IN BRIEF (Page 22)

Weightlifting

Weightlifter Chen wins triple gold for China

CHIANG MAI, Thailand: China's Chen Xiexia swept all three gold medals up for grabs on the opening day of the world weightlifting championships.

China's national anthem was the only one played at Chiang Mai's 700th Anniversary Stadium on Monday when Chen got China's Olympics preparations off to the perfect start.

She dominated the women's 48kg category with wins in the snatch and the clean and jerk helping her clinch another gold medal in the total category.

"I'm so very happy," a beaming Chen told reporters when asked how it felt to win her first world title. "Now, I'm going to work even harder."

Chen lifted 96kg on her third attempt in the snatch and had to settle for 118kg in the clean and jerk - 2kg less than her own world record - for a total of 214kg, 18 more than silver medalist Pramsiri Bunphithak of Thailand.

Miscellaneous

Fans to stay connected to NBA via mobile phones

NBA fans can now stay connected to the NBA anywhere, anytime via their mobile phones after an application was jointly launched by the NBA and KongZhong Corporation last week.

Users are able to access the service via cn.nba.com on their mobile phone.

The new service could provide fans with a broad range of content options, including news, scores, editorial content, play interviews, TV schedules, wallpapers, video clips and live NBA games.

The site will also offer a range of content free to the consumer on an ad-supported basis, as well as premium content users can download.

According to statistics, there are 500 million mobile phone users in China, 44 million of whom use mobiles to access the Internet.

Mountain climbers thank partners and sponsors

As a gesture of thanks for the support mountain climbing has received in China, the China Mountaineering Association (CMA) on Monday presented honorary flags to five Chinese sponsors.

After handing flags to computer giant Lenovo, Double Star Group, Jilin Zhengwang Oils Co Ltd, Liaoning Huanghai Automobile Co Ltd and the Sichuan Blue Sword Beverages Co Ltd, CMA director Li Zhixing said the national mountain climbing team was one of China's two most successful sporting stories, besides the national table tennis team.

The team has scaled the summits of seven continents and 14 peaks higher than 8,000m.

Today, mountain climbing and outdoor quests have become part of daily recreation for Chinese citizens, Li said.

(China Daily 09/19/2007 page22)