The New Nation - Internet Edition

Chittagong Abahani finishes 1-1 draw with Jatrabari KC in Federation Cup

UNB, Dhaka

Chittagong Abahani bagged the first point in their 3rd and last Group B match of the Citycell Federation Cup Football Tournament after making a 1-1 draw with Jatrabari KC at the Gazipur Stadium today (Thursday).

Ronny put Chittagong Abahani ahead in the 12th minute while Babu restored the parity for Jatrabari KC in the 28th minute, both in the first half.

With the day's tame draw, both the teams opened their account with lone point in the last group encounter and were eliminated from the meet.

In the previous group matches, Chittagong Abahani conceded a 1-2 goal defeat against Chittagong Mohammedan SC and suffered 1-4 goals defeat against Dhaka Abahani Limited. On the other hand, Jatrabari KC lost to Dhaka Abahani by 0-4 goals and conceded 2-3 goals defeat against Chittagong Mohammedan SC.

Earlier, B League champions Dhaka Abahani Limited and Chittagong Mohammedan SC

reached the quarterfinal berth from Group C with one match to spare, securing full six points each from two matches.

Today's matches: Rahmatganj MFS vs Sunrise SC (4:pm) at Gazipur Stadium and Dhaka Mohammedan SC vs Arambagh KS (6:pm) at BNS.

Raisul-Hasibul pair moves into boys' doubles pre-quaterfinals

UNB, Dhaka

Raisul Islam and Hasibul Haque pair of Bangladesh moved in the boy's doubles pre-quarterfinals of the Prime Bank ITF-14/U Asian Tennis Championship eliminating their compatriot Rustom and Passi partner by 7-5, 6-3 at the Ramna National Tennis Complex on Thursday.

In the boys singles, Merzuki Mohd Assri (MAS) beat Soon Hyun Hwang (KOR) by 6-3, 6-4 ; Gwung Eun Byun (KOR) beat Naruka Digvijay Singh (IND) by 6-4, 6-2 ; Abdul Razak Ahmed Deeda (MAS) beat Biplob Ram (BAN) by 6-4, 6-2; Hi Hoon Son (KOR) beat Jordan Joshua (MAS) by 6-0, 6-1

In the girls singles, Mukherjee Amrita (IND) beat Selvarajoo Theiviya (MAS) by 3-6,

6-1, 6-2 ; Jung so Hee (KOR) beat Iska Teertha (IND) by 6-0, 6-1 ; Choi Ji Hee (KOR) beat Banka Moulika (IND) by 6-1, 6-1 ; Num Yeon Jun (KOR) beat Sehrawai Megha (IND) by 6-2, 6-2.

In the boys doubles, Merzuki & Abdul Razak (MAS) beat Aqib Monir & Sajib (BAN) by 6-3, 6-2; Ji Hoon & Seung Hun (KOR) beat Sanjiv (SRI) & Richie (IND) by 6-1, 6-3;

Al Qaseem & Al Rajeh (KSA) beat Sazzad & Salmani (BAN) by 2-6, 6-2, 7-5; Soon Gwung beat Hwang & Byun (KOR) by 6-2, 6-0; Al Szyyah (KSA) & Jordan (MAS) beat Salim Sadman (BAN) & Musaad (KSA) by 6-0, 6-0 while Naruka & Passi (IND) beat Jamil & Biplob (BAN) by 6-4, 6-2

The semifinal of boys and girls singles will beheld today (Friday) morning while the doubles matches will commence in the afternoon.

Robles wins gold in 110m hurdles

BBC Online

World record holder Dayron Robles lived up to his pre-race billing by storming to victory in the men's 110m hurdles.

The 21-year-old Cuban led throughout to win in 12.93 seconds and mark his first Olympics with a maiden gold medal.

David Payne and David Oliver, both of the US, trailed by some distance but took silver and bronze respectively.

Robles came into the final as favourite after the withdrawal through injury of defending champion Liu Xiang of China and America's Terrence Trammell.

Oliver remains the only man to have beaten Robles this season but neither he nor Payne looked capable of challenging for gold.

"I feel very good, I feel complete, everything was good," sad Robles, who ran a near-perfect race.

