Forging of the Mandarin mermaid: How Chinese children are taken away from their families and brutalised into future Olympians

• Chinese state earmarks potential champions from young age
• Youngsters are sent away to gruelling training camps
• Olympic champion Ye Shiwen said her extraordinary swim was a result of 'hard work and training'

Watching the new ‘Mandarin Mermaid’ glide to another suspiciously easy victory yesterday - the prelude to what will doubtless be her second gold medal of these Games - my thoughts returned to the disturbing interview I conducted with another swimming sensation many years ago.

Just like China’s Ye Shiwen, East German Petra Schneider had astonished the world in winning the 400 metres medley - this time at the 1980 Moscow Olympics - producing a performance of such awesome power that her rivals (including Britain’s Sharron Davis, who won silver) seemed to be lesser mortals.

And as with 16-year-old Ye in London on Saturday night, so striking was Schneider’s superiority over young women who had trained equally long and hard that many observers wondered how she could possibly have been so much stronger, fitter and faster.

Winning at all costs: Children are put through their paces doing punishing exercises to toughen them up

Children are trained at camps where the word 'gold' is hung on the wall to make them focus on success

Sweat and tears: A young girl is pushed through a tough gymnastics exercise

This disquieting question cast a shadow over her achievement for 18 years. But then, during that unforgettable interview, in her cramped apartment in Chemnitz - or Karl-Marx-Stadt as it had been known when she was among the stars of the East German state swimming project - the five-time world record-holder finally came clean.

 

Having been identified as a potential champion as a little girl, she told me, she had been removed from school and placed in a ruthless training camp where she was identified by a number, Sportsperson 137, rather than a name.

There her every waking hour was devoted to bringing swimming glory to her country.
To increase her oxygen uptake she was forced to swim for hour upon hour in a vacuum contraption that sucked out the surrounding air; she was fed like a battery-farm turkey on a protein-rich diet; and, of course, she was injected with steroids - so frequently that, even then in her mid-30s, she suffered a plethora of health problems.

‘Sharron Davies was not racing against another swimmer that day - she was racing against a different species,’ she told me tearfully in an extraordinary mea culpa which later saw her ask for her world records to be expunged. ‘I was programmed to take the gold.’
Was the equally invincible Ye Shiwen similarly programmed? As with everyone who marvelled at the way she eased through the water yesterday, like a killer whale in her white cap and black costume, I hope — oh, how I hope — she was not.
Yet recalling the photographs Schneider had showed me of herself at a similar age, one well understands the fears voiced by America’s top swimming coach.
Indeed, they must have flashed through the minds of even the most casual spectator yesterday, so much stronger did she look than the young women beside her.

Ye Shiwen astounded the swimming world by knocking more than a second off the world record for the 400m individual medley

Mission accomplished: Miss Ye poses with her gold medal on the podium. Ye insists that her 'results come from hard work and training'

Ye Shiwen possesses that same masculine, almost wall-like figure; the same impossibly wide shoulders and huge, rounded thighs; the same armchair-leg calves. Rebecca Adlington is a strong woman, to be sure, but she still looks feminine; Ye, though barely out of adolescence, appears androgynous.
China’s recent swimming history mitigates against Ye, too.

Ye Shiwen was picked out because she had an unusually masculine physique with extremely large hands and long limbs

For during recent years its swimmers and coaches have been caught cheating so many times it is difficult to keep count - and it has modelled its draconian training system on precisely that which produced Schneider and other turbo-charged East Germans before the Iron Curtain fell.
It began in the Eighties when, determined to end the nation’s perennial humiliation at major athletics and swimming championships, China’s Communist regime decreed that a generation of future champions must be harvested and honed.
To that end, school teachers were ordered to scrutinise their pupils for signs of natural sporting ability and report any child with obvious potential to regional coaches who would install them in one of 3,000 new state training camps.

According to her mother, Qing Dingyi, as quoted by the Chinese state media, little Ye ‘expressed a wish to become a swimmer at the tender age of seven’.
In truth, she was picked out because she had an unusually masculine physique with extremely large hands and long limbs: attributes at first thought best suited to a career in track and field.

Young boys and girls are put through their paces at the Chen Jinglun Sports School, the alma mater of Ye Shiwen

The school also trained Sun Yang, who won the 400m freestyle at London 2012

After being whisked away from her modest two-bedroom apartment, in Hangzhou, a city of 6.2 million, and installed into the Chen Jingluin sports school, however, it was decided she would be best suited to swimming, and by 11 she had won her first major junior championship.

Her mother insists she and her husband, a manual worker, had always impressed on her that ‘results are not important, but you should always enjoy the taking part’. One doubts she dares voice this opinion in the presence of her daughter’s coaches.

In swimming, as in most other Olympic sports, they enforce a regime so relentlessly harsh that it has been compared, by those few Western observers who have managed to penetrate the obsessive secrecy with which it is guarded, to that in some 19th-century prisons.
Indeed, after being shown how China’s child gymnasts are trained some years ago, in his capacity as an Olympic observer, Britain’s Olympic gold-winning oarsman Sir Matthew Pinsent - a man who knows a thing or two about pushing the human body to its limits - pronounced it a ‘pretty disturbing experience’.

