Legendary March Moments

March is a month full of memorable individual performances. Here are 31 legendary March moments:

March 21, 1945: George Mikan, DePaul, NIT semifinals vs. Rhode Island
Mikan scored 53 points, equaling URI's total, in a 97-53 win. His 53 points are an NIT record for games played at Madison Square Garden.

March 25, 1952: Clyde Lovellette, Kansas, NCAA regional final vs. St. Louis
Lovellette scored 44 points for the Jayhawks in a 74-55 win over St. Louis. He followed that up with 33 points in the Final Four against Santa Clara and 33 points and 17 rebounds in the national title win over St. John's.

March 23, 1956: Bill Russell, San Francisco, national championship game vs. Iowa
Russell had 26 points and 27 rebounds as the Dons defended their national championship.

March 21, 1959: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati, NCAA third-place game vs. Louisville
Robertson had the first triple-double in Final Four history with 39 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 98-85 victory over Louisville.

March 20, 1965: Bill Bradley, Princeton, NCAA third-place game vs. Wichita State
Bradley set a Final Four record with 58 points on 22-for-29 shooting in a 118-82 rout of Wichita State. Bradley also went 14-for-15 from the free-throw line and had a team-best four assists.

March 9, 1968: Elvin Hayes, Houston, NCAA first round vs. Loyola (Ill.)
Take your pick from Hayes' performances in Houston's three wins in this tournament. He had 49 points and 27 rebounds in this game, 35 points and 24 rebounds in the regional semis against Louisville, and 39 points and 25 rebounds in the regional final against TCU.



March 7, 1970: Austin Carr, Notre Dame, NCAA first round vs. Ohio
Carr scored 61 points in a 112-82 win. He was 25 of 44 from the field. His points, field goals made and field goals attempted are still NCAA Tournament records. This was the best of three 50-plus point games for Carr in NCAA Tournament play.

March 26, 1973: Bill Walton, UCLA, national championship game vs. Memphis State
Perhaps the greatest individual effort of all time, Walton had 44 points on 21-for-22 shooting and 13 rebounds while playing with four fouls for most of the second half as the Bruins defended their national championship.

March 9, 1974: Tom Burleson, NC State, ACC championship game vs. Maryland
Burleson had 38 points and 13 rebounds in what is often considered the greatest game ever played, North Carolina State's 103-100 win over Maryland in the ACC title game.

March 7, 1977: Anthony Roberts, Oral Roberts, NIT first round vs. Oregon
Roberts scored an NCAA postseason record 65 points (tied for seventh- most in any NCAA game), albeit in a 90-89 loss to Oregon.

March 17, 1978: Dave Corzine, DePaul, Sweet 16 vs. Louisville
Corzine played all 50 minutes of this double-overtime win over Louisville, and he had 46 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in helping DePaul to a 90-89 win.

March 27, 1978: Jack Givens, Kentucky, national championship game vs. Duke
Givens carried Kentucky to a national championship with 41 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He shot 18-for-27 from the field in a 94-88 victory over Duke.

March 24, 1979: Magic Johnson, Michigan State, NCAA Final Four vs. Penn
Johnson pushed the Spartans into the title game against Indiana State with a near-perfect performance in a 101-67 rout of Penn. He was 9-for-10 from the field and 11-for-12 from the foul line for 29 points, and he made it a triple-double with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.



March 24, 1979: Larry Bird, Indiana State, NCAA Final Four vs. DePaul
Bird had 35 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists (albeit with 11 turnovers), lifting Indiana State into the finals with a two-point win over DePaul.

March 28, 1981: Al Wood, North Carolina, Final Four vs. Virginia
Wood had 39 points and 10 rebounds in a 78-65 win, putting the Tar Heels into the championship game.

March 14, 1987: Fennis Dembo, Wyoming, second round vs. UCLA
Wyoming isn't known for many great basketball moments, but Dembo put the school on the map with 41 points, nine rebounds and six assists in an upset win over UCLA. Dembo drained 16 straight free throws and made six 3-pointers, certifying his status in the state as a basketball legend.