Robles showed no nerves and led the race from the moment he rose from the blocks, making the absence of defending champion Liu and two-time silver-medallist Trammell even more marked.

The bespectacled hurdler sailed over the hurdles, while behind him Payne and Oliver had difficulty in not clipping them.

While Robles eased over the line - tapping his head with both hands - Oliver was forced to withstand a challenge from France's 2005 world champion Ladji Doucoure.

Old Ideals, Victoria SC earn victories in Premier Handball League

UNB, Dhaka

Old Ideals and Victoria SC won their opening matches in the 14th Cute Premier Division Handball League beating their rivals at the Outer Stadium Handball ground on Thursday.

In the day's first match, Old Ideals made a good start defeating Surjoday KC by 23-19 points after leading the first half by 11-8 in the afternoon.

Mamun scored six and Sohel Rana five goals for the winners while Shaheen netted four goals for the losers.

Aminul of Old Ideals was adjudged best player of the match.

In the day's other match, Victoria outplayed Bratritho Samaj Kalyan Sangha by 33-19 goals after dominating the first session by 15-5.

Humayan netted day's highest 15 goals for Victoria SC and was adjudged best player for the match while Anik scored seven goals for the Bratritho Sangha.

High officials of BHF elected unopposed

Sports Reporter

The high officials of the Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation (BHF) have been elected unopposed as the other candidates withdrew their nomination papers.

Earlier, Khondker Jamil Uddin was elected uncontested General Secretary of BHF.

The five Vice-Presidents, who have been elected unopposed, are: Air Commodore (Retd) Shahjahan Sharker, Pratap Shanker Hajra, MA Gafur, KMR Manjoor and Azizur Rahman Raju.

The two Joint-Secretaries, who have been elected uncontested, are: Abdur Rashid Shikder and Md Mashirul Kabir Ritu.

The Treasurer, who has been elected unopposed, is: Kazi Mainuzzaman.

A total of 23 members will compete for 21 posts of members of the Executive Committee. The election will be held on August 28.

Yesterday was the last day to withdraw the nomination papers, which were submitted earlier.

It may be mentioned that the Executive Committee of Bangladesh Hockey Federation has been formed of 31 members including high officials. The President of the BHF has been nominated by the Government.

Final round of National Kabaddi begins on August 25

Sports Reporter

The final round of the 28th National Kabaddi Competition begins on August 25 at the Comilla Stadium. Bangladesh Kabaddi Federation will arrange the kabaddi meet with the assistance of Comilla District Sports Association.

A total of 22 teams including three services teams will compete in the kabaddi competition.

Reigning champions Bangladesh Rifles, champions of Services Zone Bangladesh Police, runners-up of Services Zone Bangladesh Army and 19 districts will take part in the final round of the kabaddi meet.

The 19 districts are: Mymensingh, Sylhet, Chandpur, Dinajpur, Jhenaidah, Satkhira, Khulna, Kishoreganj, Meherpur, Rajshahi, Patuakhali, Jamalpur, Tangail, Rangpur, Kushtia, Dhaka, Jessore, Kurigram and host Comilla.

Beijing Olympics to have effect on Chinese sports culture

BSS, Beijing

As a wire lifted him into the night sky, the lightness of Li Ning's heart balanced the weight of history. The gymnast helped bring China back to the Olympics and is now a sports entrepreneur in his rapidly evolving homeland.

Sports have been part of China's social fabric for much of its 5,000-year history, but never like this. Li won six medals at the 1984 Summer Games, when China rejoined the Olympic movement after a 32-year absence, then parlayed his fame into a shoe company that rivals Nike and Adidas in his country.

When he ignited the Olympic flame, he understood the effect the Beijing Games would have on China's sports culture.

"I should never let the dream of all the Chinese people down," Li said. "It shows the dream of Chinese sportsmen for generations and also the common aspirations of 1.3 billion Chinese people."

These Olympics have the potential to create more sports fans, more sports stars and interest in a whole new range of games in the world's most populous country. A massive investment in developing athletes, particularly in events not common in China, has helped the host nation collect 43 gold medals-its most ever-in the Games' first 11 days.

Millions have become "otaku," the nickname given to the Chinese couch potatoes glued to Olympic TV coverage.

