IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Zhang injury deepens China misery

VANCOUVER: China slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Russia at the Winter Olympics women's ice hockey tournament on Thursday in a rough, tough clash which ended with a serious injury suffered by Zhang Shuang.

Zhang exited midway through the second period when she got entangled with Russian players coming off the ice and fell into the boards.

"It looks pretty serious. I didn't have time to check, but it looks really bad," said China coach Hannu Saintula. "We have to play the players we have. I really hope that she can play in the next game."

Track faces inquiry as crashes pile-up

WHISTLER, Canada: The widely-condemned Olympic sliding centre, which claimed the life of luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and caused multiple bobsleigh pile-ups, will be the subject of a major inquiry after the Games.

The International Luge Federation (FIL) announced Thursday it will investigate all events following the death of the Georgian 21-year-old as well as new claims that safety standards were not properly observed at the time.

Adding to the embarrassment of officials were allegations that competitors had been gagged from voicing criticism of the venue which also witnessed eight spectacualar crashes in bobsleigh training on Wednesday.

Why bronze shines brighter than silver

VANCOUVER: Finishing first is what matters at the Winter Olympics, but scientists believe that coming home third is often better than being second best.

It's all to do with a tongue-twisting phenomenon called "counterfactual thinking" or "what might have been", said Victoria Medvec, a psychologist and university professor.

"On average, bronze medallists are happier than silver medallists," she told the Globe and Mail newspaper, explaining that third-place winners have upward thoughts ("at least I won") that increase satisfaction.

In stark contrast, those who come in second tend to have downward "if only" thoughts that decrease happiness.

The most telling study involving athletes used footage from medal ceremonies at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Games hand American Idol off-key night

VANCOUVER: American Idol, the runaway television success which has enjoyed an American ratings stranglehold for almost six years, was knocked off top spot by the US Winter Olympic team's triple gold medal sweep on Wednesday.

Figures showed that NBC's coverage of the Games attracted 30.1 million viewers in the 9-10 o'clock slot compared to the 18.4 million who tuned in to see American Idol on rival network Fox.

It is the first time that American Idol, now in its ninth season, has been beaten in US ratings since May 2004.

"I'm told that's nearly 12 million more people than a similar day at the 2006 Winter Games, so they are some very significant figures," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

(China Daily 02/20/2010 page12)