IN BRIEF (Page 23)
SOCCER
Bulgarian striker Chilikov joins China's Dalian
SOFIA, Bulgaria: Nacional Madeira striker Georgi Chilikov, who spent this season on loan at CSKA Sofia, has joined the Chinese Super League club Dalian Shide, the Bulgarian Premier League club said.
Chilikov, a member of Bulgaria's squad at Euro 2004 in Portugal, failed to establish a regular first-team place at CSKA, which is top of the table. The 29-year-old striker signed a two-year contract, with the option for a third year, CSKA said.
Motor sports
Dongchuan of Kunming hosts automobile rally
The China cross-country auto rally, namely the China Dongchuan motor rally traveling over the remains of mud-and-rock flow, will be held in Dongchuan District of Kunming, Yunnan province from April 26 to May 3.
The competition has been held four times at Dongchuan, known for its mud-and-rock flow and challenging terrain for racers.
This year's event, organized by the Federation of Automobile Sports of China, Yunnan Sports Bureau and Kunming People's Government, offers total prize money of 600,000 yuan ($83,417) with the champion pocketing 100,000 yuan, the organizers said in Beijing on Tuesday.
The total distance of the rally is 750 km with 350 km of special stages.
The Dongchuan competition is one of five stops of the cross-country series. Other events include the ice-and-snow race in Mohe, Heilongjiang province, the Tour of Takalamankan Desert, Luop Nur Crossing and the competition in Yangshan, Guangdong province.
BADMINTON
'Super Dan' forgiven for on-court outburst
China's world No 1 badminton player Lin Dan has been forgiven by the sport's governing body - Table Tennis and Badminton Administrative Center (TBAC) - for his shameful outburst during last weekend's Korea Open Super Series final against Lee Hyun-il.
Lin, who lost his temper and raised his racket toward Korea's Chinese coach Li Mao after a controversial line call, was in danger of being banned. But a chief official from TBAC said Lin will not be punished.
"We just verbally criticized him," TBAC director Liu Fengyan said. "Lin chose to fight back after being provoked. It's understandable."
The clash broke out after a shuttle from Lee seemed to have gone out from Lin's baseline, but was called in by the line judge.
Lin complained to the umpire as he approached the chair. As he neared the coaches' seats, the video review showed, Li said some things that Lin Dan didn't like.
Lin also refused to apologize for his behavior, claiming he responded after Li first verbally attacked the Chinese team with dirty words.
"He was out of control at that time and attacked us with verbal insults," Lin said. "I will not apologize for what I did."
FIGURE SKATING
Star figure skating pair's return delayed due to exhibition tour
China's figure skating head coach Yao Bin expected an early comeback of pairs skating triple world champions Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. But the skaters, still on an exhibition tour of Canada and the US, said they will not return in the first half of the year.
Yao, known as the "Godfather of Chinese Figure Skating", hoped the pair could come back in a bid to increase its chances of competing in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, but their form is still questionable after being out of action for so long.
The two-time Olympic bronze medalists gave up the national team training last March after winning the pairs title at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo.
"It all depends. We did not compete in the past year and we have no idea if we are still capable of competing in an Olympics," said 34-year-old Zhao.
Despite a prolonged absence from the national team, they have never given up their long-cherished goal of winning an Olympic gold.
"We take up exhibitions rather than training with the national team, but it does not mean we are ebbing away," said Zhao in Harbin recently.
The pair, which has teamed up for 15 years for world-level competitions, has skated well for China, wining three world titles, but has yet to win Olympic gold.
(China Daily 01/31/2008 page23)
