Bad news on the soccer pitch for China, but good news came from the 116th International Olympic Committee session in Athens.

Yu Zaiqing, vice chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) was elected to the IOC Executive Board.

The 53-year-old Yu has been an IOC member since 2000. He beat Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico), Phillip Walter Coles (Australia), Mostafa Hashemi Taba (Iran) and Carlos Arthur Nuzman (Brazil) to take the board's fifth seat.

This was his second bid for the board. He failed in last year's IOC assembly in Prague, Czech Republic.

Yu's election was seen as crucial for China as it prepares to host the 2008 Olympics.

Yu Zaiqing says as the newly elected executive board member, he will try to play an important role between the IOC and the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee.

Yu is the second Chinese elected to the executive board, following He Zhenliang, the former IOC vice president. The 75-year-old He says Yu will have a greater responsibility in helping China to host a successful Games.

The IOC currently has 124 members. The executive board, chaired by IOC president Jacques Rogge, sets committee policy and serves as an inner cabinet.

Meanwhile, Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg became the second woman in history to be elected vice president of the IOC. The 57-year-old Lindberg, who has been on the executive board since 2000, was elected unanimously to one of the four available vice presidential spots.

(CRI August 12, 2004)