IN BRIEF (Page 22)

BASKETBALL

Yao Ming's agent hits back at criticism

China's official sports newspaper criticized Houston Rockets' center Yao Ming for "abusing privilege" on Monday, but Yao's agent hit back by saying the report was irresponsible.

China Sports Daily, the official newspaper of the General Administration of Sports, said Yao is a privileged player in the national team and he always tries to escape from the team's training camp despite shoulder injury.

"The report is definitely irresponsible," said Zhang Mingji of Yao's team. "If anybody wants to comment on Yao, they should know about his injury at first.

"Yao has delayed his shoulder surgery because it will sideline him for over six months and hamper the team's future at the Beijing Olympics. Without taking the surgery, he will have to need some time to recover step by step, so we suggested CBA not to let Yao compete in the Stankovic Cup this month."

Yi's Guangdong boss stirs wave of reaction

Guangdong Tigers boss Chen Haitao has triggered another war of words as Milwaukee media said his comments were "hogwash".

Chen told Beijing News on Tuesday that the sole reason behind Yi's standoff with the Bucks is concerns over playing time, not the size of the Chinese population and his marketing development.

"Did Chen notice that the Bucks were 28-54 last year and haven't had a real power forward since Larry Krystkowiak was on the floor instead of sitting on the bench in a suit?" said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Did Chen catch the fact that Charlie Villanueva, the latest to try to fill the position, is coming off an injury? Or that Villanueva is really a small forward?"

MISCELLANEOUS

Wulong hosts world's best outdoor quest athletes

The 2007 Chongqing Wulong International Outdoor Quest will be held from August 24 to 26 in Wulong County of Chongqing.

The event, organized by the State General Administration of Sports, the Chongqing People's Government, the China Mountaineering Association, Chongqing Sports Bureau, and the Wulong People's Government, will attract over 20 teams from home and abroad including the 2007 world ranked top three teams.

Strong nations such as the United States, New Zealand, France, Poland, Germany, South Korea, Australia, Finland, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, will be featured in the largest international event of its kind in China. Hong Kong and Taiwan are also taking part.

Competition includes such events as cross-country running and biking in mountainous areas, canoeing, orienteering and rock climbing.

It is the fifth time Wulong hosts such event. The organizers aim to make the event one of the three biggest outdoor quest events in the world. The other two biggest races are Raid Gauloise and Eco Challenge.

(China Daily 07/19/2007 page22)