Peru to host Pan-Am weightlifting Olympic qualifier

Peru will host the Pan-American Weightlifting Championship, which will offer places for the 2008 Olympic Games, the president of the Peruvian Weightlifting Federation told Xinhua on Thursday.

The president, Jose Quinones, said the competition will run from March 18 to 23 of 2008 and that 200 competitors have already signed up. The event will take place in the Miguel Grau stadium, home to Peruvian soccer team Sport Body, in Callao city, 14km from the nation's capital, Lima.

The competition's top five men and top four women, as measured by points, will win a place in the 2008 Games, to be held in Chinese capital Beijing.

Weightlifting was an Olympic sport in the first Games in 1896 in Athens, but was off the lists from 1908 until 1920, when the Games was held in Belgian city Antwerp.

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China's Olympic team ties Cottbus 1-1 at friendly

The Chinese Olympic soccer team drew with a tired Energie Cottbus 1-1 at a warm-up game on Tuesday.


FOSHAN, South China, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Olympic soccer team drew with a tired Energie Cottbus 1-1 at a warm-up game here on Tuesday.

Striker Zhu Ting headed in Wang Xiaolong's pinpoint left wing cross in the 76th minute.

The Bundesliga side got the equalizer four minutes before the final whistle when midfielder Ervin Skela smashed a low shot into the far corner following substitute keeper Zhang Sipeng's mistake.

It's the third draw in a row for Ratomir Dujkovic's men in the past six days. Before the game the hosts tied with the American Olympic squad twice.

Benfica forward Yu Dabao wasted a clear chance in the 17th minute, when he drove the ball wide of the near post facing an empty net after defender Tan Wangsong cut back a fine pass from the right side.

Cottbus had their best opportunity against the post two minutes from the break. Midfielder Efstathios Aloneftis missed striker Timo Rost's accurate assist inside the area.

The hosts piled on the pressure in the second half in front of a tired Cottbus squad after the long trip.

Substitute striker Jiang Ning made a diving header to test keeper Tomislav Piplica on 54 minutes, before midfielder Lu Lin curved a fantastic 48-meter-shot, which had already beat an outing Piplica, but was denied by the crossbar.

Cottbus will play the Chinese national team on Dec. 20 in their second match of the tour.

Dujkovic will lead the team to have a training camp in France in early January.

The Chinese Olympic soccer team drew with a tired Energie Cottbus 1-1 at a warm-up game on Tuesday.
The Chinese Olympic soccer team drew with a tired Energie Cottbus 1-1 at a warm-up game on Tuesday.
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Stamps portraying Beijing's Olympic venues issued

Photo taken on Dec. 20, 2007 shows a commemorative cover sheet depicting the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China. A set of six stamps portraying Beijing's main Olympic venues were issued by China Post on Thursday. The stamps feature the National Gymnasium, the China Agricultural University Gymnasium, the Beijing University Gymnasium, the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Center, the Laoshan Velodrome and the National Swimming Center, or the Water Cube. A commemorative cover sheet was issued together with the stamps.

Photo taken on Dec. 20, 2007 shows stamps portraying Beijing's main Olympic venues in Beijing, China.
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