China :: Sports Extra

Watch Video Manchester United's former player David Beckham and Gary Neville, during Neville's testimonial match against Juventus in Manchester. Giggs made his first public appearance since being revealed as the footballer covered by a privacy injunction, hours after journalists' cars were attacked and vandalized outside his house. Neville left the pitch to a standing ovation after 83 minutes. He won the Champions League, eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, two League Cup titles, the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup along the way. Related stories Beckham returns to Man United for Neville farewell 2011-05-25 Beckham to play for Man U 2011-05-24 Beckham returns to Los Angeles Galaxy 2011-02-25 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Roger Federer is on a roll again in the French Open. The Swiss star won 13 straight games with a powerful display in the second round in Paris on Wednesday. It was French wild card Maxime Teixeira's first time to meet Federer. The French youngster seemed so nervous that he double-faulted his way to a love-2 disadvantage right from the start. But Teixeira finally settled down to hold serve and take the match to 3-all in the opening set. Federer took over from there. He won the first set 6-3. Federer continued his dominance in the second set with a 22-minute demolition. The Swiss was in stride with a 6-love scoreline. The rest of the match went on without any doubt. The 3rd seeded Federer closed out Teixeira with ease and moved to the 3rd round. His next opponent will be 29th seed Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Pere Riba of Spain to advance. Roger Federer is on a roll again in the French Open. The Swiss star won 13 straight games with a powerful display in the second round in Paris...

Watch Video Play Video The excitement is building for the biggest soccer match of the year. Manchester United faces Barcelona UEFA Champions League final at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday. It will be the fifth time they've met in the final of Europe's top club competition. Saturday's meeting will match two of the biggest clubs in world football. Manchester United just won a record-equalling 19th English title, and the team will bring a wealth of attacking talent to the pitch, including striker Wayne Rooney. On the other side, will be Argentina's Lionel Messi, widely hailed as the best player in world football. Man U. manager Sir Alex Ferguson says he has plans to contain Messi, and he's pushing his own attacking players to make an impact at Wembley. Ferguson said, "There's always a solution to every good player. We hope we can find a solution for that on Saturday. But also you've got to recognise that they've got other good players, ...

Watch Video Play Video The Russian pair won the mixed doubles match in straight sets, to take a 1-0 lead. Despite losing the mixed doubles opener to Russia, Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei soon demonstrated exactly why he is the top-ranked player in the world as he blasted Russia's out-classed Ivan Sozonov 21-9, 21-10 in 26 minutes. He tied it at 1-all for Malaysia. In women's singles, Tee Jing Yi became the newly pointed top-ranked player in Malaysia. The 19-year-old dominated the match and beat her opponent Anastasia Prokopenko in straight sets. The men's pair of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong were too good for their opponents and won 3-0. Malaysia won 4-1 and now faces Indonesia on Tuesday. Related stories China crush Germany 4-1 to open 2011 Sudirman Cup 2011-05-24 Editor: Shi Jierui | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video A little history was made at round two of the UIM F1H2O World Championship in the Portuguese port of Portimao. With Stromoy out, the race lead was handed to Price, the 2008 World Champion's lead was 3.58 seconds over Alex Carella after 34 of the 42 laps, and he held on to take his 11th career F1 win and extend his lead in the 2011 Drivers' Championship to ten points. CTIC Team China Team had a solid day with pilot Phillipe Chiappe finishing in fourth place and his team-mate finished 11th. Related stories Indonesia's Bali to host 2013 bridge championships 2011-05-20 Lithuanian closes her grip on European women chess championship title 2011-05-17 Table Tennis Championships: Zhang Jike overcomes Tim Boll 4-1 2011-05-16 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video Women's golf took the spotlight in Beijing as the China LPGA crowned a tournament winner on Sunday. Thailand's Porani Chutichai came on top after the final round. Porani got off to a strong start when she birdied the par-three second. She then picked up further shots, with birdies at the ninth and 10th holes. Porani Chutichai stormed to her second CLPGA title this year with a five-stroke win at the US$ 50,000 Beijing Renji Challenge on Sunday. Porani settled for bogeys at the 12th and 15th holes before carding a final round 71. It was good enough for her to capture the Renji Challenge Cup by five strokes. The 25-year-old Chiang Rai native won the Yangzhou Challenge last month. She finished with a 54-hole aggregate score of one-under 215. 13-year-old Beijinger Wang Ziyi shot a final round 77 to finish in a tie for third. Editor: Shi Jierui | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video The Argentine Football Association has approved a new tournament that will be modeled on Spain's Copa del Rey championship. The new tournament will be called the Argentine Football Championship. All 174 clubs in Argentina - from all divisions - will be allowed to participate. Authorities say although details are still being worked out, the tournament will be played throughout the year, parallel to the Clausura and Apertura championships. It will begin with a preliminary round, which all the clubs will participate in. They say the tournament will provide an interesting new opportunity for lower ranked teams. There was little opposition to the suggestion and the proposal was overwhelmingly approved. Gustavo Abel Cereza, Executive President of Federal Council For Argentine Football Association, said, "It was a good alternative, proposed by the President of AFA, that the champions can participate alongside others, that's a good incentive. It is a l...

