IN BRIEF (Page 22)

SOCCER

China to go Down Under for Aussie friendly

SYDNEY: China will play Australia in a friendly international in October, Football Federation Australia announced yesterday.

FFA chief executive Ben Buckley told reporters the decision to face China in Sydney had nothing to do with Australia's disappointing quarter-final elimination from last month's Asian Cup.

"We look to all parts of the world for international friendlies - we don't specifically want to play against Asian teams," Buckley said.

"Our main focus will be on the World Cup qualification programme but it is important to supplement those games where necessary with matches against other high-profile teams."

Australia is due to play Argentina in a friendly in Melbourne on September 11.

MISCELLANEOUS

World's top climbers to scale Changzhi

The second international rock climbing masters will be held at the Changzhi-Huguan Taihang Grand Canyon, Shanxi Province, on November 10 and 11.

The event, organized by the China Mountaineering Association, the Shanxi Changzhi People's Government and the Changzhi Sports Bureau, will attract more than 50 top climbers from 20 countries and regions including the United States, Canada, Russia, France, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Hong Kong, Macao and the Chinese mainland.

Changzhi hosted the first international event when 39 athletes from 16 countries and regions took part in 2005.

The CMA and the Shanxi Changzhi municipality have reached an agreement to hold the event at least every two years in future.

The two sides have also decided to build a rock-climbing base in the Grand Canyon for competitions, training and other amateur activities.

China to host first national poker competition

The China Leisure Sports Administrative Center (CLSAC) announced yesterday it would launch the first National Traktor Poker Tournament to be staged by World Poker Tour Enterprises (WPTE).

The five-year partnership will focus on growing the sport of Traktor Poker, known as Tuo La Ji, China's most popular poker game.

CLSAC will launch the first season of the tour in the fall.

It is anticipated the tour visit up to 15 locations across the country and include an online preliminary on www.ourgame.com, before culminating in the Grand Final in early 2008.

The CLSAC and WPTE will collaborate on unique TV production and marketing platforms to cover the poker tour.

(China Daily 08/07/2007 page22)