March 19, 1988: Chris Morris vs. Hersey Hawkins, Auburn vs. Bradley, NCAA first round
A duel between two stars ended with Auburn edging Bradley 90-86. Who was better? Hawkins had 44 points (15-for-25 from the field and 6-for-8 from 3-point range), 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the loss. His numbers were slightly better than those of Morris, who got the win and racked up 36 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

March 4, 1989: Chris Jackson vs. Gerald Glass, LSU vs. Ole Miss
Jackson scored 55 and Glass scored 53 as Ole Miss topped LSU 113-112 in overtime. Their 108 combined points are the most ever by two players in an SEC game.




March 18, 1990: Jeff Fryer, LMU, NCAA second round vs. Michigan
Fryer made an NCAA Tournament-record 11 3-pointers on 15 tries en route to 41 points as 11th-seeded Loyola Marymount upset third-seeded Michigan 149-115.

March 19, 1992: Shaquille O'Neal, LSU, NCAA Tournament first round vs. BYU
O'Neal had a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in a 94-83 win over BYU. The 11 blocked shots are an NCAA Tournament record.

March 28, 1992: Christian Laettner, Duke, NCAA Elite Eight vs. Kentucky
Laettner had a perfect 30 points on 10-for-10 shooting from both the field and foul line, including the game-winning turnaround jumper at the buzzer to beat Kentucky and propel the defending champs to the Final Four.

March 24, 1994: Askia Jones, Kansas State, NIT third round vs. Fresno State
Jones scored 62 points (second-most in postseason history), including 45 in the second half in a 115-77 win over Fresno State. He got most of his points from the 3-point line, as he made 14 trifectas in the contest.

March 12, 1995: Randolph Childress, Wake Forest, ACC tournament championship game vs. UNC
Childress had 37 points, with 27 coming on nine 3-pointers. He also had all nine of Wake Forest's overtime points, and he scored the game-winner with 4.6 seconds to go to give the Demon Deacons an 82-80 overtime win over UNC in the ACC title game. Childress did all this while playing with a dislocated pinkie on his shooting hand.

March 10, 1996: Victor Page, Georgetown, Big East championship game vs. UConn
Overshadowed by Ray Allen's last-second shot, Page set a tournament freshman record with 34 points. He also had nine rebounds as the Hoyas fell to the Huskies in a classic final matchup.

March 8, 1997: Keith Van Horn, Utah, WAC championship game vs. TCU
Van Horn had 37 points and 15 rebounds to wrap up the WAC title for the third-ranked Utes. This came on the heels of back-to-back game-winning buzzer-beaters in his previous two contests in the WAC tournament.



March 21, 1998: Andre Miller, Utah, NCAA Tournament Elite Eight vs. Arizona
Third-seeded Utah knocked off top-seeded Arizona via Miller's triple double. Miller had 18 points, 13 assists and 14 rebounds. Just for good measure, he added two steals and a blocked shot.

March 27, 2003: Nick Collison, Kansas, NCAA Sweet 16 vs. Duke
Collison had 33 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks while playing all 40 minutes in a 69-65 win to knock Duke out of the NCAA Tournament.

March 29, 2003: Dwyane Wade, Marquette, NCAA Elite Eight vs. Kentucky
Wade helped advance Marquette into the Final Four by upsetting Kentucky with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

March 13, 2004: Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont, America East championship game vs. Maine
In his first game back from a broken wrist, Coppenrath scored 28 first-half points and finished the day with 43 points and 13 rebounds, as Vemont beat Maine to win the conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament.

March 18, 2004: Gerry McNamara, Syracuse, NCAA first round vs. BYU
In Syracuse's first game in defense of its national championship, McNamara had a school NCAA Tournament-record 43 points on 9-for-13 3-point shooting. "Gerry was as good as I have ever seen in college basketball," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the game.

March 6, 2005: Sean May, North Carolina, vs. Duke
May had 26 points and 24 rebounds as North Carolina used an 11-0 game-ending run to beat Duke 75-73 and give the Tar Heels their first ACC regular-season title since 1993.

