Czech Republic, swiftly put his team out of sight.Vedran Corluka got a late goal back for City, which badly disappointed fans in its first game under new manager Mark Hughes.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Football
BFF pins hopes on Manik
Sports Reporter



New Bangladesh national football coach Shafiqul Islam Manik and BFF vice-presidents Abdus Salam Murshedi (M) and Badal Roy (L) are all smiles after the former got his contract with the federation yesterday at the BFF Bhaban. Photo: STAR
As expected, Shafiqul Islam Manik has become the highest paid local coach for the national football team.

Announcing him as the new coach for the next three and half months at a press conference at the BFF Bhaban, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) vice-president Badal Roy told that the contract is renewable and the federation will watch Manik's activities during the period.

"He starts working from today and once the National Team Management Committee (NTMC) gives its prescription for team selection, it will not interfere in Manik's business," said Badal, also the chairman of the NTMC.

"After selection, all responsibilities belong to the coach. We want to ensure that this is not breached. Although we have made a brief contract, our plan is long-term with Manik.

"We will recruit a technical director and he will decide everything bout national team's coaching. That's why we've gone for a short contract. We know he is an able coach and believe he will do the job properly."

Badal added that although Manik will get only one tournament -- Merdeka Cup in Malaysia -- during this period, he would not be judged by the result as the BFF has no target in the Merdeka Cup.

"We will see whether his activities are according to the terms and references of the job or not."

It seems that it would be a testing time for the former national footballer, who has 12 years' experience in club coaching.

"I am grateful to my parents and my mentors Gafoor Balooch and Ali Imam for whom I have come this far. I am also thankful to the BFF because for evaluating my ability," said Manik whose monthly salary would be Tk 60,000 in addition of other facilities.

His predecessor Abu Yusuf received Tk 35,000 as national coach.

"I know there had been problems with local coaches in the past but I don't want to look back. All I want is to work with the federation as one of its members and try improve the condition of the game," added Manik.