Practice makes perfect: Children are put through their paces in a training session at Chen Jinglun Sports School

Some have likened the strict training regime to life in '19th-century prisons'

Children who our own sports authorities would deem far too young even to countenance focusing seriously on one sport, let alone be taken away from their parents and billeted in these boot-camps, had been driven so hard that they wept, and one claimed to have been beaten by his coach.
The International Olympic Committee promised then to investigate his claims but seven years on there is no evidence that anything has remotely changed.
Only last January harrowing photographs were posted on the internet showing Chinese children crying in pain as they were put to work.
In case they had forgotten why they were there, a large sign on the wall reminded them. ‘GOLD’ it said simply.

Virtual brainwashing of this sort is another feature of the state sports project, whose charges are taught by rote that their mission in life is to beat the Americans and all-comers to the top of the podium.
Their child stars of the future are also taught from the earliest age to deliver vapid answers to media questions - though there are signs that the current generation of Olympians, emboldened and awakened, perhaps, by increasing contact with the West via social media websites, are starting to rebel.
Indeed, this week one of Ye’s swimming team-mates, 23-year-old Lu Ying, risked serious repercussions back in Beijing by attacking China’s grindingly repetitive coaching regime and saying how much she preferred the freer, more enjoyable system in Australia, where she was permitted to train prior to the Games.

Recently, other former Chinese athletes have broken ranks, describing how they were so rigidly programmed in the sports camps that they could barely fend for themselves when their athletic careers ended, much less find jobs and integrate with their peers.

Starting young: Olympic champions Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen were earmarked from a young age as potential future champions

The school recruits about 900 children from kindergartens in Hangzhou each year, with their parents all but forced to accept their fate

Had she not won gold, and become a pampered darling of the Communist Party, that would have been the life that awaited Ye. We are told, again by state-controlled newspapers, that she is never happier than when painting her mother’s toenails, reading detective stories, and chatting to friends on her pink mobile.

'Sharron Davies was not racing against another swimmer that day - she was racing against a different species: I was programmed to take the gold.'

Petra Schnedier, East German swimmer,
who was found guilty of doping

Perhaps so, but for the past six years she has lived in a Spartan dorm with five other swimming hopefuls.

At seven she could already perform 20 chin-ups - an exercise beyond the capability of most fit adults. She swims every day for several hours - only getting a break when the pool ‘needs cleaning’ according to one of her coaches, Wei Wei.

She will also have been drilled remorselessly in the niceties that can make a difference in big competition: keeping a fixed facial expression, behaving impeccably in view of the judges, showing no weakness or pain.
Her only consolation is that her diet will be far more nourishing than that of an ordinary Chinese teenager.

Food and legal supplements apart, though, the question gnaws away — is she being propelled by some other, more sinister fuel?

Ye's team-mate, 23-year-old Lu Ying, this week attacked China's grindingly repetitive coaching regime

A group of young boys await their turn in the pool

Banned: Last month 16-year-old Li Zhesi was expelled from the Chinese team after being caught using the performance-enhancing drug EPO

If so, she will join an infamous shoal of Chinese swimmers dating back to the 1994 World Aquatic championships in Rome, when their performance in winning 12 of the 16 gold medals available was attributed by state officials to ingesting an ‘ancient brew’ of toad-skin and bird’s nests.

Not long afterwards, at the Asian Games, 11 of their number tested positive for a banned testosterone and China was stripped of nine of its 23 golds.

Further scandals followed at regular intervals throughout the Nineties and 2000s, including the discovery, in 1998, of 13 vials of a human growth hormone - enough to supply the entire team - in the kitbag of a female Chinese swimmer during a routine search at Sydney airport.

That was the incident which prompted Schneider to tell me about her drug abuse, which she said had been forced on her in ignorance by her coach.
And only six weeks ago another Chinese swimmer, 16-year-old Li Zhesi, was expelled from the team after being caught using the current performance enhancing drug of choice among swimmers: a substance called EPO which boosts red blood-cells to increase oxygen uptake.

She was caught, as the Chinese will doubtless point out, by their own anti-doping agency, set up before the Beijing Games as part of an avowed intent to make them clean.

Chen Jinglun Sports School: At seven Ye could already perform 20 chin-ups - an exercise beyond the capability of most fit adults

'I was programmed to take the gold': East Germany's Petra Schneider says she would have swapped her medal for Sharron Davies's soft, feminine looks

Whether or not she was a patsy, sacrificed to create an impression of vigilance so that others with better hopes of a medal in London (such as Ye) could slip through the net, as some cynics here were suggesting yesterday, remains to be seen.

