Grant and Slomka breathe easier after wins

PARIS: Chelsea manager Avram Grant and his Schalke 04 counterpart Mirko Slomka can sleep a little easier on Wednesday after both their sides reached the Champions League quarterfinals.

Lin survives but his girlfriend exits

LONDON: China's Lin Dan stuttered in the defense of his All England badminton title in Birmingham on Wednesday with a 16-21, 21-8, 21-11 first-round victory over Anup Sridhar of India.

Benitez hails fiery Torres

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez hailed Fernando Torres as "on fire" after the Spanish striker hit his second successive Anfield hat-trick to lift his club into fourth spot in the Premier League table.

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Sports

Duncan lifts Spurs to 10th straight victory

SAN ANTONIO: Tim Duncan had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets 81-70 for their 10th straight NBA victory on Tuesday.

Unpassable Anderson leads Panthers to shut out the Bruins

BOSTON: Florida goaltender Craig Anderson continued his unpassable form to give the Florida Panthers a 1-0 shutout win over the Boston Bruins in the NHL on Tuesday.

Fabulous Fabregas fires Gunners

PARIS: Arsenal produced perhaps one of its finest performances under Arsene Wenger on Tuesday to dethrone AC Milan, beating the Champions League holder 2-0 on the night and on aggregate in its last-16 second leg clash.

IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Special Supplement

Qingdao sets sail in fresh breeze of expansion

QINGDAO: "We are ready - capable and confident that we will hold the best Olympic sailing competition," Xia Geng, mayor of Qingdao, told China Daily.

Kellet: New sailing center 'best venue' in Olympics history

QINGDAO: The Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center located on Fushan Bay has been widely applauded as the embodiment of a green, hi-tech and people's Olympics - in fact, David Kellet, vice-chairman of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), calls it the best sailing venue in Olympics history.