Sports
Tennis
Beijing 2008
Nadal takes gold
Afp, Beijing
Spanish star Rafael Nadal holds up the national flag after receiving the gold medal for his victory over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in their men's singles final at the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday. Photo: AFPSpain's Rafael Nadal added Olympic gold to his glittering season collection as he destroyed Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in the men's singles final on Sunday.Nadal, whose tennis domination will be confirmed when he becomes world number one for the first time on Monday, blew Gonzalez away 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 to claim his eighth title this year.He is the first top-five player to take the men's title and the only Spanish champion after near-misses in 1992 and 1996. Nadal has already won his fourth consecutive French Open and first Wimbledon title this season.Earlier Elena Dementieva won a combustible final against Dinara Safina to head a Russian one-two-three in the women's singles.The world number seven recovered from an error-strewn first set to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, making up for her disappointment in losing the 2000 final."It's very difficult to explain the way I feel right now. It will take a few days before I realize I'm Olympic champion," Dementieva said."But this is for sure the biggest moment in my career, in my life. I will never forget this moment."Russia had already been guaranteed the first tennis podium sweep in 100 years when Vera Zvonareva, a late call-up for the injured Maria Sharapova, clinched the bronze medal play-off against China's Li Na 6-0, 7-5.Meanwhile, 2000 doubles champions Serena and Venus Williams won their second title with a one-sided 6-2, 6-0 win against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain.The sisters become only the second pair to win the women's doubles twice after fellow Americans Gigi Fernandez and Mary Jo Fernandez."I'm so excited I can't even speak," said Venus.Yan Zi and Zheng Jie bagged the bronze against Ukrainian sisters Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko, handing China their second successive women's doubles medal after Li Ting and Sun Tiantian's victory in 2004.The men's final had seemed a formality, such is Nadal's current form, and the muscular 22-year-old duly raced through the first set, breaking at 1-0 and taking the lead with a forehand winner.Gonzalez blew his chance to get back into the match when he put a simple volley wide after creating two second-set points on Nadal's serve.Nadal was never behind in the tie-break and he landed the knock-out blow by breaking at 2-1 in the third. He missed three match points on Gonzalez's serve before wrapping it up in the next game with a wide-angled forehand.The women's singles final got off to a low-quality and bad-tempered start with neither player able to hold serve and frustrations growing on both sides of the net.A shrieking Dementieva lost the first set but crucially held off a break point at 5-5 in the second before levelling the match.Safina swiped the ball into the crowd and smashed her racquet on the floor in the tense third set as Dementieva closed it out on her first match point.Russia currently dominates women's tennis with five of the top 10 players and three of the last four Fed Cup titles.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Chelsea off to a flier
Afp, London
Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka (C) heads in the second goal during their Premier League match against Portsmouth at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Photo: AFPChelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari enjoyed a spectacular debut as his side turned on the style to rout Portsmouth 4-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.Scolari had spoken at length this week about his desire to bring a touch of Brazilian flair to a Chelsea side always high on perspiration but sometimes low on inspiration.His new charges seem to have got the message already. Their touch, speed and movement left Portsmouth bewildered and produced a demolition that took the breath away.Goals from Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka put Scolari's team in control before Frank Lampard's penalty capped the most impressive 45 minutes you will see this season. Deco added a final flourish with a stunning strike in the last minute.Jose Mourinho brought Chelsea success beyond their wildest dreams but even the 'Special One' never put on a show like this.After Arsenal and Liverpool gave unconvincing displays on Saturday, this was a serious statement of intent from the leading contenders for Manchester United's title.While it is only one game and Scolari has clearly inherited a supremely talented squad, the Brazilian has given his players the freedom to express their gifts in a way that promises quite a season in west London.RESULTS SundayChelsea 4 (J. Cole 12, Anelka 26, Lampard 45-pen, Anderson Deco 89) Portsmouth 0SaturdayArsenal 1 (Nasri 4) West Bromwich 0; Bolton 3 (Steinsson 34, Davies 41, Elmander 45) Stoke 1 (Fuller 90); Everton 2 (Arteta 45, Yakubu 64) Blackburn 3 (Dunn 22, Santa Cruz 66, Ooijer 90); Hull 2 (Geovanni 22, Folan 81) Fulham 1 (Ki-Hyeon 8); Middlesbrough 2 (Wheater 71, Mido 86) Tottenham 1 (Huth 90-og); Sunderland 0 Liverpool 1 (Torres 83); West Ham 2 (Ashton 3, 10) Wigan 1 (Zaki 47)
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Cycling
Beijing 2008
Romero creates history
Afp, Beijing
Great Britain's track cyclist Rebecca Romero displays her individual pursuit final gold in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing yesterday. Photo: AFPBritain's Rebecca Romero made Olympic history here Sunday when she became just the second woman to claim medals in two different sports at the summer Games.England's Romero dominated an all-British track cycling individual pursuit final to leave Wendy Houvenaghel of Northern Ireland with the silver medal after posting a winning time of three minutes 28.32 seconds for the three-kilometre event.Lesya Kalitovska of the Ukraine defeated New Zealand's Alison Shanks to win the bronze medal.Romero's was the first Olympic gold medal for Britain in the event, and came a day after Bradley Wiggins successfully defended his individual pursuit crown in the men's four-kilometre race.Romero's win, five months after her maiden world title, meant Britain had now claimed an impressive four gold medals from five of what will ultimately be a total of 10 finals.British riders have also now won eight of the 15 medals up for grabs so far.Romero, who won an Olympic rowing silver four years ago in the women's quadruple sculls, follows in the footsteps of Roswitha Krause of the former East Germany.Krause won a swimming silver at the 1968 Games in Mexico from the women's 4x100m relay, then won silver in the women's handball final at the 1976 Games in Montreal and handball bronze at Moscow in 1980.The 28-year-old Romero admitted there was no way she was settling for silver this time."I'd have been absolutely crushed if I got the silver," said Romero, who only took up cycling seriously in 2006 after giving up rowing due to a recurring back problem."It's taken for me to come into cycling to realise my full athletic potential," she added.Houvenaghel only took up cycling six years ago, but won world championship bronze in the individual pursuit and gold in the non-Olympic team event at Manchester in March.Formerly an amateur cross0country runner, she discovered a talent for time-trialling in 2002 not long after she had run the London Marathon for the first time in April of that year.Although being pushed into road time-trialling by her cycling enthusiast husband, she was inspired to take up track cycling after she saw Scotland's Chris Hoy win gold in the kilometre at Athens in 2004.Romero set out to make up for her "disappointing" silver rowing medal from Athens in defiant fashion.Although Houvenaghel led over the first couple of laps of the 250-metre track, the Northern Irishwoman was soon playing catch-up.Romero led after the first kilometre, and held her pace over the next four laps to virtually seal the gold. Houvenaghel raced a faster third lap but by then it was too late.The 33-year-old Houvenaghel finished just over two seconds behind and, even as Romero screamed out in joy as she brandished a Union Jack flag, still had a huge smile on her face.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Swimming
