IN BRIEF (Page 22)

ATHLETICS

Liu edges Robles to reclaim outright No 1 rank

Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang again stands alone at the top of the men's hurdles rankings, according to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Liu, who relegates young Cuban sensation Dayron Robles to second, is scheduled to arrive in Beijing later this week to start final preparation for August's world championships in Japan.

The dynamic Cuban joined the world record holder in the previous update of IAAF rankings, when both were allocated 1387 points.

But a three-point cut gave the flying Liu an outright lead.

Fellow Chinese athlete Shi Dongpeng climbed one spot to 18th.

American Allen Johnson was placed third, followed by compatriots Aries Merritt and Anwar Moore.

Defending world champion Ladji Doucoure of France, who missed most races with injury last year, moves from 27 to 22 after returning to the track in May.

BASKETBALL

NBA grassroots event to be held across China

NBA Fit, a world wide public-service program, was launched in Beijing yesterday.

The event, which was jointly organized by NBA China, Li Ka Shing Foundation and Lao Niu Project Foundation, aims to promote healthy living among youth through nutritious eating habits and participating in regular exercise.

The tip-off ceremony was held in the Mingyuan School, a facility for the children of migrant workers, in Daxing, Beijing.

The program promoted basketball court refurbishment and entailed a reading room donation project for the school.

NBA legends Glen Rice and BJ Armstrong will join the NBA Fit camps in five cities - Shantou, Guangzhou, Beijing, Qingcheng and Huhhot - in the coming two weeks.

The camp contains various basketball-related activities including training clinics, life-skills seminars and basketball court refurbishment.

SOCCER

Soccer challenge takes place for Barca tickets

A number of junior soccer teams will square off at Beijing's Fourth Middle School this Saturday for the right to watch Barcelona's China Tour match against Beijing Guo'an.

Organized by the sports channel of Sina.com and Nike, the tournament will also reward the winning team with Nike soccer outfits and face-to-face encounters with Barcelona superstars Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and Deco when the mouthwatering spectacle takes place on October 5.

About 700 teams will take part across three competition zones: Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing.

The winning teams from Shanghai and Guangzhou will join Beijing zone winners and take part in activities with the Spanish league icons.

club.sports.sina.com.cn/battle has become a platform for sports enthusiasts to organize competitions and share experiences.

(China Daily 07/26/2007 page22)