IN BRIEF (Page 22)
Volleyball
Chinese spikers conquer Cubans to claim title
China's national women's volleyball team won the final match over Cuba in straight sets 25-14, 25-17, 25-18 to capture their third title of the Montreux Volleyball Masters 2007 in Switzerland on Sunday.
China, also the winners in 2003 and 2004, and Cuba are now the biggest winners in the tournament with three titles apiece.
Having been frequently threatened by Cuba's powerful serves and spikes, Chinese players did not make mistakes in Sunday's match and did a good job in serve and counter-attack.
China's first trophy in this "Mini World Cup", was back in 2003, when they also beat Cuba in the final.
The two teams met in the final in 1998 and 1999, and China lost both.
The other match of the day saw Netherlands taking the third place, their best ever result, after beating Serbia 26-24, 26-24, 16-25, 25-22.
Soccer
National team beats Colorado in friendly
WASHINGTON: China overwhelmed Colorado Rapids 2-1 in a soccer friendly in Denver on Sunday.
Colorado Rapids, ranked third with a record of 4-3-4 in the 2007 US MLS Western Conference standings, led 1-0 at half time against the visiting Chinese national team.
China is gearing up for the Asian Cup to be held next month in Malaysia.
The victory was a relief for head coach Zhu Guanghu, who has been under fire after two ealier losses to the US national team and the Real Salt Lake team, the bottom club of the US Major League Soccer.
Miscellaneous
Beijing park hosts running festival
The adidas Running Carnival was held over the weekend at the Beijing Chaoyang Park.
The event includes adidas work shop program, adidas Training Program and 2-kilometer and 5-kilometer fun runs which saw a participation of over 1000 citizens. The appearance by China National Soccer Team player Li Weifeng added some starlight to the event.
Adidas is the official partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and is also the official sportswear partner for the Chinese Olympic Committee, which means Chinese athletes at the 2008 Olympics will sport adidas products.
(China Daily 06/12/2007 page22)
