China team nearly 1,000 strong for Asian Games

China will send nearly 1,000 competitors to next month's Asian Games, lead by Olympic badminton gold medalist Lin Dan and former world champion hurdler Liu Xiang.

After finishing with the most golds at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China is expected to dominate the two-week event in Guangzhou in southern China.

The squad includes 35 Olympic champions, although two-thirds of the 977 athletes will be competing at a major event for the first time, preparing for the 2012 Olympics.

"We consider the Asian Games an important part of our preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games," delegation head Duan Shijie was quoted as saying in the official China Daily.

China's men's basketball team will be a focus of attention. The team is aiming to repeat as Asian Games champions, but will be closely scrutinized after a brawl with Brazil's national team earlier this month. National coach Bob Donewald Jr., a manager and three players were suspended by the Chinese Basketball Association on Friday for the ugly on-court violence.

The team's preparations for the Asian Games were put on hold to give players time to reflect on the incident, but training has since resumed.

The games, which start Nov. 12, will attract more than 11,000 athletes from 45 countries competing in 42 sports.

Pakistan aims for gold in Asian Games cricket

Pakistan is aiming to clinch the cricket title at next month’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, where the sport makes its debut in the Asiad.

With India not sending its cricket team, Pakistan believes its second string team can win the Asian Games gold. Khalid Latif, Pakistan’s young captain, stressed that his team will do their best for a medal finish.

‘We (cricketers) have never featured in events like the Olympics or the Asian Games, but we can sense the feeling athletes experience when their country’s flag is on top after winning a gold medal,’ Latif told the Express Tribune. ‘It’s an important assignment for us and we won’t take it lightly.’

‘Playing for the senior side is a big honour but representing the country in an event like this is nothing less. I’m proud to be named captain.’

Pakistan is among the seeded teams in the event that also features Test nations like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh besides Afghanistan, who were impressive in the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean this year.

Hosts China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore and Nepal are the other teams taking part. Latif said India’s absence has made Pakistan one of the favourites.

‘It would have been good to have India in the event because it would have added to the excitement. They are tough competitors but their absence has made us one of the favourites.’

But the right-handed batsman, who has played five One-Day Internationals and equal number of Twenty20s for Pakistan, added that the event would be competitive given the nature of the format.

‘Our former greats are serving as coaches in China and Afghanistan so we can expect tough competition from them.’

Source : IANS

Weightlifting under doping spotlight again

Weightlifting will once again be under the doping spotlight at the Asian Games, four years after four competitors were kicked out of Doha 2006 for flouting drugs rules. At the last edition, Myanamar lifters Kyi Kyi Than and Oo Mya Sanda, a silver medallist in the 75kg division, both returned positive tests.

Uzbekistan's Elmira Ramileva also tested positive for an anabolic steroid and teammate Alexander Urinov was found to have taken cannabis. The cases prompted the usual calls for the discipline to be banned from major multi-sports events, but to no avail with authorities insisting they are winning the drugs war against cheats. But on the eve of September's weightlifting world championships in the Turkish city of Antalya, there were worrying signs that not everyone is getting the message.

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) revealed that 19 of the 81 countries taking part had not complied with the "athletes' whereabouts" rule, the code aimed at tracking athletes for testing on specific days. "The IWF anti-doping commission discussed the issue; this was followed by an in-depth deliberation by the IWF executive board," said a statement. "The option of not allowing these countries to participate in Antalya was seriously contemplated. Finally, the board decided to issue a notice of serious warning to the 19 federations concerned, saying that this was the last time they would be allowed to take part."

Fines of 5,000 dollars were issued.

"The IWF issued another clear message to its membership that it will not tolerate any serious diversion from the track of the anti-doping fight it chose to walk on many years ago."

Asian giants India too have struggled with doping issues and went into the recent Commonwealth Games under a cloud. Their weightlifters missed the Asian Games in Doha following a 12-month ban imposed on the national federation after four athletes tested positive within a year. But India is far from being the only guilty party with the official website of the IWF currently listing the names of around 100 competitors worldwide serving doping suspensions.

On top of that, there are also 13 life bans.

It isn't just weightlifting that will be watched after a handful of failed drug tests from track and field at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, including Indian walker Rani Yadav. Sri Lanka's only gold medal winner there, boxer Manju Wanniarachchi, also found himself in trouble after testing positive for the performance-enhancing steroid nandrolone. Despite the problems, the Chinese insist they are braced to catch all cheats in Guangzhou despite having had their own setbacks in 2010. Their 2008 Olympic judo gold medallist Tong Wen was banned for two years for testing positive to clenbruterol and national 100m champion Wang Jing was banned for life after testing positive for epitestosterone. "We will organise the strictest drug tests ever for the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games to show the world we have not relaxed our alertness since the Beijing Olympics," said the state general administration of sports (SGAS) deputy minister Duan Shijie.