An Australian Rules football player was in serious condition after having a kidney removed following an horrific on-field accident, officials said yesterday. Geelong player Tom Lonergan suffered a cut to his kidney during a contest for the ball in Saturday's AFL match against Melbourne and was taken to hospital.

Club officials said Lonergan, 22, had been in a stable condition in an intensive care unit overnight but his blood pressure dropped and his pulse rose yesterday. He was rushed into surgery and had his right kidney removed, and also received multiple units of blood, Geelong said.

Weightlifting - Champ pulls out

Reigning Olympic and world champion Pawina Thongsuk, of Thailand, has pulled out of next month's World Championships in Santo Domingo, the first qualifying event for the 2008 Olympics.

Pawina has withdrawn from the competition to focus on the Asian Games in Doha in December. The 27-year-old was named the 2005 Best Female Weightlifter after she set three world records to win all three gold medals in the 63kg class at the World Championships in Doha.

The records also made her the first female lifter in over a century to set world marks in three different weights.

Beijing 2008 - Softball Olympic test

Hosts China crushed Britain 10-0 in the opening game of the world softball championship yesterday to launch the first test event for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After a slick opening ceremony at the purpose-built Fengtai field, China got the best possible start to their World Championship campaign and underlined their determination to break the American stranglehold on Olympic gold.

The 2008 Olympic softball tournament will be the last for at least eight years. Softball first featured as a medal sport in Atlanta '96 but last year was removed from the list of events for London 2012.