Beijing 2008
Beyond all borders
Joe Posnanski
PROUD MOTHER: Deborah Phelps (L), mother of Michael Phelps, reacts after her son won the men's 4x100m medley relay gold in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the National Aquatics Centre yesterday. Photo: AFPI keep staring at this photograph. Above me, the crowd is still cheering, still standing, still trying to find the words that match the emotions of watching Michael Phelps win his eighth gold medal of these Olympics. Impossible? Incredible? Unthinkable? It's like Phelps has forced the thesaurus into early retirement.I keep staring at this photograph because it's the closest I can get to the heart of all this. Sure, I can tell you the facts of the day. On Sunday morning in Beijing, Michael Phelps swam the butterfly leg of the United States 400-medley relay. In the medley relay, each country has four swimmers, and each swims 100 meters of a different stroke - backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. It is a race that really tests a nation's depth of swimming talent. The United States had never lost Olympic gold.When Phelps dived into the pool, the United States was in third place, a half second behind the leader. When he finished his 100-meters, the United States was in first place. That's Michael Phelps. His teammate Jason Lezak took the lead and swam the last 100-meters, brought home the gold, finished off another world record. And that gave Phelps eight gold medals for these Games, one more gold than American swimmer Mark Spitz won in 1972, more gold than anyone thought possible."Some many people thought it couldn't be done," Phelps would say moments after the race. "All it takes is some imagination."Well, it may take a bit more than that. Winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics also takes a single mom in Baltimore, Debbie, who is a principal of a middle school and has dedicated her life to her son's athletic genius. It takes a driven coach, Bob Bowman, who can see what's possible and wants to push those limits. It takes a 6-foot-4 young man with a 79-inch wingspan and the unimaginable drive to swim countless hours and eat 12,000 calories every day and handle the most intense pressure an athlete can feel.And it also takes being part of the world's best swimming team - three of Phelps' eight medals came in relays. Individually, sure, he won the 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, the 100- and 200-meter butterflies and the 200-meter freestyle. That's remarkable enough, but that would not have stopped the world.No, it was being part of those three winning relays - all three in world record time - that pushed Phelps' achievement from sublime to historic.And still, I keep staring at this photograph. True, you could try to explain Phelps' triumph by using pure numbers. He's only 23, but he has now won 14 gold medals in his career, which is four more than any Olympian ever, which is more than 181 different countries that have competed at the Olympics, including Mexico (pop. About 108 million), India (about 1.1 billion) and Nigeria (about 120 million).He has now won 16 medals overall, which is also the most for any Olympian. After the race on Sunday, FINA - the governing body for swimming - gave Phelps a special medal for his extraordinary achievements. That is just what he needed. He is also now either the sole owner or a part of seven world records and eight Olympic records.True, you could try to explain Phelps achievement by pointing out that in Olympic competition alone he swam more than two miles in the four disciplines. The sheer endurance it takes to win eight swimming gold medals at an Olympics is overwhelming; Melvin Stewart, a former Olympic champion in the 200-meter butterfly, compared it to someone trying to win gold medal in the mile, the 100-meter dash and the marathon at the same Games."The more you know about swimming," Stewart said, "the more you realize that what he's done here is not even possible."Still, for me, it comes down to the photograph. It was taken by a Sports Illustrated photographer. It shows the finish of Saturday's 100-meter butterfly as seen from the bottom of the pool. The 100-meter butterfly, you might remember, was Phelps' toughest race; he won gold by one one-hundredth of a second, or roughly thirty-times faster than an eye-blink.Well the photo is from an instant before the finish. On the right, Serbian swimmer Milorad Cavic is reaching for the wall. His arms are stretched out in front of him, like Superman, and his fingertips are just two or three inches from the wall.On the left, Michael Phelps is finishing his final butterfly stroke, and his arms are off the side, like he's pretending to be an airplane, like he's a bird getting ready to take off. He appears to be about 2 or 3 feet from the wall.There's an optical illusion to the photo because Cavic is, in fact, under the water while Phelps is above. Even so I have stared at that picture and stared at it, because there's no possible way that Phelps won that race. It's simply impossible. There is no conceivable way that he could he brought his arms forward and touched the wall before Cavic glided the final inches.And yet he did. Phelps somehow did. That's what I think when trying to sum up a man winning eight gold medals at the Olympics. It seems beyond human capacity. But, isn't that the point of the Olympics, to show that nothing is beyond human capacity. He somehow did.(Joe Posnanski writes for the Kansas City Star and has been voted best sports columnist in America)
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Sports
Athletics
Beijing 2008
Nataliia delivers gold
Afp, Beijing
Ukraine's Nataliia Dobrynska competes during the javelin event of the women's heptathlon in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the Bird's Nest on Saturday. She won the heptathlon gold. Photo: AFPNataliia Dobrynska of Ukraine fell back on her strength in field events to win the heptathlon gold medal at the Olympics on Saturday.The 26-year-old, who finished eighth at last year's world championships in Osaka, recorded a total of 6733 points after the gruelling two-day, seven-discipline event.Dobrynska's compatriot Lyudmila Blonska took silver, 33pts adrift, with overnight leader Hyleas Fountain of the United States claiming bronze at 6619pts."The Olympic Games is the main goal for every athlete, but today I think I wanted it more and that's why I won it," said Dobrynska."I had very strong opponents, but like every athlete, I had the goal to win the Olympic Games."Dobrynska's victory was based on two top performances in the shot put, in which she recorded a best of 17.29m, and the long jump, in which she jumped a lead of 6.63m.A poor 24.39sec in the 200m was masked by a solid 13.44sec in the 100m hurdles, a 10th-best 1.80m in the high jump and an impressive 48.50m in the javelin throw.She finished last in her 800m heat but fast enough to edge Blonska.Fountain's superiority in the track events was shown up by her lack of power in the field events, the American managing only 13.36m in the shot and 41.93m in the javelin."I'm very satisfied and very excited," said Blonska, the 2006 world indoor champion and reigning world silver medallist who was banned in 2003 for two years after testing positive for stanozolol, the anabolic steroid used by the disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson."I never thought I could win a silver medal in the Olympic Games. It has always been my dream to win a medal in the Olympics."Fountain added: "One of my goals was to get on the medal stand. In the heptathlon you have to take the good with the bad and the bad with the good."Pre-event favourite Kelly Sotherton of Britain, who has openly accused Blonska of being a cheat, finished fifth on 6517pts, with Russian Tatiana Chernova in fourth."I did three personal bests and in the end I came fifth," said the 31-year-old Sotherton, a bronze medallist in the worlds in 2007 and the Athens Games four years ago."If I had won here at the Olympics I probably would have quit, but I'm not satisfied."I will do another year - I want to go on and at least win the World Championships."
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Cricket
An explosive duel
First India-SL ODI today
Afp, Dambulla