Watch Video Play Video Olympic organizers have unveiled the torch relay route for next year's Games. The torch will travel the length of Britain during its 70-day relay. 8-thousand torchbearers will carry the flame after it arrives from Greece in exactly a year's time on May 18th, 2012. Land's End will be the starting point of the nearly 13-thousand-kilometer journey. 90 percent of the torchbearers will be members of the public, nominated by friends and associates in recognition of their contributions to society. Sebastian Coe, chairman of London Olympic Organizing Committee, said, "May 19th, a year today, the torch will start its journey, its 70 day journey from Lands End (extreme westerly point of Britain), we want it to touch 95 percent of the population of this country, and we made that commitment very early on, but we also want it to celebrate the extraordinary personal stories of people in extraordinary communities, so we are also asking - unusually - peopl...

Watch Video China's men's volleyball team is getting a fresh start. The squad has said goodbye to some veterans, and hello to a set of unfamiliar faces that will bring a new set of challenges. Two of the new players are specialists in the set-up position, which puts pressure on veteran Li Runming. Li Runming, setter, said, "I had only one competitor on the team before, but now the two new teammates are really competitive as they have their own advantages." A new slogan on the wall, new jerseys, and new names will surely bring new excitement to the national team for the 2012 London Olympics. Related stories Beijing to host beach volleyball again 2011-05-13 Asian women's volleyball kicks off in northern Vietnam 2011-04-29 Brazilian women's volleyball team suffers accident on way to semifinals 2011-04-13 Women's volleyball: Tianjin to face Guangdong in final 2011-03-23 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video The 2011 edition of the Italian Super Cup will be held at China's National Stadium or as it is more well known internationally, the Bird's Nest on August 6th. Today, organizers announced the ticket prices for the event. There will be over 70,000 tickets available for sale, starting at around 200 RMB and running as high as 4,000 RMB. Organizers say over 50 percent of the tickets will be under 1,000 yuan in price. Ticket sales will begin in the next few weeks. However, one of the major concerns is that if a mouth watering Milan derby takes place in Beijing, ticket scalping will be a headache for organizers. The Italian Super Cup is a match between the Serie A champions and the Italian Cup winners. Currently, AC Milan, who recently claimed their first Serie A title in 7 years, have booked a ticket to the Bird's Nest. Many fans are hoping that arch rivals Inter Milan, who will play Palermo in the final of the Italian Cup late this month, can lift th...

