London 2012: Team GB 'should avoid handshakes' at Olympics

British athletes have been warned against shaking hands with rivals and dignitaries at the London Olympics.

The British Olympic Association is concerned about illness damaging the host nation's chances of success.

Asked if handshakes should be avoided, BOA chief medical officer Ian McCurdie said: "I think, within reason, yes.

"The greatest threat to performance is illness and possibly injury. We are talking about minimising risk of illness. It is all about hand hygiene."

Around 10,000 athletes are set to take part in the Games, with British athletes set to share rooms, while eating with competitors from more than 200 other competing nations.

McCurdie added: "Being at an Olympic Games means you are normally inside a bubble and so there is effectively quite a limited number of people that you interact with when you are away in another country.

"In London we do not believe that is going to be the case. The variety of people the athletes and support staff are going to interact with is going to be huge.

"At an Olympic Games or any major event the performance impact of becoming ill or even feeling a little bit ill can be significant.

"Essentially we are talking about minimizing risk of illness and optimising resistance. Minimizing exposure and getting bugs into the system and being more robust to manage those should that happen. Hand hygiene is it."

However, with thousands of athletes and hundreds more dignitaries involved in the Olympics, it might not be easy to avoid handshakes for the duration of the Games.

"Obviously there are concerns about keeping in a tip top physical condition but [the BOA advice] does seem a bit extreme," said Liz Wyse, an etiquette adviser from Debrett's.

"If somebody extends their hand in a friendly greeting and you don't give your hand back because of hygiene concerns that could look very rude.

"It is a bid of a sad thing if people are worried about shaking hands in case it spreads disease."

Rondo shines as Celtics down Lin's Knicks

Rajon Rondo delivered a mammoth "triple-double" to lead the Celtics to a 115-111 overtime victory over New York Sunday, spoiling Knicks guard Jeremy Lin's return to Boston.

Rondo poured in 18 points with a career-high 17 rebounds and 20 assists. It was the most impressive "triple-double" in the league since Magic Johnson's 24-17-17 in 1989.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 34 points, including a three-pointer in the waning seconds of regulation to force overtime, and Kevin Garnett had a "double-double" of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

NBA sensation Lin -- a onetime bench-warmer who shot to prominence last month -- had 14 points with five assists and four rebounds for the Knicks, who were led by Carmelo Anthony's 25 points.

Lin, who graduated from Harvard University in the Boston area and attended several Celtics games as a student, had hoped for more on his return.

His last game at Boston, on February 3, preceded his February 4 break-out performance against New Jersey and the dawn of the "Linsanity" hoopla that gripped New York media and Knicks fans.

The fact that Lin is Asian-American, born in California to parents who moved from Taiwan, made him an international favorite as well and there were pockets of Lin supporters scattered among the Celtics faithful on Sunday.

Lin's Harvard coach -- and the university president -- attended the game.

Two quick fouls hindered Lin early, but in the fourth quarter he flashed the skills that have sparked the Knicks as New York tried to claw back.

Lin connected on a layup off a loose ball and drained a wide-open three-pointer to narrow the gap to 96-95 with 2:07 left in the fourth.

He scored six straight points late in the last period of regulation, but he also had six turnovers in his 31 total minutes.

"The thing about Jeremy, he's going to make some mistakes, and he's got a learning curve," said Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni.

"There's no way you can throw him in here, the first time he ever does it, and expect it to be perfect. But he finds a way to be very positive at the end of games."

The Celtics paid special attention to Lin. Like Miami a fortnight earlier, they didn't want the rising star to beat them.

"Definitely a target," Lin said. "But I think that's fine, because I think we have such a well-rounded team.

"It's just going to take time. It's my, whatever, 11th, 12th game, 13th, I don't really know. Early on, so I'm learning a lot and absorbing information right now."

Japanese rider in 70s gets Olympics berth

Japanese rider Hiroshi Hoketsu, the oldest competitor at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has won an individual dressage slot at the upcoming London Games when he will be 71, according to officials.

Japanese rider Hiroshi Hoketsu, the oldest competitor at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has won an individual dressage slot at the upcoming London Games when he will be 71, according to officials.(JEF) Said.

"We will make a formal decision on his selection as soon as possible," JEF spokeswoman Azusa Kitano told AFP. "I understand he is willing to go."

Hoketsu, who is based in Germany and rose up the rankings after winning an event at an international dressage meeting in France on Thursday, was not immediately available for comment.

Hailed as the "hope of old men," Hoketsu has already competed in two Olympics, 44 years apart.

He finished 40th in showjumping at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and in Beijing he placed ninth in team dressage and 35th in individual dressage.

At 67 years and four months he was the oldest athlete in any event at Beijing, and also the oldest to appear for Japan in any Olympics.

He was also picked as a substitute for the 1984 Los Angeles Games but did not compete, and had to withdraw from the 1988 Seoul Olympics when his horse had a quarantine problem.

Before Hoketsu competed in Beijing, the oldest Japanese Olympian was Kikuko Inoue, a grandmother of five who took part in the dressage at Seoul aged 63 years and nine months.

The oldest Olympic competitor ever was Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn, who took part in the 1920 Antwerp Games at the age of 72 years and 10 months and won a silver medal.