As I say, I hope and pray this isn’t the case - and not only because of the damage that any exposure as a cheat would do to these Games.
When I met Petra Schneider, she was suffering from rigid musculature, which had forced her to give birth to her only child by Caesarean section, and also an irregular heartbeat, abnormally high cholesterol and constant back pain.
Having grown an Adam’s apple and developed a manly jaw, she had also been deprived of her femininity, and told me she would willingly have swapped her gold medal for Sharron Davies’s soft, feminine looks.
That is the price Sportsperson 137 paid for her moment of glory.
We must hope that the Mandarin Mermaid will never have a similar  story to tell.

McCammon wins racism victimisation case against Gillingham after being unfairly sacked by club

Victory: Mark McCammon during his Gillingham stint

A black footballer was unfairly sacked by Gillingham after being racially victimised, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Former Barbados international player Mark McCammon, 33, took legal action against the League Two side after being dismissed for alleged misconduct last year.
The 6ft 2in striker told a hearing in Ashford, Kent, that he and other black players at the club were treated differently from white players.
McCammon said he was ordered to come into the ground amid 'treacherous', snowy driving conditions while some white players were told they were not required.
He also said the club tried to 'frustrate him out' by refusing to pay private medical bills to help him regain his fitness following injury.
Instead, he claims he was offered the same operation on the NHS rather than privately, a move he described as 'completely out of character' for a Football League club, and that he was fined two weeks' wages when he paid a visit to a private consultant.
In contrast, the former Charlton, Swindon, Millwall and Brighton player said, a white team-mate was flown to Dubai for treatment by an eminent physiotherapist at the club's expense.
In a letter sent to the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) outlining his grievances, McCammon also claimed he was told not to blog while others were permitted to.

Officials at Gillingham said they were 'staggered' by the ruling, saying the club had employed thousands of staff of different races and religions.
The club said in a statement: 'Today we have received the decision of the Ashford Employment Tribunal which sets out their findings that Mark McCammon was unfairly dismissed and that his dismissal was an act of racial victimisation.
'We are hugely disappointed, in fact staggered, by this decision. As an organisation we are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against, nor victimise our staff.
'This case is the first of its kind to be brought against the club in its entire history, a history that has seen the club employ many thousands of staff of various race, religion and creed, none of whom have ever felt the need to bring such a claim.

Defeat: Gillingham owner and chairman Paul Scally

'Given the nature of the case, and the findings, we will discuss the judgment with our lawyers and decide upon the next course of action, whether that be an appeal against the findings, or another form of action, as deemed appropriate. There will be no further comment on the case by the club until the matter has run its full course.'
McCammon told the tribunal he had been put 'through hell' at Gillingham and had not been given an answer over why he was treated differently to other players.
Dubai-based Gillingham chairman Paul Scally described McCammon's claims as being made 'maliciously and without foundation', adding that the club had not had to deal with an allegation of racism in 18 years.
McCammon said that during an injury spell, he had to stay behind at the club for four hours longer than the other injured and non-injured players.
He claimed this was on the 'strict instructions'of Mr Scally.
'Once the players had all left, I sat there watching mind-numbing daytime TV and Britain's Got Talent,' he said. 'The process of waiting was designed to inflict maximum levels of frustration on me and it certainly had that impact. Sitting at the club instead of progressing with my operation was like watching paint dry.'
The events which led up to McCammon's dismissal were triggered on November 30 2010, when south-east England bore the brunt of heavy snowfall. On that day, McCammon said he and two other black players - Josh Gowling and Curtis Weston - were told to make the four-mile drive from the house they shared to the club's medical rooms.
'One of my housemates had contacted another player who lived about two miles nearer to the club who was also due to attend the medical centre with us on that day,' McCammon's statement said. 'He was a white player who had informed us that the club physiotherapist had told him that he was not required to come in on that day because of the snow.
'There was a further player we contacted who was in the same boat, ie he needed to attend the club for physio on the same day. He lived further down in Kent in Maidstone and had a longer drive in. He was white and had been informed by the club staff that he also did not need to come in for the day because of the snowy conditions.'