THIS IS WHERE THE TURN COMES FROM: Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis (R) stretches his sinewy right shoulder ahead of a practice session at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Photo: AFP
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene are looking forward to an explosive start to their one-day international series starting here Monday.

Sri Lanka's left-handed opener Sanath Jayasuriya may be 39, but remains a bowler's nightmare with his ability to change the course of a match with devastating strokeplay.

India will not easily forget their last encounter with the Sri Lankan, who hammered a quickfire century under pressure to set up his team's victory in the Asia Cup final in Karachi last month.

India's Virender Sehwag is an opener in form, having already hurt Sri Lanka with an unbeaten double-century in his team's victory in the second Test of a recent three-match series.

Although India lost the series 2-1, Sehwag was one of the few batsmen to salvage batting pride as he emerged his team's top scorer with 344 runs.

"Jayasuriya in form is always a great thing because he can contribute with both bat and ball," Jayawardene told reporters on Sunday.

"The start he gives makes a huge difference. If he stays for 10 or 15 overs, you are guaranteed a good start. He is a bit like Sehwag for India. That gives a different dimension to our set-up."

Jayasuriya has been haunting India ever since he cracked a 76-ball 79 in a 1996 World Cup match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in New Delhi to power his team to an emphatic victory.

He was a trendsetter, redefining batting in the 1996 Cup with his consistent over-the-top hitting in the early overs to take advantage of fielding restrictions.

Other teams followed suit, bringing in a hard-hitter at the top of the order.