What are your Top 10 March moments? Vote here. And check back next Tuesday to see what Fran Fraschilla and Reggie Rankin listed as their Top 10 moments.

The 31 individual moments were compiled by ESPN researchers Mark Simon, Nick Loucks, Ryan McCrystal, Jeremy Lundblad, Tyler Korn, Chris Fallica, Mike Lynch and Jason McCallum.

Source:sports.espn.go.com
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French coach Loisel's days appear to be numbered

History is repeating itself and its a sad reprise for China women's soccer.

In the ongoing Algarve Cup in southern Portugal, China suffered three straight losses (to the US, Norway and Italy, respectively), forcing head coach Elisabeth Loisel to the edge of the cliff she's been approaching for months.



The future of China women's soccer head coach Elisabeth Loisel hangs in balance after the team suffered three consecutive losses in the on-going Algarve Cup in Portugal. [China Daily]

The embattled Frenchwoman is set to follow in the footsteps of last year's Chinese coach Wang Haiming, who was sacked as soon as the team returned home from the Algarve Cup.

Wang also led his team to rock bottom in last year's tournament, losing all three group matches before a shocking 4-1 drubbing at the hands of minnow Iceland in the ninth-place playoff.

Wang was replaced by Loisel's predecessor Marika Domanski-Lyfors.

Though China still has a playoff match with Portugal today, the result will have little bearing on Loisel's future.

Adding to her misery is her relationship with players, which has been deteriorating since China's opening loss to the US.

Loisel refused to take any responsibility for China's worst-ever result against a US side, claiming all the players made too many mistakes and should be blamed for the loss.

Relations strained further when she erupted at her players in the lobby on Monday after an ugly showing against Italy.

"You did not try all the best and I am so disappointed with you. It was a really bad performance," the coach shouted at her players, according to reports.

It is clear Loisel is unable to control her team and has lost her credibility as a leader.

She has been heavily scrutinized for her dispute with team official Zhang Jianqiang last month and Chinese officials and players accused her of frequently arriving late to daily training.

Things escalated when Loisel ordered players not to attend a hotpot dinner arranged by Zhang because of dietary concerns. Zhang and Chinese officials hit back, overruling the hotpot ban and issuing a public rebuke against Loisel, ordering the coach to keep out of off-pitch affairs.

Loisel tried to keep silent and fought back by trying to inspire her players to stage strong performances. But, if anything, her efforts seemed to backfire.

Since the hotpot row broke out last month, the women's team has only won once (against Republic of Korea) and forced a draw with Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The team has lost five straight games since then.

The under-pressure coach defended herself as a victim of the infighting, saying it's impossible to coach well in such an acrimonious environment.

"So many things happened recently and the situation is bad for the coaching job. I could not expect any good result from my players," she said.

So far Loisel has refused to comment on the possibility of getting fired by China Football Association (CFA) and she still insists Zhang should leave if she continues to coach the team.

"I have asked the chief official of CFA to replace Zhang. He did a lot of bad things to the players and our coaching team. He even asked the players not to play their best game against Norway," Loisel said.

"It's got me angry and I do not think I can cooperate with him anymore।"


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Politcal advisors attend press conference on Games

Deng Yaping (L), former table tennis Olympic champion and deputy director of the Olympic Village of BOCOG, attends a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the top political advisory body at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2008.


Zhang Yimou, China's world famous movie director and chief director of the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, attends a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the top political advisory body at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2008


Deng Yaping, former table tennis Olympic champion and deputy director of the Olympic Village of BOCOG, attends a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the top political advisory body at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 12, 2008


Cui Dalin (R), deputy sports minister, Zhang Yimou (2nd R), movie director and chief director of the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, Liu Jingmin (C), vice-mayor of Beijing, Deng Yaping, former table tennis Olympic champion and deputy director of Olympic Village, Zhang Jingan (L), director of the Science and Technology Daily attend the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 12, 2008 [Xinhua]

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British Olympic agencies oppose Chambers bid in Beijing

LONDON - British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan said on Wednesday he would oppose any attempt by sprinter Dwain Chambers to compete at the Beijing Games.