Later, McCammon said one of them received a text message threatening to dock them two weeks' wages unless they made it to the stadium by midday. When he arrived at the club, McCammon said he headed to manager Andy Hessenthaler's room to confront him about being 'racially intolerant' over the decision to order them in. He claimed Hessenthaler reacted angrily.
'He lost his temper and flayed the contents of his table. He pushed the table over, throwing overboard the computer on it and all its other contents. It was the most aggressive and temperamental physical display of tantrum I had ever seen.
'The body poise in his language as he stood up to address me was a stance that stated: "How dare you talk to me?" I was concerned he was going to attack me and I asked whether he was planning to hit me.'
McCammon was subsequently ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing and later received a letter saying he was dismissed. The forward said that after leaving the club, Gillingham 'were effectively campaigning covertly against me' by trying to sabotage his career. Strong interest was shown following his departure by 11 clubs but talks with all collapsed, often at a late stage.
'It soon became known that the chairman had been interfering,' McCammon said in his statement. 'My agent was told by other agents that the job he was doing was an impossible one as they were aware that GFC were effectively campaigning covertly against me with the intention of sabotaging my career.'
McCammon signed for Gillingham in 2008 on £2,500 a week and was the club's highest paid player.
'It was a phenomenal deal,' he said. 'It was a deal that most players would have taken.'
But he disputed claims that the 'trade-off'for such a generous salary was that if Gillingham remained in League Two during contract terms, his salary would be cut by 15 per cent.
McCammon said: 'There was absolutely no way I would have agreed to that. That wasn't making sense to me.'
The tribunal has heard that a clerical error in McCammon's contract meant the 15 per cent line was accidentally omitted despite being agreed verbally.
McCammon was 'relieved' at the judgment and said he hopes it will lead other players to raise 'legitimate complaints' of discrimination.
A statement issued through his solicitor, Sim Owolabi, said: 'Mr McCammon is relieved that he has been afforded the opportunity to put forward the truth about the experience he suffered at the hands of his former employers.
'He is pleased that the employment tribunal has found in his favour and feels that the judgment makes clear that his dismissal was not only unfair but an act of race victimisation.
'Mr McCammon raised a legitimate complaint of race discrimination, which the tribunal found that Mr Scally had discounted from the start as being without merit.
'Mr Scally did not bother to investigate the complaint and ultimately dismissed him because of it.
'The employment tribunal also make clear that the club's witnesses not only colluded in the preparation of their witness statements leading to his dismissal but also colluded in the preparation of their evidence before the employment tribunal.
'Mr McCammon is astounded that the club went to such lengths to both dismiss him and win their case before the tribunal.
'Mr McCammon hopes that his success will make other players feel free to raise legitimate complaints of discrimination and not suffer the traumatic treatment that he has for doing so.
'He wishes to thank all those who stood by him during the very difficult and prolonged trial period which tested the courage of his supporters.
'Their support was invaluable and he now wishes to be able to put the matter behind him and carry on with his life.'

Swiss defender sent home from Olympic football tournament for alleged racist tweet

Switzerland defender Michel Morganella has been expelled from the London Olympics for directing an allegedly racist insult at South Koreans on Twitter.
The Swiss Olympic delegation has sent the 23-year-old home from the Games after he posted the message in the wake of the team’s 2-1 defeat to South Korea on Sunday.
'Michel Morganella gravely insulted and discriminated against the South Korean people and their football team with his highly offensive comments on Twitter,' said Gian Gilli, chef de mission for the Swiss Olympic delegation at the Games.

Banished: Michel Morganella has been sent home

'We condemn his comments, which are in fundamental violation of the IOC’s Olympic charter and Swiss Olympic’s own ethics charter.
'This is why, in consultation with the Swiss Football Association, we have withdrawn Morganella’s accreditation.'
The player has accepted the decision and apologised for his behaviour.
He said: 'I made a huge mistake after the disappointing result.
'I wish to apologise to the people in South Korea and their team, but also to the Swiss delegation and Swiss football in general. I obviously accept the consequences for my actions.'
His Twitter account has been deleted.

Apology: Morganella said sorry for his Tweet

Gilli said the Swiss committee felt Morganella had been provoked on his Twitter account, but they had no choice but to take strong action.
'Michel indeed does realise that his behaviour was wrong, that he has accepted the decision to be excluded and we hope that he will draw the necessary lessons for his still young football career,' Gilli said.
Morganella plays in Serie A for Palermo, having joined them from Novara this summer.
He only made his Switzerland debut in May.
He has played in both of their Olympics Group B matches so far, picking up a yellow card against South Korea.
The Swiss drew their first game 1-1 with Gabon in Newcastle last Thursday.

Ferdinand charged by FA over 'choc ice' tweet allegedly aimed at Cole after Terry racism trial

Rio Ferdinand will consult  lawyers before deciding whether he will contest  Monday's FA charge for his ‘choc ice’ tweet.
The Manchester United defender has until 4pm on Thursday to respond after the FA charged him with making improper comments which included a reference to ethnic origin and/or colour and/or race.
The initial ‘choc ice’ remark about Ashley Cole came two days after the Chelsea defender gave evidence on behalf of team-mate John Terry in his race trial concerning Ferdinand’s brother Anton. Ferdinand initially responded to a tweet accusing Cole of being a ‘choc ice’ — street slang for being black on the outside and white on the inside.

Charged: Rio Ferdinand is in bother over a comment he responded to on Twitter

 

Ferdinand tweeted: ‘I hear you fella! Choc ice is classic. Hahahahahaha!!’ He later deleted the tweet and claimed on Twitter that it was slang for someone being ‘fake’.

It appears that the FA have not accepted his explanation and Ferdinand has the option of a personal hearing.
The Ferdinand charge came on the day it emerged that the FA’s case against Terry will dog Roy Hodgson’s preparations for England’s August 15 friendly against Italy.

Terry requested a personal hearing after being charged under Rule E3 for allegedly making racist remarks towards Anton Ferdinand at Loftus Road last October. Terry’s legal team must agree on a mutually acceptable date for the case to be heard.

