Han Duan scored her 101st goal, enabling host China to celebrate the start of competition at the Beijing Olympics with a 2-1 victory over Sweden on Wednesday. Han's goal in the 72nd minute sparked an eruption by the boisterous crowd of 37,902 at Tianjin Olympic Sports Center Stadium, and started a parade of about 30 flag-waving Chinese fans around the lower level. Norway outplayed the defending Olympic champion United States 2-0. Other gold medal contenders Germany and Brazil drew 0-0 in a game that could well have finished 2-2 and Canada beat Argentina 2-1. “This was a tough opponent and there was big pressure for us in the first match,” China coach Shang Ruihua said. “It was a classic start. After we scored, we were a little bit nervous.” After a furious first half, the game settled in the final 45 minutes and seemed headed for a draw. Lotta Schelin finished a rapid counter in the 38th with a classic finish, equalizing for Sweden after a sixth-minute strike by Xu Yuan. Han finished one of the few quality chances by either side in the second half. Second-half substitute Wang Dandan played the ball into the penalty area to Xu, who dropped it back for Han to strike with her left foot into the opposite side netting. The animated crowd roared from the moment the teams emerged from the dressing rooms. Armed with inflatable cheer sticks and whistles, they howled at kickoff and every time the Chinese brought the ball past midfield, jeering the Swedes on each foray they made near the penalty area. European clubs win appeal to CAS Three European clubs won their appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Wednesday to keep their players out of the Olympic football tournament. CAS ruled that Lionel Messi, Diego and Rafinha can be kept out of the Beijing Games by their clubs - FC Barcelona, Werder Bremen and Schalke. Messi plays for Argentina, and Diego and Rafinha play for Brazil. Argentina opens on Thursday against the Ivory Coast in Shanghai and Brazil plays Belgium in Shenyang. CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb said the three-member panel ruled in favor of the clubs because the Olympic tournament is not on FIFA's match calendar, and because there was no evidence that the football body's executive board obliged the clubs to release the players. FIFA ruled on July 30 that the players must be released for the Olympic tournament because they are under 23. “Theoretically the clubs could ask their players to go back to Europe. Reeb urged the clubs and FIFA to sit down and negotiate a deal.
