Olympics in crisis’

BEIJING: Crisis. Disarray. Sadness. Four months before the opening of what was supposed to be the grandest Olympics in history, the head of the International Olympic Committee is using words that convey anything but a sense of joyous enthusiasm. “It is a crisis, there is no doubt about that,” IOC president Jacques Rogge said on Thursday. “But the IOC has weathered many bigger storms.” Rogge spoke in Beijing just hours after the completion of the torch relay

in San Francisco, where the route was shortened and the flame diverted to prevent disruptions by massive crowds of anti-China protesters. — AP

New Test venues

LONDON: The Rose Bowl in Southampton is to become a Test venue in 2011, and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff will host England’s first Ashes Test against Australia in 2009. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced that the Rose Bowl has become the 10th ground to be granted Test status and will stage the second of three matches against Sri Lanka in three years’ time. Sophia Gardens will host the first Test and Lord’s the third. The ECB said Hampshire’s ground would host the opening Ashes Test match against next year, making it the first time England have hosted a Test match outside London. — AP

Dan in trouble

BEIJING: China’s world number one badminton star Lin Dan is embroiled in yet another controversy ahead of the Beijing Olympics, with state press reporting on Friday he hit his coach. According to reports, Lin struck his coach, Ji Xinpeng, after losing his cool during a training match on Tuesday, prompting a chorus of calls to punish the temperamental star. But sports officials said Lin, 24, the nation’s top hope for men’s badminton gold at the Beijing Games, was only involved in a verbal spat with his coach and no blows were struck. — AFP