A round-up of other Olympic stories in brief...

Bryant defiant

KOBE BRYANT, one of the world's best-known basketball players, joked yesterday he will flee his country if the United States team fail to win Olympic gold in his sport.

"People ask me and I joke around a lot, but if we want to remain US citizens we got to win gold," the Los Angeles Lakers guard said at a news conference yesterday.

Pipers get surprise call up for show

AN AMATEUR pipe band from Scotland yesterday described being hand-picked to perform at the opening ceremony as "like winning the lottery".

The small Dundee band were spotted by Chinese officials when playing abroad last year and thought it was a joke when asked to play at the prestigious event.

The Mains of Fintry Pipe Band had to keep their biggest-ever show secret ahead of the Games.

Piper Eddie Wighton said of the invitation: "It seemed too good to be true but we looked into it a bit further and started to get excited."

Shipyard beckons as gold medallist thinks of future

ALDO MONTANO'S unexpected Olympic fencing gold medal four years ago brought him celebrity status in his native Italy, but after the Beijing Games he will hang up his sabre and work at a shipyard.

The 30-year-old will defend his title on Tuesday before returning to start working in his family's shipyard in the Tuscany port of Livorno.

"I'm not young and I'm not old, but I think that I will stop," he said. "For me it's enough. But I will decide after the competition."

With a flashy smile, 1.84-metre Montano is perfect TV material.

"I tried it and it's good, it's a new experience," he said. "But I think the best for me is to work in the family company. It's more relaxed."

Montano credits his relaxed state of mind at the Athens Games for winning the gold. He fell behind 13-14 in the final against Hungarian Zsolt Nemcsik but scored two consecutive points to win.

Gousis given red card for failing dope test

GREEK OLYMPIC sprinter Tassos Gousis has failed a doping test, the country's national television reported yesterday.

State television said the 29-year-old, who was due to compete in the 200 metres in Beijing, tested positive during tests conducted by the Greek anti-doping agency ESKAN before the team left for training in Japan.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee was not available for comment when contacted by media in Beijing.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it was unaware of the report.

The IOC is responsible for doping controls from July 27th until the end of the Games on August 24th.

Danson cleared to take up place

BRITAIN's women's hockey forward Alex Danson has been cleared to make her Olympic debut in Beijing. Danson (23) hurt her right ankle during a practice match against New Zealand on July 28th and scans revealed she had suffered a grade one ligament strain and faced a race against time to regain full fitness ahead of the Games.

But she has passed a late fitness test and will be available for Britains opening Pool B game against defending Olympic champions Germany tomorrow.

"We are delighted for the team and for Alex, said Britain's head coach Danny Kerry.

No duty free allowed back into EU

THOUSANDS OF passengers transiting at EU airports as they return from the Olympic Games will have any duty-free liquids bought at Chinese airports flushed down the sink, the bloc's executive said yesterday.

Passengers who buy alcohol or other liquids such as perfume at any of Chinas airports will have to give them up when changing planes in the 27-member bloc, even if the items have been purchased after security checkpoints.

"We do not have any third-country agreement with China, so yes, any duty-free liquids will taken off any passengers returning from the Olympics and destroyed," a Commission spokesman told a daily news conference.

Every year millions of euro worth of duty-free items bought at airports outside the EU become a casualty of security rules under which air passengers must carry small containers of liquids or gels in sealed plastic bags on board planes.

Last year, Brussels said it would exempt passengers travelling from outside the bloc from handing over liquid products.