Testimony: Ashley Cole gave evidence at John Terry's trial at the start of July

Hodgson has been told he can continue to pick the deposed England skipper, but the ongoing case will be a cloud over the first international of the season.
The FA were also taking the landmark case of Mark McCammon into account yesterday, after the former Gillingham player succeeded in his claim for ‘racial victimisation’.
McCammon claimed at an employment tribunal that the League Two club treated black players differently.
The striker told the tribunal he was made to drive four miles through heavy snow to have treatment on an injury, while a white team-mate, who lived further away, had been told by the physio that he did not have to report.

Trial: John Terry (left) was found not guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a Premier League match in October last year

When McCammon was told he would be fined if he did not arrive by midday, he claimed he was threatened by Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler.
McCammon also said he was fined two weeks’ wages when he went to a private consultant over an injury instead of going to the NHS as told by the club.
‘This is a landmark ruling,’ said Lord Herman Ouseley, chairman of Kick It Out.

‘It will inevitably have  implications for all clubs.’

Manchester United gear up for fresh injection of cash with seven-year, £25m per season shirt deal with Chevrolet

Manchester United have revealed a bumper seven-year shirt sponsorship deal with car firm Chevrolet that is worth around £25million per season.

The link-up - which will see the American company's name on the front of United's jerseys from the 2014-15 season - will boost the coffers at Old Trafford.
There are fears over the club's long-term stability with the mounting debts under the Glazers, who are considering floating on the New York Stock Exchange.

Whopper: Manchester United's squad pose for a picture at a Chevrolet event in Shanghai

 

Chevrolet will be the club's fifth shirt sponsor in history and the deal is worth well over the £20m per season Aon are currently paying.

United’s commercial director Richard Arnold said: 'This is a fantastic, long-term deal for the club.
'We have been partners with Chevrolet for only six weeks, but already they have produced some fantastic ideas that will benefit both the partnership and our 659 million followers around the world. 
'They are a key partner on our current tour and I know they have enjoyed experiencing the buzz generated by our fanatical support and the sell-out crowds in South Africa, China, and Europe.
'It is a great thrill for those of us who work with partners all year round when an existing partner steps up to being one of our principal partners. This commitment to United and its fans will bring real benefits to everyone who cares about the club.'

Motoring on: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson could soon have extra money to spend

Alan Batey, General Motors’ North America Vice President of US Sales and Service, said: 'We are extremely proud to connect our brand, Chevrolet, with Manchester United and its passionate supporters all around the world. 
'Manchester United’s statistics are impressive, but this relationship goes far beyond the numbers – this relationship is about connecting our brand with the deep-seated emotion that surrounds the team everywhere it goes.
'When you consider the core values of Chevrolet, our passionate customers around the world, and our rich 100-year history, the partnership with Manchester United is a perfect fit. 
'And, to be only the fifth name on the iconic red jersey is a genuine honour. We very much look forward to the road ahead and the opportunities we have in partnering with such a legendary club.'

Malaysia 1 Manchester City 3: Aguero stars as Mancini's men sign off Asian tour in style

Manchester City’s mini-tour of Asia – two countries to be precise – ended with a thoroughly predictable and efficient victory over Malaysia.
In the sweltering heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur’s National Stadium, City scored midway through the first half thanks to Sergio Aguero and added two more goals in quick succession in the second half courtesy of Carlos Tevez and Adam Johnson.
With the heat such a factor and the pitch here so poor that parts of it had to be relaid in the hours before kick-off, City manager Roberto Mancini will have been relieved to get through the 90 minutes without suffering more injuries to that sustained by captain Vincent Kompany in last Friday’s win over Arsenal in China.

Unstoppable: Sergio Aguero was in fine form for Manchester City against Malaysia

How Manchester City lined up (3-4-1-2)

Pantilimon (Johansen 75mins); Savic, K Toure (Boyata 76mins), Zabaleta; A Johnson, Razak, Suarez (Evans 64mins) , Kolarov; Y Toure (Scapuzzi 58mins); Tevez (Mancini 76mins), Aguero (Lopes 70mins) 

That his team would win was never in doubt. This was less of the Malaysian national team and more of a Malaysian representative XI.
Nevertheless, Mancini will have no complaints about the way his players performed.
Aguero was undoubtedly the star of the show. The man who scored the goal that won City their first Barclays Premier League trophy back in May, the Argentinean has looked fresh on this trip after a summer of rest and the way he burst past three Malaysian players to chip the ball over goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Marlias in the 18th minute was exemplary.
Prior to that, City had struck the bar through Johnson while young midfielder Denis Suarez had screwed a good chance across goal and wide with his right foot.

Cool finish: Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez was on target against the Malaysians

 

Sadly for Johnson, his night included a rollicking from Mancini midway through the half. Playing in the unfamiliar position of right wing-back, Johnson was – as is often the case – unable to please his coach who emerged from the dugout to give him a verbal going-over shortly after Aguero’s goal.