Jayasuriya appears to have a special liking for the Indian attack, having scored 2,429 runs in 74 matches with six hundreds. His best in 416 one-day internationals -- 189 at Sharjah in 2000 -- also came against India.

He is the second-highest scorer in one-day internationals with 12,688 runs, behind only India's Sachin Tendulkar (16,361).

Like the Sri Lankan, the 29-year-old Sehwag is also capable of dominating any attack on any surface with rich strokeplay. The Indian has scored 5,810 runs in 191 matches with nine hundreds and 29 half-centuries.

"Whenever he (Sehwag) gives us a good start we have a fair chance of winning the match," said Dhoni.

"A good start is very important in any form of cricket, but it does not mean the entire pressure is on the openers. Sehwag is a sort of player who takes a fair amount of risk. He is a strokeplayer.

"He is in a very good nick and so is Gautam Gambhir. They did well in the Tests also and will have added responsibility, but no pressure."

Dhoni said it was important for his team to dismiss Jayasuriya early.

"Jayasuriya can be compared with Sehwag or (retired Australian) Adam Gilchrist. It is important not to let them have a good start," said Dhoni.

"They are the batsmen who take chances. They can commit mistakes if you try to restrict them. All these players are very different, but for someone like Jayasuriya, it's important to get him out early."

India and Sri Lanka will play five one-day internationals, with the first two to be held here and the remaining three in Colombo.

TEAMS
INDIA (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Subramaniam Badrinath, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha.

SRI LANKA (from): Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Udawatte, Chamara Silva, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Ajantha Mendis, Thilina Thushara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Jehan Mubarak, Malinda Warnapura.

Sports
Athletics
Beijing 2008
Jamaica roar out of blocks
Ap, Beijing
SPEED IS JAMAICA: Jamaica's super sprinter Usain Bolt crosses the finish line well ahead of the pack in the men's 100m sprint final on Saturday while his compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser (R) celebrates after winning the women's 100m dash yesterday in the Beijing 2008 Olympics at the National Stadium. Photo: AFPWhen it comes to Olympic sprints, nobody does it better than the Jamaicans. Yeah, mon.The Caribbean island of 2.8 million people capped the first gold-medal sweep of men's and women's 100-meter dashes since 1912 with a rare 1-2-2 sweep of the women's race. After never winning Olympic gold in the 100, Jamaica got two in as many days.Shelly-Ann Fraser won the women's dash Sunday, pumping her fist as she was clocked in 10.78 seconds. Teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart finished in a dead heat for the silver, 0.20 second backthe same margin Jamaica's Usain Bolt won by Friday night when he hot-dogged to the finish in 9.69.Fraser knew she had won and smiled wide, showing those braces, and then went to pick up the green, yellow and black Jamaican flag. It was the widest margin of victory in an Olympic women's 100 final since 1988, when Florence Griffith-Joyner set the world record.“When I was thinking about it, I was getting ahead of myself,” Fraser said about a gold medal. “I was like, 'Calm down. First you need to go out there and do it.”'She did, and after she crossed the finish line more than a body length in the lead, reggae music played in the background during a three-minute delay while judges looked at the photo finish. There was no way to split the difference, so Jamaica got the top three spots and didn't even have to settle for a bronze.“It's about time,” Stewart said when asked what the sweep meant. “We've been waiting on this. So many great athletes have come so close.”Jamaica's big win turned into a giant disappointment for the United States. Lauryn Williams finished fourth, Muna Lee fifth and Torri Edwards last. Lee, the only one of that U.S. trio with another chance for an individual medalin the 200said she thought there was a false start.“I didn't know if they were going to call it,” Lee said. “I should have just ran. That's my fault.”Even that might not have made a difference.The Jamaicans are just that good.“We've dominated for years, and now it's their time,” Williams said.Making it even more impressive is that the woman widely considered Jamaica's best at this distance, defending world champion Veronica Campbell-Brown, wasn't even in the field, after failing to qualify at the country's Olympic trials.Her spot essentially went to Fraser, the least accomplished of the Jamaican sprintersat least until now. She is only 21same age as Boltand didn't have a time under 11 seconds before this year. The highlight on her resume before now was the silver medal she won as part of the Jamaican relay team at last year's world championships.
One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR
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Federer upset by Blake in Olympic tennis

