IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Ice hockey

Swiss overpower Belarus

QUEBEC CITY: Julien Sprunger scored two power-play goals on Monday to lead Switzerland to a 2-1 win over Belarus at the ice hockey World Championship.

Belarus bolstered its lineup by adding four NHL players: Montreal Canadiens' forwards Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn and Mikhail Grabovski as well as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Ruslan Salei.

Canadiens defenseman Mark Streit, the Swiss captain, will not join the team because of a back injury in the NHL playoffs.

In Monday's other game in Quebec City, Sweden beat France 9-0, while in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Finland edged Norway 3-2 in overtime, and Germany got past Slovakia 4-2.

Field Hockey

Germany to face Argentina

Defending champion Germany avoided favorites The Netherlands but was pitted alongside Athens bronze medalist Argentina in the draw for the women's Beijing Olympic field hockey tournament yesterday.

The Germans, the world No 3, will also play Japan, New Zealand, Britain and the United States in Pool B in a round robin format, with the top two teams progressing to the semifinals.

The Netherlands are in a tough group that also features world No 4 Australia and world No 5 China. Spain, South Korea and South Africa, the lowest-ranked team at 12, make up Pool A.

As rank-outsider, Germany earned its first-ever Olympic women's field hockey gold medal when it shocked The Netherlands 2-1 in the final four years ago.

(China Daily 05/07/2008 page24)