Bangladesh satisfied with Pakistan cricket security

LAHORE: The head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board said Sunday he would try to bring international cricket back to Pakistan after voicing satisfaction with security arrangements in the country.

Pakistan have invited Bangladesh to tour next month in a bid to revive international cricket in the country after it was suspended following the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore three years ago.

A nine-member Bangladesh security delegation arrived early Friday and inspected arrangements in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore. They were briefed over the possible security setup by the interior ministry in Islamabad.

Head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Mustafa Kamal said: 'We are satisfied with the arrangements which would be in place for our team and now this delegation will submit a report to the government which has the final authority to decide on the tour.'

On March 3, 2009 gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, killing eight Pakistanis and wounding seven visiting players and their assistant coach.

The attack suspended international cricket in the country, stripped Pakistan of its 2011 World Cup hosting rights and forced it to play home series at neutral venues in England, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.

Pakistan have invited Bangladesh to play three one-day internationals or two one-day matches and a Twenty20 contest.

'We will also write a letter to the ICC over the assessment of the security and will seek their permission as they are the governing body of the game,' said Kamal.

The ICC last month said it will conduct an independent security assessment before deciding whether to send their match officials for the series.

'We keep our fingers crossed and hope that international cricket will be revived with the Bangladesh team's tour to Pakistan as our government has promised foolproof security for the Bangladesh team,' said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf.

Punjab province chief minister Shahbaz Sharif also welcomed the possible revival of cricket in Pakistan.

'We will give the best possible security to the Bangladesh team and for the sake of millions of fans we want to revive international cricket in Pakistan,' Sharif said. AGENCIES

Martic stuns Jankovic to reach Malaysian Open final

KUALA LUMPUR: Croatia s Petra Martic battled for over three hours Sunday to defeat former world number one Jelena Jankovic and make it to the finals of the rain-interrupted BMW Malaysian Open. The fifth seed will face Taiwan s Hsieh Su-wei -- the first Asian to reach the final in Malaysia -- in the title decider later Sunday after battling to a 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) victory. The two finalists will both be chasing their first WTA singles title. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the Martic-Jankovic semifinal was postponed due to heavy rain. Martic had a mixed day with her service, raining down aces but also committing nine double faults. Jankovic also struggled with her serve with nine double faults of her own. Both players had opportunities to finish the game but were hampered by unforced errors. In the end, it was Martic s calm under pressure that earned her a ticket to the final. Jankovic, the number two seed, reached the semifinals Saturday without having to pick up her racquet after Japan s Ayumi Morita pulled out injured. Top seed and world number five Agnieszka Radwanska pulled out Friday due to injury after a string of rain delays caused a schedule pile-up that forced her to face two opponents the day before. (AFP)

ASIA CUP TOURNAMANT SCHEDULE 2012

London 2012: Unite's Olympics strike threat condemned

Suggestions from the leader of the UK's biggest union that workers could strike during the London Olympics have been condemned by political leaders.

Len McCluskey, of Unite, told the Guardian that civil disobedience could be timed to disrupt the 2012 Games.

A spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron called the idea "unacceptable and unpatriotic". Labour has also criticised Mr McCluskey's comments.

However, union sources told the BBC there were no specific strike plans.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the BBC: "People will just be gobsmacked, appalled, at Mr McCluskey's remarks.

"At a time when we can showcase to the world that we are positively and optimistically putting on this fantastic event, he wants to bring people out on the streets."

The Liberal Democrat leader said to "mess up the Olympics to prove a point" would be bad for the country and called on Labour leader Ed Miliband to "rein in" Mr McCluskey, whose union is Labour's largest donor.

And Mr Cameron also told MPs that Labour "need to condemn this utterly and start turning back the money" from Unite.

Conservative co-chairman Baroness Warsi agreed, calling the comments "an appalling display of naked self-interest".

"It is disgraceful for a trade union boss to be calling for mass disruption when the eyes of the world will be on Britain," she told the BBC.

'Right to protest'

Mr McCluskey had told the Guardian: "If the Olympics provide us with an opportunity, then that's exactly one that we should be looking at.

"The attacks that are being launched on public sector workers at the moment are so deep and ideological that the idea the world should arrive in London and have these wonderful Olympic Games as though everything is nice and rosy in the garden is unthinkable.

"Our very way of life is being attacked. By then this crazy Health and Social Care Bill may have been passed, so we are looking at the privatisation of our National Health Service.

"The unions, and the general community, have got every right to be out protesting."

Mr McCluskey said the purpose of protest was "to bring your grievances to the attention of as many people as possible".

However, Mr Miliband said: "Any threat to the Olympics is totally unacceptable and wrong.

"This is a celebration for the whole country and must not be disrupted."

Earlier, his deputy Harriet Harman had told the BBC it was inconceivable that union members would want to disrupt the Games.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: "Of course unions seek fair reward for the extra work and long hours that will be required during what will be the busiest ever time for public transport and other public services, and not all such negotiations have been concluded.

"But of course unions want a Games of which we can all be proud."

BBC political correspondent Norman Smith said Unite insiders had played down the prospect of strikes, with one saying there was "nothing specific planned".

"They take the view Mr McCluskey was letting off steam at his frustrations with government policy but they are acutely aware [strike action] would be deeply unpopular and probably counter-productive," our correspondent added.