BEIJING (AP)—Roger Federer directed an angry scream toward his feet. He swatted a stray ball in frustration. He slapped his thigh, hung his head and stomped behind the baseline.
And finally, he questioned calls, something he hates to do. That merely made him madder: He went 0-4 on replay challenges.
For Federer, it was that kind of night. It has been that kind of year.
Federer’s long slump continued and the bid for his first Olympic singles medal ended Thursday when he lost to American James Blake.
So began an upset parade in the quarterfinals. Serena Williams lost to Elena Dementieva of Russia, and as the clock approached midnight, Venus Williams was beaten by Li Na of China.
Matches were delayed 3 hours, 35 minutes at the start because of rain, pushing back the schedule. With four matches still in progress and top-ranked Jelena Jankovic about to begin against Dinara Safina, rain at 1:15 a.m. forced a halt until Friday.

Venus Williams loses in Olympic tennis quarters

BEIJING (AP)—Venus Williams is the latest upset victim in Olympic tennis, losing to Li Na of China in the quarterfinals.
Williams, who won gold medals in singles and doubles at the 2000 Games, was beaten 7-5, 7-5. She followed to the sideline her sister Serena and top-seeded Roger Federer, who both lost earlier Thursday.
A wayward forehand plagued Williams, and she sent one long to lose serve and fall behind 6-5 in the second set. The reigning Wimbledon champion had three more forehand errors in the final game, and when Li hit a service winner on match point, the crowd responded with the biggest roar of the tournament.
Williams remained in the doubles competition and was to play with her sister in the quarterfinals later Thursday.

Andrade wins, while 2 more Russian boxers fall

BEIJING (AP)—Demetrius Andrade wanted a little revenge for a loss he took as a wide-eyed teenager in a cold Russian town.
Zhang Xiaoping hoped to prove China’s early Olympic boxing success is no hometown concoction.
And when Andrade and Zhang were done, they had added two more names to the shockingly long list of Russians going home early from Beijing.
Zhang upset light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev 8-2 on Thursday at Workers’ Gymnasium, and Andrade easily stayed on track for a medal with a 14-3 thrashing of Andrey Balanov.
The losses left just six fighters in the field for Russia, which was widely expected to be the games’ dominant power over a young Cuban team. Instead, four Russians were picked off in the last two days of preliminary bouts, while Cuba still has nine fighters in the field.

Andrade was far too much for Balanov, who only scored one point—he got two more on a curious penalty against Andrade for ducking. The American’s technically superb victory avenged a loss to the 32-year-old Balanov in Russia back in early 2005 when the current world champion welterweight was a raw prospect from Providence, R.I., on his first international trip.
“He was the first person I ever fought over, maybe, 22,” Andrade said. “I was real nervous. I’m only 16, I’ve got no power, I can’t hold the guy. I went in there and did my thing, but I learned from it, and it got me to where I am today.”
That’s one victory from a guaranteed medal, and three wins from gold. He’ll fight South Korea’s Kim Jung-joo on Sunday for a semifinal place.
Zhang got a few curious points from the judges, but still controlled his fight with another Russian disappointment. Beterbiev, who finished second in last year’s championships, didn’t score after the first round and seemed to have no strategy to beat his tall, long-armed opponent.
Zhang turned the fight into a hug-a-thon at times, but scored enough on the outside to win.
“I had the psychological advantage, because my opponent is stronger than me, so I have no pressure,” Zhang said. “Secondly, my strategy is quite good. I took advantage of my height and kept distance from my opponent.”
Chinese welterweight Hanati Silamu also beat overmatched Joseph Mulema of Cameroon 9-4 to advance within one victory of a medal. China, which has never won gold in a sport long banned by Mao, has seven boxers still alive in the Olympics—unbelievably, more than the Russians.
At least light welterweight Gennady Kovalev slowed the Russian slide in the evening session with an 11-2 win over Richarno Colin of Mauritius.
While Russia falters, the young Cubans keep chugging along. Welterweight Carlos Banteaux advanced with a 13-6 victory over Britain’s Billy Joe Saunders, and light welterweight Roniel Iglesias celebrated his 21st birthday by beating Morocco’s Driss Moussaid.
Banteaux, who lost to Saunders earlier in the year, fought with precise strategy in the rematch, counterpunching and picking away at his eager teenage opponent. Banteaux showed off his sharper grasp of amateur boxing’s idiosyncratic scoring for punches from multiple angles.
Saunders’ teammate, light heavyweight Tony Jeffries, opened his Olympics with a victory over Colombia’s Eleider Alvarez in a fight that ended in a 5-all tie. Amateur boxing matches are then decided by the highest average of total punches landed, as scored by three of the five judges at ringside.
But Britain lost another medal hope in the evening session when light welterweight Bradley Saunders lost 11-7 to France’s Alexis Vastine. Saunders, no relation to his teammate, had beaten Vastine in the world championship quarterfinals last fall on the way to a bronze medal, but was decisively beaten by his sometime training partner.
“It’s a big weight off my shoulders, now I know I haven’t got a medal,” Saunders said. “It’s been brilliant coming here, but there’s so much pressure with the training and not seeing my family. Now I can be back with my family and live a normal boy’s life.”
Unheralded Egyptian welterweight Hosam Abdin got the session off to a remarkable start with an 11-10 victory over Thailand’s Non Boonjumnong, who finished second at last year’s worlds. Abdin hung on in the final two rounds even after his coach was kicked out of his corner for being too vocal.
Boonjumnong’s brother, Manus, later opened defense of his light welterweight gold medal in Athens by beating Japan’s Masatsugu Kawachi.
“I’m incredibly sad and disappointed,” Manus said of his brother’s loss. “He has been preparing even better than me. He talked to my parents, and they cried on the phone, but it was destiny that he couldn’t get through. I will try to do the best where I am now.”
World champion light welterweight Serik Sapiyev also beat Venezuela’s Jonny Sanchez.

