The US swimming team arrived in Beijing on Monday with Michael Phelps eager to start an Olympic adventure that could end with him breaking Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in a single Olympics. The 23-year-old and other members of the US swimming squad flew in from a pre-Games training camp in Singapore four days before Friday's opening ceremony.
World number three Maria Sharapova's participation in next month's Beijing Olympics hinges on a scan on her right shoulder later on Thursday.
Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has embarked on a secret visit to China that is being seen as part of Pakistan's efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States in the wake of strained military and intelligence ties.
'It is not possible for New Delhi to take sides between Beijing and Washington.'
Preeja Sreedharan has achieved the 'B' qualifying norms for the Beijing Olympics after finishing runner-up in the 10,000m run of the British Miles Club Elite Grand Prix in London by slicing more than a minute from the national record timing set by her. Sreedharan finished second behind local Jo Pavey on Saturday with a new national record timing of 32:04.41s.
There is a "real possibility" that the Beijing Olympic Games will be targeted by terrorists or that anti-China groups could attack athletes, Interpol's secretary general said on Friday. The international leg of the Olympic torch relay has been dogged by pro-Tibet and anti-China protests, following unrest in Tibet last month in which China says about 20 people died.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar capped a remarkable comeback from a career-threatening injury lay-off to become the second Indian boxer to qualify for Beijing Olympics through the Asian qualifying tournament in Bangkok, on Friday. The 27-year-old bantamweight pugilist out-pointed his People's Republic of Korea opponent Ryom Chol Jin in a semi-final bout.
Despite their differences, the duo are set to team up for India again at the 2008 Olympics, having finished fourth in Athens four years ago.
A disabled man on Saturday triggered an explosion at the Beijing International Airport.