Much has been made of how the Olympics will change China. As the Beijing Games wind down, they promise to have a particular impact on Chinese sport.

"More and more young people are participating in Olympic sports," said Dr Susan Brownell, an expert on sports in China who is doing research at Beijing Sport University. "And we're seeing people crowd around big-screen TVs to watch the events. They're more interested in sports than in cultural programs.

"This is the culmination of a 100-year dream to have an

Olympic Games in China. The Olympics have had a feel-good effect

on Chinese society, which they probably will elect to keep up."

The Chinese investment in the Games goes beyond the $40 billion spent on infrastructure and the $2.1 billion operating budget. The government poured millions into ensuring its athletes would represent the nation successfully, in unfamiliar sports as well as those ingrained in the culture.

Only a few years ago, bikinis were thought to be immodest and were rarely worn in China. This week, both of the country's women's beach volleyball teams-whose uniforms are skimpy two- piece suits-made it to the Olympic semifinals. Zhong Man became the first Chinese man to win a fencing gold, and Zhang Juan took the women's individual archery gold to end Korea's 24- year winning streak.

The Chinese government stepped up sports funding in the hope that it would top the gold-medal table for the first time, and coaches from 16 countries were brought in to oversee sports without a strong history in China.

While the nation's athletes have won five gold medals in shooting, six in diving and eight in weightlifting-China's traditional strengths-its diversification is likely to keep it among the Olympic powers even without the home-country advantage.

The United States, which has won the most gold and most overall medals at every Games since 1996, has taken notice. Officials of the U.S. Olympic Committee have cast an eye toward China for the past four years as they help U.S. athletes keep pace.

"With the sports infrastructure, the facilities, the coaches who are being developed here, and the young people who will be inspired by these Games, we think this will be a formidable system that we'll have to contend with for a very, very long time," said Jim Scherr, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee. "This system is here to stay."

And Beijingers are loving it. A look through shop windows in neighborhoods around the Olympic Green reveals clerks, restaurant servers and customers gathered around TVs, cheering the Chinese teams.

Commuters watch the Games on video screens in subway cars and buses. Four-story-tall screens adorn all four sides of the Pan Du Plaza, a skyscraper near the Bird's Nest stadium and Water Cube, drawing huge crowds at night. According to CSM Media Research, 356 million Chinese tuned in to watch a women's early- round volleyball game between China and Cuba.

While there have been empty seats in many venues, Chinese fans have been enthusiastic. Sometimes, too much. A few professional tennis players complained that Chinese spectators did not know when to be quiet, and their cheers disrupted concentration during Olympic matches.

Their zeal, and China's intense national pride, have actually offset China's home-country advantage to some degree. Some gold- medal hopefuls have felt so much responsibility to win for their country that they have had unexpected meltdowns.

Officials and coaches of Chinese teams have urged fans to support athletes who lose, and sports psychologists have been employed to help Chinese competitors withstand the enormous pressure to win.

"In shooting, we call it the home venue curse," said Wang Yifu, coach of China's shooting team. "Mother tongue interference and home venue pressure are the biggest obstacles."

Wang Nan of China's women's table-tennis team said playing in Beijing actually made it harder for her team to take the gold medal it earned Sunday. Wang Lihong, coach of the Olympic softball team, said he hoped fans would appreciate his players' spirit and understand that "failure is cruel but sometimes beautiful."

Brownell is surprised Chinese athletes have performed as well as they have under the circumstances. "There is so much psychological pressure on them that I thought more athletes might collapse," she said. "But they actually have come through quite well."

China's growing middle class also has more money to spend on entertainment, and the Olympics could fuel an expanding market for spectator sports. NBA gear already is sold in 30,000 retail locations in China-where Kevin Garnett's jersey was the No. 2 seller last year, behind Kobe Bryant's-and ticket scalping has kept police busy in Beijing.

The depth of China's feeling for its athletic stars was poignantly proven Monday, when fans wept openly as star hurdler Liu Xiang pulled up with an injury in his first race.

Their complex relationship with their athletes has some, such as judo gold medalist Tong Wen, viewing these Games as a matter of extreme national importance. "I am not only representing myself," she said. "I have a responsibility to fight for my country. I was fighting for China's glory."