IN BRIEF (Page 23)

Water polo

China loses to Australia 9-6 in 'Good Luck Beijing' tournament

Host China suffered a loss to Australia, winner of the 2004 Olympic Games, 9-6 in the opening game of the "Good Luck Beijing" 2008 Water Polo China Open at Beijing's Ying Tung Natatorium yesterday.

China first opened score thanks to a side shot by Liu Ping but the host team was left chanceless for the rest of game in front of the mighty Australia.

Melissa Rippon launched the attack for Australian two minutes later as the Athens gold medalist kept the lead until the end of the game.

Chinese head coach Juan Jane was satisfied with the team's performance despite of the loss.

"This is a very young team so I think they played OK today," Jane told sina.com. "Australia is simply too strong for us, but I am sure our athletes have learned a lot from the game.

"What we need most is experience given the fact that we haven't played sufficient games. The tournament here is a good opportunity for them improve their skill."

In the other game, Sydney Olympics silver medalist the US defeated Russia 15-9.

There will be two men's games today as the China national team takes on the Shanghai team, while the Guangdong team plays Australia.

Taekwondo

Two-time champion Chen leads China's Olympic squad

YANTAI, East China: Two-time Olympic champion Chen Zhong leads China's taekwondo squad as China vows to win at least one gold in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

"The squad list will be sent to the Chinese Olympic Committee officially when the national championships are over," said Zhao Lei, vice president of the Chinese Taekwondo Association, here yesterday.

In the squad list, Chen Zhong, Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, is the gold medal hopeful in the women's over-67kg category. Wu Jingyu, world champion in 2007, will compete in the women's 49kg division.

The two male players are Liu Xiaobo in the over-80kg class, bronze medalist in the Asian Games in 2006, and Zhu Guo in the 80kg division, who won fifth place in the World Championships in 2007.

"When the official procedure is finished, we will make an announcement before the Asian Championships in April. The squad is almost nailed down and I don't think it will have any change in the future," Zhao said.

"We eye at least one gold medal in the Beijing Olympics and hope to win two if we are lucky," he added.

Zhao noted that the gold medal hopes came from the women's events and regarded fighters from Europe, South Korea and Thailand as the main opponents for Wu and Chen.

Soccer

IFA held in Beijing to discuss soccer's future

The International Football Arena (IFA) Beijing 2008 will be held in China's capital city from May 23 to 24, the second time the leading independent international forum of the soccer industry comes to China.

Launched nearly a decade ago in Zurich, IFA has expanded its presence all over the world and in 2007 it opened its second location in Beijing.

Through its presence in the Asian market, IFA aims to assist the development of the game at all levels and to promote the emergence of soccer throughout the world.

Also, a combination of soccer professionals, marketing pros, senior executives, media pundits and top-level traders will be at this year's IFA and will focus on hot topics like soccer life after the Beijing Olympic Games in China, how people are affected by the new pay TV deals and how Asian players can better integrate and prepare for the European soccer experience.

Golf

National Golf Invitational for Enterprises tees off in May

The 1st National Golf Invitational for Enterprises will tee off in Hebei province from May 15 to 17.

Organized by China Golf Association and the management department of China Multi-ball Administrative Center, the event is the first nation-wide golf competition for large-scale and mid-scale enterprises and will be divided into two groups for singles and teams, respectively.

It also serves as a best platform for the elites from different circles of enterprises to share experiences of the sport and help increase the sport's popularity.

(China Daily 03/19/2008 page23)