Song skating on thin ice after 'one-finger salute' to crowd

Young speed skater Song Xingyu has been handed a 12-month ban from training and racing in response to his one-fingered salute to spectators at the 11th National Games last Sundayin Shenyang, in northeast China's Liaoning province.

While crossing the finish line of the 10,000m race, the final event of the men's speed skating all-around, the Heilongjiang province skater waved his middle finger at members of the crowd from rival Jilin province who were loudly claiming he had committed a foul.

Song will be banned from Jan 6 to the same date next year, according to a release by Heilongjiang provincial sports bureau yesterday.