Golden day for Asia in Beijing

BEIJING (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima and Chinese gymnast Yang Wei led a golden day for Asia on Thursday that showcased the continent's growing sports power. As hosts China powered ahead in the medals' table on Games day six, two of the biggest names in Beijing, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, crashed out of the tennis singles at the quarter-final stage. There was a rare sour note in an otherwise good-natured Games when a Swedish wrestler tossed away his bronze medal in disgust at the refereeing. "I don't care about this medal," said Ara Abrahamian, pulling the prize off his neck on the podium. In the Water Cube, Asia's greatest swimmer Kitajima stole the spotlight from American Michael Phelps with an unprecedented "double-double" in the breaststroke, adding the 200 meters gold to the 100 title he won on Monday. He won both in Athens in 2004. "I was not thinking about winning two gold medals at two consecutive Olympics," he said. "I was just focused on doing my best in Beijing."ADVERTISEMENT There were sweet victories too for Chinese gymnast Yang Wei, who ended eight years of hurt in the men's individual all-round event, and for shooter Du Li, who had broken down in tears after failing to win the first gold of the Games on day one. China even took an unexpected gold in women's archery thanks to Zhang Juan Juan. That ended South Korea's streak of winning every women's Olympic archery gold medal since 1984. Asian nations have won nearly half of the golds so far. Mongolia joined the party, taking the first gold medal in its history when Tuvshinbayar Naidan won the 100kg judo, rolling his opponent over three times in a show of brute force. China leads the overall medals' table with 22 golds. America follows on 10 golds—five of those thanks to swimmer Phelps and relay team mates—but will expect to come back strongly when track-and-field events start on Friday. Germany are third with seven golds, followed by South Korea and Italy on six. China's Communist Party newspaper hailed a resurgent Asia's medals' success as proof of historical and economic trends that were overturning "the old disparities" in sports competition. "The traditional sporting powers face stronger and stronger challengers," the People's Daily said. CHINESE MIGHT Replacing old Cold War rival Russia as America's main challenger at the Olympics, China came second in Athens and is mounting a formidable challenge to go one better at home. The world's most populous nation has shown its new wealth, confidence and technological ability with a dazzling opening ceremony, record Games spending of $43 billion, some architecturally astonishing venues and meticulous organization. Greco-roman wrestling took the limelight for the wrong reasons on Thursday when Sweden's Abrahamian rejected his medal and announced he was quitting the sport. He shouted and later whacked a barricade with his fist in a row over the judges' decision during a semi-final bout with the eventual winner. Olympic chiefs said he would face a disciplinary hearing. The Water Cube again saw plenty of excitement. France's Alain Bernard won swimming's blue ribbon event, the men's 100 freestyle, by a whisker. Stephanie Rice, the glamour girl of Australian swimming, took her third gold of the Games in the 4x200m freestyle relay. Then hosts China scored a shock one-two in the pool. Nineteen-year-old Liu Zige destroyed the world record in the women's 200 butterfly and compatriot Jiao Liuyang relegated Australian world champion Jessica Schipper to third. "I just took it easy," winner Liu said of home pressure, maintaining a Phelps-like calm. "I am always like this." China have dominated gymnastic in these Games, and Yang, unbeaten on the international stage since 2006, followed team gold with another in the men's individual all-round event. Thumping his chest and cupping his hands around his ears, he milked the crowd's cheers even before the judges' final scores were announced. His joy was magnified by past disappointments—taking silver in Sydney and missing out on a medal in Athens. There was relief, too, for Chinese shooter Du, who steadied earlier nerves to win the women's 50m rifle three positions. Du said she had nearly quit the sport after failing to win a medal on Saturday, when national hopes had weighed heavily. Rainstorms washed away the Beijing smog but also caused delays in tennis, softball, canoeing and rowing. Beach volleyball players struggled on though, squelching through the sand. When play resumed in tennis, there were two quarter-finals shocks. Top men's seed Roger Federer lost 6-4 7-6 to American James Blake after an error-strewn performance from the Swiss. "I'd lost to him eight, nine, 10, 50 times, I don't know how many, but I had the feeling it could be my day," said Blake. Then Serena Williams was surprisingly beaten in three sets by Russia's Elena Dementieva, depriving Beijing spectators of another dash of glamour.