Watch Video Play Video The countdown is on to the start of the 2011 Shanghai Golden Grand Prix. A star-studded field will hit the track and field on Sunday evening in Shanghai, including 12 event winners from last year, three Olympic champions and 13 World title holders. Two time Olympic Javelin Champion from Norway, Andreas Thorkildsen, Athens Olympics long jump gold medallist from the United States, Dwight Phillips and China's top shot-putter Gong Lijiao met with the media to promote the event earlier today. For Thorkildsen, he stated his desire to break the long standing Javelin World Record. Related stories Shanghai F1 Grand Prix ready to roll 2011-04-13 Vettel races to pole in Malaysian Grand Prix 2011-04-10 Sebastian Vettel wins Australian F-1 Grand Prix 2011-03-28 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video To action now from the Argentine Clausura. Velez Sarsfield, has a chance to move four points clear at the top of the table in the second half of the season while playing host to Banfield. In the first minute of this one, off the corner, Walter Bustamante almost gave the visitors the perfect start, but his header hit the bar. Banfield continued to frustrate Velez for most of the match, but eight minutes from time their resistance crumbled as Fabian Cubero took advantage of some sloppy marking to prod home from close range to make it 1-0. And then, in added time, Velez would seal it, as Ivan Bella picked out David Ramirez - and the midfielder made sure of the three points. It ended 2-0, and Velez move four points clear at the top of the Clausura. Related stories Barcelona closer to La Liga title 2011-05-09 Shanghai eliminated from AFC Champions League 2011-05-04 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video In the NHL playoffs, let's go to the Western Conference semi-finals where the San Jose Sharks had a chance to close-out the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings needed a big team effort to stave-off elimination in their bid for another Stanley Cup title. There was no score until late in the first period. The Sharks' Dan Boyle shot the puck at Jimmy Howard in the Detroit goal, and Devin Setoguchi tipped it into the net, the assist was Boyle's sixth point of the series, 1-0 San Jose. The Sharks made it 2-0 late in the second. Ryan Clowe made a perfect feed and Joe Pavelski redirected the puck into the net. But Detroit struck back less than a minute later. Pavel Datsyuk drew the defenders, then he got the puck to Niklas Kronwall, 2-1,the Wings on a comeback. Third period, San Jose's Logan Couture beat Howard with a backhand. The Sharks went up 3-1, and it was a desperate moment for Detroit. But it took just three minutes for the Wings to respond. Henri...

Watch Video Play Video In the final of the Madrid Tennis Masters, world number one Rafael Nadal took on world number two Novak Djokovic. Would the Serb stretch his unbeaten run to 34 matches or would the Spaniard, on his favored clay surface, take his record to 10 victories over Djokovic in 10 attempts on clay. The defending champion Nadal was looking to extend his run of 37 successive victories on clay, while Djokovic was aiming for his sixth consecutive title to stretch his unbeaten run to 34 matches since the start of the season. The mouth-watering final attracted lots of attention including some one from the football pitch. Home favorite Nadal made a bumping start, and trailed 3-love in the first set, the Serb matched the Spaniard physically but displayed an extra attacking edge as he powered into a 4-love lead in the opening set. But the Spaniard would bounce back, at Djokovic's serve at 5-3, Nadal unleashed a barrage of blistering forehands to get the second break back,...

Watch Video Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year. Related stories NBA Playoffs: Heat beat Celtics 102-91, leads series 2-0 2011-05-05 Bulls' Rose becomes NBA youngest MVP winner 2011-05-04 NBA Playoffs: Mavs rally back to stun Lakers 96-94, leads series 1-0 2011-05-04 NBA playoffs: Spurs edge Grizzlies 110-103 in overtime 2011-04-29 Editor: Liu Fang | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video To Major League Baseball now, where it's been a bad week for Atlanta Braves starter Derrick Lowe. He was picked up for a DUI on Thursday, and was looking to put that behind him on Sunday, as he took to the hill for the Braves as they wrapped up their weekend set with the St. Louis Cardinals at Turner field. The Cards, taking the first two of three. Pick it up, top of five, and Albert Pujols rips the Lowe offering back up the middle, that plates pitcher Jaime Garcia, to put the Cards on top 4-0. Lowe, would leave after this inning, down 4-0. After Garcia threw four perfect innings to open the game, the Braves broke through in the bottom of the fifth, one man on for Alex Gonzalez. And he took Garcia deep to left center, the two run jack making it a 4-2 ball game. Later in the same inning, runners on the corner for pinch hitter Brandon Hicks, and he singles home Joe Mather with the single to left, the Braves, now down 4-3. Bottom seven, the Braves levelled...

Watch Video Play Video Months after winning the right to stage footballs World Cup in 2022, Doha is now entertaining the International Olympic Committee. The IOCs biennial World Conference on Sport & The Environment brings together sporting federations, academics and athletes with the single aim of using sport to positively impact on the environment. At the business end, organizers of sports events are challenged to come up with strategies that provide environmental legacies, while at the individual level, the IOC wants athletes to sell the message of environmental responsibility to a younger audience... With its heavy reliance on oil and gas production, Qatar has one of the worlds biggest environmental footprints per head of population but clearly hosting an Olympic Games is one prize they have their sights set on. While Qatar is host of the event, the conference is a global event carrying a long distance message from 4th grade children at the Western Academy of Beijing... ...