Games tidbits

FLAG

Flag foul-up draws Chinese ire

The Chinese Olympic delegation protested against the use of incorrectly designed Chinese national flags during swimming and shooting medal ceremonies on the first day of the Rio Olympics, State media reported.

Song Yang, the Chinese consulate general in Rio, contacted the Rio Olympics Organizing Committee on Monday, demanding that it correct the flags immediately.

The committee offered its sincere apologies and said it would contact the firm responsible for the design and resolve the issue as soon as possible. The company was not Chinese.

There are five stars in the top left corner of the Chinese flag - one large one surrounded by four to the right. However, the four stars were parallel to each other in the wrong design rather than tiled with one corner pointing to the larger star.

People's Daily posted the correct design on its Sino Weibo account, saying, "This is how you draw the correct version."

DOPING

Russia banned from Paralympics

Russia was barred from taking part in next month's Rio Paralympics on Sunday, with organizers blasting a "medals over morals mentality" as they announced the blanket ban over state-backed doping that Olympics bosses avoided.

In announcing the ban ahead of the Sept 7-18 Games, International Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven said Russia's Paralympians were part of a broken system overseen by the Russian government.

Russia immediately said it would appeal and condemned the move as violating the human rights of its athletes.

"It is prejudice and politization. There will be a legal appeal to CAS," Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

"Tragically this situation is not about athletes cheating a system, but about a state-run system that is cheating the athletes," Craven told reporters.

BOXING

Don't mess with this ref

Boxers who want to flout the rules in the ring at the Rio Olympics have extra reason to think again - one of the referees is a policeman.

Danny McFarlane, a policeman in northern England, is also a former boxer and was a Royal Marine - so don't mess with him.

"This is a dream come true for me. It is the highest honor for any referee and it's what we all aim to achieve," he said.

"I've got to thank the police force for its full support, and I really think my role as a police officer has given me the skills to get me to Rio as a referee."

McFarlane was involved in the first day of boxing action in Rio on Saturday when refereed a fight controversially won by a Brazilian.

TRAFFIC

Mayor urges residents to share cars

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes is pleading with locals to share car rides until Aug 21 so that the city's already heavy traffic doesn't worsen during the Olympics.

Paes took to Twitter to ask people in the city to avoid traveling long distances on Monday, especially on public transportation.

Monday was the first working day in Rio after the Games opened.

The mayor said people should join their friends and share rides. He insisted that without the collaboration of residents traffic problems would persist.

Friday was a public holiday and school classes in the city have been suspended since the start of the month.

Despite his outspoken profile, Paes did not comment on the organizational problems experienced by fans, journalists and residents on Saturday.

BASKETBALL

Bogut wins backing from new boss

After the rehab, Andrew Bogut needed to clear one final hurdle to play in the Olympics: Mark Cuban, his new boss.

Cuban has been opposed to NBA players competing in the Games, but the Dallas Mavericks owner gave Bogut the clearance he needed to play for Australia after injuring his left knee in the NBA Finals.

And Cuban is cheering for his new center, who scored 18 points to lead the Aussies to an 87-66 victory over France on Saturday in the opening game of the tournament.

"We obviously were nervous and I'm still not a fan of NBA players in the Olympics, but Andrew was going to have to go through a process to get back on the court anyway," Cuban wrote on Sunday in an email to Associated Press.

"Our staff has communicated with him and we knew he would be cautious in his approach to returning."

SWIMMING

Impressive Phelps makes his mark

After the US men's 4x100-meter relay team won gold, Michael Phelps reached down to help anchorman Nathan Adrian out of the pool.

While he did this, millions watching back home saw several purple dots on his back and shoulder.

Was it some kind of new tattoo, or had he taken a nap on a bed of tennis balls?

No, the circles are the result of cupping, a therapy technique that athletes use to help their muscles recover and perform at their best.

It involves a therapist heating small glass cups, then placing them on the skin and pulling them from the body to loosen and relax the muscles.

Some experts are skeptical of the treatment's effectiveness, but Phelps has been using it regularly for a while. And the 31-year-old, swimming in his fifth Olympics, delivered on Sunday night.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/09/2016 page2)