Toulon to compensate Bulldogs over Sonny Bill Williams' defection

BULLDOGS chief executive Todd Greenberg says he is ready to discuss a finacial settlement for Sonny Bill Williams with Toulon.
The prospects of a deal come after the runaway NRL star was pulled from the French rugby union club's pre-season match overnight. Toulon and Williams showed they were prepared to abide by a NSW Supreme Court injuction banning the New Zealand international from playing for the club by withdrawing the rogue Bulldog from their trial with Toulouse. Toulon club president Mourad Boudjellal said the decision was made so as to not “inflame the situation”, adding: “A financial settlement is going to be found at the beginning of next week.” Dogs CEO Greenberg today said his club was prepared to talk. “Their message this morning has come out loud and clear, they want to talk, and I've said a number of times the door is open, the phone is on, let's have a discussion,” Greenberg told Sydney radio 2KY. “For me it's been encouraging that they've understood the order of the court and they will abide by it until such time as we have a discussion, which is important.” Asked what the settlement could include, Greenberg said: “There could be a range of things and that will probably unfold over the next week or so when we open some dialogue with them. “I'm not sure where this will head, but certainly it's a different step for NRL clubs, probably a different step for Australian sport.” Williams had intended to line up in the centres for Toulon at their home ground on the Cote d'Azur but was instead forced to watched his side lose 19-12 from the stands alongside boxing champion and mate Anthony Mundine. If the 23-year-old had played, he risked being found in contempt of court as well as possible arrest, a jail sentence and the seizure of his Australian assets, including his $1 million Sydney home. “It is a good sign for us,” Greenberg said. “I suppose it's the first development that shows both Sonny Bill and Toulon have recognised that any order of the Supreme Court is not something that you can take lightly. “It is a serious piece of legistlation and he should act accordingly, which he has done and that's a pleasing sign. “It's also important in that it shows can't ignore it (the injunction), irrelevant of where you are in the world. “It does have significant ramifications. “So people who say that contracts aren't worth the piece of paper they're written on, I think this sends a very clear message that if you've got a contract and breach it, and the supreme court then has a look at that, then you've got some ramifications.” Toulon's offer comes less than a week after Mourad refused to acknowledge the NSW Supreme Court order banning his star recruit from playing. Williams, who left the Bulldogs last month despite having four years left on his contract, made his debut for Toulon last weekend in the club's first pre-season friendly against second tier team Carqueiranne-Hyeres. He was reportedly served with the injunction after the match. Williams joined Toulon on a one-year contract, with an option of a second, in a deal reportedly worth about $2 million. While Williams failed to make an appearance on the field today, Toulon's newly signed former Wallaby Matt Henjak featured in the second half of the match. Williams made his debut for Toulon last weekend in the club's first pre-season friendly against second tier team Carqueiranne-Hyeres. However his new career got off to a shaky start, being yellow-carded in the third quarter of the game after he put one of his trademark shoulder charges - illegal in union.