Away from the field there was also some drama unfolding. In one stand here, a supporter who had turned up in a red Manchester United shirt was jostled and heckled by others in City sky blue. At half-time, he seemed relaxed enough to do some TV interviews.
Elsewhere in the stadium, banners carrying United crests and – in one case – the words ‘Manchester Is Red’ were taken down by stewards, not – it should be noted – at the request of City.
The rivalry between the two clubs from England’ s new home of football has started to travel, it seems.

City slickers: Tevez (right) and Aguero celebrate as Alexander Kolarov joins the party

Back on the pitch, Malaysia were rarely able to trouble City and the Premier League champions effectively put the game to bed early in the second half.
Tevez – booked after a running verbal battle with the referee earlier on – finished adroitly in the 48th minute after a super pass from Aguero set him clear.
Given that these players could well start the season as City’s attacking duo, Mancini will be pleased to see them working well and looking fit.

Nice touch: Aguero looked good on the ball during Manchester City's final match on their Asian tour

Certainly Tevez already looks in better shape than he did when lugging a golf bag round Lytham and St Anne’s a week or so ago.
Four minutes later Aguero was the instigator again as a lovely lofted pass found Johnson in the penalty area and the young winger was able to bring the ball down and score on the turn. Take that, coach.
As City changed six players in the final half an hour, their fluency decreased. The heat also began to take its toll and Malaysia broke with three minutes remaining to score, Aazamuddin Mohd Akil leaving Pablo Zabaleta foundering to drive a right-foot shot low across substitute goalkeeper Eirik Johansen.

Giving chase: Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta tries to keep up with Mohd Safee Mohd Sali

That will certainly have niggled Mancini. These things do.
On the whole, though, he will not be disappointed with the outcome. It never does to embarrass your hosts if you intend to be invited back.
City will be back in Manchester by Tuesday morning to join the European Championship players such as Joe Hart, David Silva and Mario Balotelli who began training on Monday.
As a coach who wished to keep this trip as short as possible, Mancini will be glad to be home.
The Community Shield against Chelsea looms in less than a fortnight. City will seek to recruit one or two new faces by then.

Is that a wig? Fans show their colours at the friendly between Manchester City and Malaysia

Look who's back: Balotelli touches down in Manchester as star returns for pre-season

Look who's back: Mario Balotelli touches down at Manchester Airport ahead of his return to training

He's back. The Premier League's most enigmatic star has returned from his prolonged summer break as Mario Balotelli touched down at Manchester Airport ready to begin his pre-season preparations.
The Manchester City striker returned to his homeland with trips to St Tropez and Ibiza sandwiched in between after guiding Italy to the final of the European Championships earlier this summer in Poland and Ukraine.
His arrival caused a bit of a stir inside the terminal, where the forward was reportedly forced to flee to a toilet in a bid to hide from autograph hunters.
Balotelli returned as his team-mates were concluding their tour of the Far East with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Malaysia XI, with Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Adam Johnson on the scoresheet in Kuala Lumpar.
The 21-year-old will instead begin training at City's Carrington HQ on Tuesday where he will look to build upon winning a starting place in Roberto Mancini's side when the champions kick-start their campaign on August 18 against newly-promoted Southampton at the Etihad Stadium.
Manager Mancini believes Balotelli's impressive performance at Euro 2012 will put him in the frame to do so but stated his desire for him to curb his often highly publicised off and on-field antics which have caused considerable distraction in the past.

Happy to be back: Balotelli returns after leading Italy to the Euro 2012 Final earlier this summer

'I think that he did well in the Euros,' said Mancini.

'I also hope those performances can help him to improve. I think every time he plays well, like he did at the Euros, it's important for him because it can help him with his behaviour.
'Then he can understand that, if he improves his behaviour, he can be better at his job.

Keeping up appearances: Sergio Aguero scored City's first in their victory over Malaysia XI

On target: Carlos Tevez was also impressive for City, scoring the champions' second goal in Kuala Lumpar

'With his body and his attitude, I think he can play as a forward or like a winger, so I think he can play in every position.

'Maybe, for me though, he is better like a first striker. But we have four strikers, and of these four strikers, only Mario can play wide.'
Mancini remains keen to sign wantaway Arsenal captain Robin van Persie before the transfer window closes for business on August 31 but Balotelli clearly has a prominent role in the Italian's plans for the season ahead... providing he can stay out of trouble.
Welcome back, Mario!

Hammers twist over Carroll exit as Newcastle ponder fresh move for striker

Newcastle are considering a fresh move for Andy Carroll after West Ham outlined a £2million loan fee with Liverpool.

The proposed deal for the 23-year-old England striker is with a view to a permanent £17m transfer, provided West Ham stay in the Barclays Premier League.
However, it is understood that Carroll would prefer a move back to his native North East if he is forced to leave Liverpool and is likely to shun West Ham’s offer.

Heading south? West Ham are understood to have agreed a loan fee for Andy Carroll

Liverpool and West Ham insisted last night that a deal has yet to be finalised but Sam Allardyce remains determined to tempt Carroll to Upton Park.