Britain's Dwain Chambers displays his bronze medal during the medal ceremony for the Men's 60m at the Athletics World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain, Saturday, March 8, 2008। British Olympic Association (BOA) chairman Colin Moynihan said on Wednesday he would oppose any attempt by sprinter Dwain Chambers to compete at the Beijing Games. [Agencies]

Chambers, 29, who has returned to competition after serving a two-year doping suspension, is considering a legal challenge to the BOA's lifetime Olympic ban for any athlete failing a drugs test.

"There will be no room for cheats in the British team as long as I am involved with the BOA," Moynihan told the BBC.

"There are absolutely no grounds whatsoever for compromise."

Chambers won a silver medal in the 60 metres at the world indoor championships this month but his future is uncertain after leading European promoters said he would not be welcome at their meetings.


Source: China Daily
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China's Wangs book table tennis spots for Beijing

Updated: 2008-03-10 Source: China Daily


BEIJING - Wang Liqin and Wang Nan, known as the big brother and big sister of Chinese table tennis, have secured places in the team for their third Olympics through the Asian qualifiers.

The experienced duo, both former Olympic gold medallists, completed the Chinese line-up of three men and three women for the table tennis event at the August 8-24 Beijing Games.

Sydney Olympic women's singles champion Wang Nan survived a 4-3 upset by former China international Dang Ye Seo, now representing South Korea, before crushing Hong Kong's Zhang Rui 4-0. She will compete in the Olympic singles competition along with Zhang Yining and Guo Yue, the world's two top-ranked players.

"I will be preparing for the Olympics with the brand new start," said 29-year-old Wang Nan, who has won three Olympic gold medals and 17 world titles.

Wang's coach Shi Zhihao said the defeat by Dang might turn out to be a positive experience.


"It's even better to lose since we could learn from it and discover more problems for the preparations for the Games," he said.

Three-times world champion Wang Liqin swept to six wins in a row to breeze through to the Games. The 29-year-old doubles gold medallist has yet to play in an Olympics singles final.

"It's nothing surprising," Wang Liqin, a doubles gold medallist in Sydney, told the Oriental Morning Post.

"I've always believed I could do it well in this tournament."

Ma Lin and Wang Hao had qualified for the men's singles courtesy of their status as the top two players in the world rankings.

Eleven men and 10 women secured places at the Beijing Games through the Asian qualifiers.

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Updated: 2008-03-11 09:47


NEW YORK - World number one Roger Federer dismissed suggestions his career was in decline and said he would use his recent defeats as motivation after recovering from an early-season virus.


Pete Sampras, left, comments as he and Roger Federer, right, speak at a news conference in New York, Monday, March 10, 2008. World number one Roger Federer dismissed suggestions his career was in decline and said he would use his recent defeats as motivation after recovering from an early-season virus. [Agencies]


The Swiss player was beaten in the first round in Dubai last week by Briton Andy Murray, his first match since losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.

"In Switzerland there is a little too much speculation my career is over," the 26-year-old Federer told a news conference ahead of Monday's exhibition match against former number one Pete Sampras at Madison Square Garden.

"People just need to know I'm healthy and happy and not miserable and down and out."

The 12-times grand slam singles champion, who competes at the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, California later this week, was told he had mononucleosis (glandular fever) after the Australian Open.

"Honestly, losses like this motivate me more than anything," said Federer. "Trying to come back, trying to prove I'm still the one to beat.

"I just want to show I can do it over and over again."

The back-to-back defeats dented Federer's aura of invulnerability and fed the confidence of those younger rivals who have seen him reign as number one for a record 215 consecutive weeks.

LOVE COMPETING

Within two grand slam titles of Sampras's record haul of 14, Federer said his affection for tennis was greater than ever.

