IN BRIEF (Page 19)

From schoolteacher to heart-starter, it took a lot of ticker to get to the top

The eldest son of a big rural family, Dr Wu Qingyu, 55, could still hear his mother coughing as she cooked for the whole family - his father and eight siblings in a village in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Cutting-edge surgeon offers new hope

Xiaoli, 28, was born with Ebstein's anomaly - a malformation of her heart's tricuspid valve that causes it to leak. Consequently, some of the blood pumped by the right ventricle goes backwards through the valve with each heartbeat, causing her heart to enlarge.

Ji's journey from roadside to recovery

Ji Jiali (pictured) was only several months old when she was abandoned on a roadside in Shanxi Province seven years ago. The villager who found Ji and took her home, Zhang Quanmei, noticed a strange bluish tint to Ji's lips and fingertips.

Changing hearts and minds

Mimicking the sounds of motor vehicles, a boy was playing with a toy motorcycle in a corridor of the inpatient ward in Beijing Huaxin Hospital. His parents were watching intently, their eyes filled with worry. At a glance, people would notice the bluish color in the boy's skin, lips and fingertips.

Sports

Old Spider Hands saves South Korea

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korea's veteran goalkeeper Lee Won-jae showed his young team mates there is some life in the old spider yet after breaking Iranian hearts in an Asian Cup quarterfinal penalty shootout on Sunday.

F1 title race too tight a tussle to pick, tips Spaniard Alonso

NUERBURGRING, Germany: McLaren's Fernando Alonso declared the Formula One title race too close to call after slashing team mate Lewis Hamilton's lead to just two points on Sunday.

Top Shot

Record-chasing Bonds rested, set for Monday return

De La Hoya, Hatton eye possible clash

LAS VEGAS: Oscar De La Hoya plans to continue fighting and has targeted Britain's Ricky Hatton for a possible clash next year.

Iraq's Akram gears up for big European move

BANGKOK: Nashat Akram is poised to become the first Iraqi to play in one of the big European soccer leagues after being linked with top-flight clubs in England, Spain and Italy.

Czech shows backbone to climb ranks

LOS ANGELES: Radek Stepanek, sidelined for six months last year with a neck injury, set his sights on regaining a top-10 ranking after winning the Los Angeles Classic on Sunday.