 

One man close to joining West Ham is Aston Villa defender James Collins after the clubs agreed a £2.5m fee.

Newcastle have so far offered a loan for Carroll with a promise of £13m to follow but that was rejected by Liverpool who want closer to £20m for a player who cost them £35m in January 2011.

 

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, who said last week that Liverpool would have to accept a significant loss on Carroll, wants another striker to supplement his Senegalese duo of Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba. He is wary that both will be lost to the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

He has also been battling to keep hold of Ba who has a clause in his contract which allows him to leave for £7m, due to expire tonight. Russian club Rubin Kazan are interested.

Moving on: Carroll looks set for West Ham on loan

Fulham had also shown interest in Carroll but they have been far from impressed by Liverpool’s pursuit of Clint Dempsey and have turned their attention to Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku.
Carroll made his first appearance under Brendan Rodgers against Tottenham in Baltimore as a substitute in Saturday’s friendly and the Liverpool manager said he may be called upon again for their Europa League qualifying tie against FC Gomel of Belarus on Thursday.
Rodgers said: ‘The reality is that Andy Carroll is a Liverpool player. We’re not working to push him out of the door.’
However, that door remains open and inviting for Newcastle in particular.
Rodgers is keen to finalise deals for Swansea’s Joe Allen and Dempsey and cash from Carroll’s sale would help. He faces ongoing battles to keep hold of central defenders Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel.
Liverpool value Agger at £25m, a figure which has put off Manchester City.

Korean fencer stages sit-down protest after controversial decision in semi-final

South Korean fencer Shin Lam was in floods of tears at the ExCeL arena after the biggest controversy of the Olympics so far.

The 25-year-old thought she was through to the final of the women’s epee when, to her horror and that of her coach Shim Jaesung, the clock was reset from zero to one second.
And when the action resumed German Britta Heidemann, gold medallist four years ago, scored a do-or-die hit that appeared to have given her a place in the final against Ukraine’s Yana Shemyakana.

Controversy: Shin Lam of South Korea reacts after losing to Britta Heidemann of Germany

The Korean coach furiously launched an appeal against the decision that had allowed the fight to continue and it was nearly half an hour before it was announced to the crowd - slow-handicapping by this stage - that Heidemann’s win stood.
Shin broke down in tears for the second time and while her opponent celebrated she remained on the piste.

Contrasting fortunes: Lam was in floods of tears as Britta Heidemann (right) celebrates her win

The crowd was then told she was doing that because a formal appeal was being considered and if she left the field of play it would be deemed an acceptance of defeat.
By then the bronze medal match should have started, but that faced a lengthy delay - as did the final to follow.

Dream over: Officials lead the fencer away after her appeal

Shin only needed to draw the contest in sudden death because she had been given priority - that is, the onus was on Heidemann to score in the extra minute of sudden death.
The crowd could hardly believe their ears just before 7.40pm - nearly an hour after the incident - when they were told part of the rules was that the Koreans had to lodge money for the appeal to be valid.

Alone: Lam refused to leave after the controversial decision was announced

Still Shin remained on the piste, bringing back memories of fellow Korean Byun Jong-il’s sit-down strike during the boxing in Seoul in 1988.The big difference was that Shin was an innocent in all this and just doing what she was told.
Just before 8pm an official came onto the piste to encourage Shin to leave, but she was not happy to go just yet.

All out for the win: Heidemann (right) scores the final point to secure a controversial victory

Another official came on to assist as she dissolved into tears again. Now there were whistles and boos from the crowd as she was led off, although the decision had still not been announced.
As she was hugged by her coach the announcer asked for respect to be shown to the athletes and judges - and also a big round of applause for the world No 12 as she finally left.

Out of luck: Shin lost the bronze medal match against China's Sun Yujie

The coach left as well, still clearly furious about an outcome that the fans had yet to be told about.
The final should have been staged by then, but the crowd was not able to see what happened next. The spectators had no idea what was going on back stage.
The final decision was that Shin had lost the semi-final and would be in the bronze medal match.

Amazingly it began a few minutes later, the Korean coach saying: 'We will try to clam her down, even though she is to be extremely stressed'.
Shin somehow summoned up the concentration to take an early 4-2 lead over world No 1 Sun Yujie - every hit being roared by her new-found fans.
With the last three-minute period to go it was 9-9, but Shin's agony became complete when Sun took the bronze 15-11 and she was left empty-handed from a night she and the audience will never forget.

Bronze boys work it out: Brits excel in team gymnastics with stunning show

It was bronze, then silver, then back to bronze. A brilliant breath-taking bronze, but not the stunning silver medal that was in British hands for those dizzying few moments on Monday evening.

It would have been Britain’s first silver medal since Walter Tysal came second in the all-round individual event in 1908, but it was snatched away.
Gone, as quickly as it had been ours when Japan’s Kohei Uchimura stumbled off-balance during his dismount from the pommel horse and Great Britain’s name flashed up in second place.