"I love competing on centre courts all over the world. So many people are happy when I get there. It touches me. I love to practice more and more now," he said.

"What I enjoy most are the matches, the pressure, the fans, centre court. I hope that's going to stay with me as long as possible."

Federer said he was looking forward to competing at the Beijing Olympics in August and to more Games campaigns beyond.

"The (London) Olympic Games in 2012 is something I'm looking forward to, and go from there. See how I feel with my fitness, my motivation."

Federer may have made his worst start to a season in eight years but Sampras was confident the Swiss would soon be winning again.

"In a lot of ways Roger has created this sort of monster of being unbeatable," said the 36-year-old American.

"If you lose a match here, lose a match there, people have the assumption he has lost his edge, lost his dominance. I don't look at it like that at all.

"He'll play Indian Wells and he'll play Miami (in two weeks) and do fine at those events। When it comes down to it at the big, big events, I think he'll be the guy standing with the trophy."


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Five-star Beijing-Tibet train to run after Games

Updated: 2008-03-10 15:42


BEIJING -- Luxury passenger train service from Beijing to the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region will be launched on Sept. 1, the operator said on Sunday.

The interior of the train will be decorated according to the standards of a five-star hotel, making it the most luxurious train in the world, said Zhu Mingrui, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation (QTRC).

"Such a train can only seat 96 passengers. The fare would be about 20 times the normal price and also much more than an airline ticket," he said.

Online ticket sales have begun for domestic and overseas tourists, who will enjoy the unique scenery of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, he said.

Earlier reports said that the project, approved by the Ministry of Railways in November, will be operated by a joint venture between Rail Partners, a subsidiary of the Shanghai-based investment company of TZG Partners, and the QTRC. It has attracted an investment of US$52.9 million from Hong Kong's Wing On Travel (Holdings) Limited.

There will be three trains, which will head from Beijing to Tibet's capital, Lhasa, every eight days. The luxury journey will take five days.

Each train will have 12 passenger cars, two dining cars and a sight-seeing car. Each passenger car will have four ten-square-meter suites featuring a double bed, a living room and bathing facilities.

"All sewage and garbage on the trains will be collected and properly disposed of; thus, they will not damage the environment of the plateau," Ben Tsen, managing director of TZG Partners, has said.

The 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet line, running from Xi'ning, capital of northwest Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, started operation in July 2006, ending Tibet's history without railways.

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India hockey team miss out, Britain qualify

Updated: 2008-03-10 10:09


SANTIAGO - Eight-times gold medallists India missed out on the Olympic Games men's hockey event for the first time when they lost 2-0 to Britain in the final of a qualifying tournament on Sunday.




Great Britain's hockey team players celebrate after defeating India in their final match for the World Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Santiago, Chile। India's proud record of having played in every Olympic Games men's field hockey tournament since 1928 came to a heartbreaking end on Sunday when they were beaten by Great Britain. [Agencies]


Britain, gold medallists in 1988, scored two early goals to seal India's fate and win the six-team competition in Chile which also featured the hosts, Austria, Russia and Mexico.

Ashley Jackson set up the first for Barry Middleton in the fourth minute and Richard Mantell flicked in the second in the 10th.

Forward Prabhjot Singh had two efforts blocked in quick succession as India, who won their last gold in 1980, tried to claw their way back and V.R.Raghunath then fired over from a rebound.

India, also beaten 3-2 by the same opponents in the round- robin stage, were unable to find a way through in the second half despite winning a flurry of penalty corners.

"We have been waiting for this for eight months," said Britain captain Ben Hawes.

"It's ...a massive accomplishment for the team. After Thursday, when they played very well, we were aware we had to start quickly.

"The game opened up after the early goal and we weren't as nervous after that. We stayed very physical in the tackle, our technical game has improved a lot and we created chances."

China, Netherlands, South Korea, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Belarus, Pakistan and Australia qualified directly for the Beijing Games.

India missed out on an automatic berth after they failed to reach the 2006 Asian Games final.

New Zealand beat Argentina in the final of the first qualifying tournament last month। The third is in Japan in April.