Historic: Bronze medalists Daniel Purvis, Max Whitlock, Louis Smith, Kristian Thomas and Sam Oldham

Historic moment: Britain's men celebrate winning the bronze medal in the team event

After that wonderful, almost disbelieving moment of joy and shock we were sent  crashing back to earth with a shudder, but the feeling should not be forgotten.
Japan’s appeal was accepted, Uchimura’s score was increased by 0.7 and they took the silver behind China. Ukraine missed out on a medal all together and Great Britain were pushed into third place. Yet, as Rebecca Adlington showed on Sunday night, perhaps bronze is the new gold.
‘To get a medal was just unbelievable,’ said Louis Smith, who won an individual Olympic bronze on the pommel horse in 2008. ‘We had already exceeded expectation by qualifying.

Here we go: Kristian Thomas of Great Britain reacts after he competes on the horizontal bar

‘It’s a different feeling from Beijing. On the pommel you are on your own. To go from piece to piece and to have the crowed erupting and to be captain of these boys is just amazing.
‘I have been working with them for 10 years. I’ve spent my life with these guys. To get a medal at London 2012 is just the icing on the cake.’
This is not about failing to win that ultimate, glittering prize; there is no sense of failure whatsoever in what Britain’s team achieved last night. Quite the opposite: it is about remembering where these athletes and this sport have come from, how hard they’ve worked and what they may go on to achieve.
What Smith, Max Whitlock, Daniel Purvis, Sam Oldham and Kristian Thomas did last night has never been seen before in our lifetimes.
Asked how impressed they were with Great Britain’s improvement over the last few years, the Chinese team, the gold medallists, just smiled and clapped. The British had beaten them in qualifying for this final, incidentally.
That was how it felt inside the North Greenwich Arena last night — as if history was being made; as if these five athletes were forging a new chapter for British gymnastics.
The crowd went on that journey with them: watching 19-year-old Oldham fall from the high bar as Great Britain dropped into fourth place with one rotation to go, before they clawed their way back into a medal position on the floor exercise. For a while it was silver but ultimately it was bronze. And that will still do nicely.
Britain were second after the first piece of apparatus, the pommel horse, as Smith outdid the highest-ranked score he achieved in qualification to record a stunning 15.966. He pumped his arms, urging the crowd and his countrymen on.
He was the cheerleader from then on, leaving his four team-mates to perform on the other five pieces.
Britain slipped to fifth after the rings, but a stunning final vault from Thomas, which scored 16.550 — the best yet at London 2012 — put the hosts back into the bronze medal spot at the halfway stage.
‘It’s the first time I have ever stuck (landed) it in competition,’ said Thomas. ‘I landed on my feet and I was thinking: “That’s pretty odd. We must be on to a good thing here”.’

By Royal command: Princes William (left) Harry watch the men's team final of the artistic gymnastics event

Golden boys: China celebrate winning the men's team final

Controversy: The Japanese team submit their appeal (above) and wait on the result (below)

They held their position on the parallel bars before it suddenly looked like slipping away on the high bar as Oldham’s left hand fell agonisingly short.
The teenger only made his senior debut last year and was something of a late call up at the expense of 2009 world all-round individual silver medallist Dan Keatings.
But he got back up to record 14.00 and Thomas put Britain back in contention with a gutsy 15.2.
‘I was gutted. Crushed,’ said Oldham. ‘But I had to switch out of that as quick as I could because I knew it wasn’t over. If I fell again that was it. I managed to get back on and finish it clean.

The last time we won a medal: Britain’s bronze in Stockholm in 1912 was their last medal in team gymnastics at the Olympics. There were no Lycra outfits, but gymnasts wore knickerbockers and stockings. Rope-climbing was a discipline and powerhouses China, Japan and USA were nowhere to be seen.

‘So it wasn’t terminal. I couldn’t waiver. We had to keep the belief. The response of the crowd when I got back up was amazing. I have never experienced anything like that. I’m a bit overwhelmed to be honest.’
Going into that gripping final round, Great Britain knew that if they and Ukrainian recreated the scores they got in qualifying, the bronze would belong to Britain.
Whitlock put a foot outside the mat as he landed after his first diagonal tumble, but composed himself and outscored Oleg Stepko, the Ukrainian athlete on the rings just metres away. Purvis then scored higher than the second Ukrainian, Mykola Kuksenkov. A clean routine from Thomas and the bronze medal would belong to Britain.

In form: Louis Smith continued to perform well as he shone on the pommel horse

Concentration: Kristian Thomas (left) and Daniel Purvis on their way to helping Britain to the bronze medal

It was incredible theatre. The three Ukrainian athletes had already completed their routines on the rings when Thomas stepped out in front of Princes William and Harry.
Twenty thousand fans inside this arena held their breath, as did the millions watching on television at home.
And Thomas delivered; just as he produced his stunning performance on the vault and an impressive 15.200 on the high bar. He did it — and the North Greenwich Arena roared back.
‘This is a beautiful day for British gymnastics,’ said Smith. Who needs a silver medal — he is right.