Source: China Daily


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Yelena Soboleva steals the show with 1,500 record

Updated: 2008-03-10 10:19

VALENCIA, Spain - Russian middle distance runner Yelena Soboleva stole the show on the final day of the world indoor championships when she smashed her own indoor world record to take gold in the 1,500 metres.




Russia's Yelena Soboleva celebrates after setting a world record in the women's 1500m final at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championship in Valencia March 9, 2008। [Agencies]


The 25-year-old Russian left the rest of the field trailing in her wake as she crossed the line in a time of three minutes 57.71 seconds, 0.34 quicker than the record she set in Moscow last month.

Fellow Russian Yuliya Fomenko was second in 3:59.41, while Gelete Burka of Ethiopia grabbed the bronze.

United States heptathlete Bryan Clay, Australian 800 metre runner Tamsyn Lewis, African runners Tariku Bekele and Abubaker Kaki Khamis and British triple jumper Phillips Idowu also shone on the final day in which 14 titles were decided.

Clay, world decathlon champion in 2005 and twice runner-up in the world indoors, claimed gold in the multi-event competition with an outstanding set of performances over the two days.

The American amassed a personal best total of 6,371 points, just 105 short of Dan O'Brien's 1993 world record, as he won four of the seven events to finish ahead of Andrei Krauchanka of Belarus and Kazakhstan's Dmitriy Karpov.

LAST-LAP BURST

Lewis spoiled Maria Mutola's hopes of winning an eighth indoor world title when she produced an impressive last-lap burst to hurtle past the 35-year-old from Mozambique and Tetiana Petlyuk to take gold.

The Australian crossed the line in two minutes 2.57, with Petlyuk taking the silver and Mutola the bronze.

Bekele took advantage of older brother Kenenisa's absence to storm his way to victory in the men's 3,000m in a time of seven minutes 48.23.

The 21-year-old set a scorching pace on the final two laps to give Kenyan steeplechase specialist Paul Kipsiele Koech and fellow Ethiopian Abreham Cherkos no chance of victory.

Kaki Khamis became Sudan's first world indoor gold medallist at the age of 18 as he held off South African Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Yusuf Saad Kamel of Bahrain in the 800 metres.

Triple jumper Idowu won Britain's first gold of the championships with a massive leap of 17.75 metres, just eight centimetres off Aliecer Urrutia's 11-year-old world record and more than half a metre better than his previous best mark of the season.

Silver medalllist Arnie David Girat of Cuba was way back on 17.47, while world outdoor champion Nelson Evora took the bronze with a leap of 17.27.

Blanka Vlasic deprived Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of a hat-trick of indoor titles when she won the high jump.

The Croatian cleared 2.03 metres, while the Russian could only manage 2.01, the same height as bronze medallist Vita Palamar.

EXTRA GEAR

Canada's Tyler Christopher found an extra a gear in the final straight of the men's 400m to snatch the gold from Johan Wissman of Sweden in a time of 45.67, the fastest mark in the world this year.

As expected the women's 400m was an all-Russian affair with Olesya Zykina equalling her world leading time of the year of 51.09 as she managed to hold off Natalya Nazarova by one hundredth of a second in the lunge for the finishing line.

Portugal's Naide Gomes, the world pentathlon champion in 2004, took the honours in the long jump with a leap of seven metres exactly, with Brazilian Maurren Maggi taking silver ahead of Russian favourite Irina Simagina.

New Zealander Valerie Vili added the world indoor crown to her outdoor title with victory in the women's shot with a new area record of 20.19 metres.

In the pole vault Evgeniy Lukyanenko beat defending champion Brad Walker with a clearance of 5.90 metres while the American had to settle for a new personal best of 5.85 ahead of Steven Hooker of Australia.

Russia won their eighth consecutive gold in the women's 4 x 400m relay ahead of Belarus and the United States won their seventh title in the men's race.

The US ended up top of the pile in the medals table with five goals, five silver and three bronze, one silver better than the Russian haul।


Source: China Daily


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