Olympics: Veterans provide spark for NZ on day 2 of Games

7.30am

Two veteran Olympians and a trusty old steed gave New Zealand its few bright notes on a generally disappointing second day of competition at the Athens Olympics.

Boardsailor Barbara Kendall and table tennis player Li Chunli, both attending their fourth Olympics, opened their Games campaigns with wins overnight (NZ time).

And Taranaki rider Heelan Tompkins rode 18-year-old Glengarrick, the oldest horse at the Games, to second place at the halfway stage of the dressage in the three-day event.

Chunli, 42, and younger sister Karen Li beat Australian rivals Jian Fang Lay and Miao Miao 4-2 in a first round table tennis clash after surviving some early setbacks.

Later Chunli kept on her winning way, beating American Tawny Banh 4-1. But her third round singles may be like hitting the Great Wall of China as she faces world No 1 Yining Zhang.

While other New Zealand sailors in Athens have so far shown only glimpses of medal-winning form, Kendall -- looking to add to her Olympic set of gold, silver and bronze -- swept to victory in the first women's Mistral race.

But she fell off her board in the second race after being hit from behind. She had to take a penalty turn for the mishap and finished ninth to be third overall on 10 points, two behind pacemaking world champion Alessandra Sensini of Italy.

Tompkins, who earned 44 penalty points for Glengarrick's dressage test to be 12 points adrift of Germany's Bettina Hoy, modestly said that all she had to do was "steer him in the right direction".

Glengarrick warmed to the occasion, whether it was "an Opunake Pony Club one-day event or the Olympic Games".

In contrast Blyth Tait was unable to get his 1996 Olympic champion mount Ready Teddy to relax in the heady Olympic atmosphere and they were placed 24th on 63.8 points after the first day of dressage. Teammate Daniel Jocelyn and Silence were five places back on 66.8.

Joanne Kiesanowski was New Zealand's best performer in the women's road cycling race, finishing a creditable 17th -- 1 minute 18 seconds behind Australian gold medallist Sarah Carrigan.

Tall Blacks guard Phill Jones cried foul after Italy held out New Zealand in a thrilling finish to win their basketball match 71-69, but the clock beat New Zealand after they clawed a 19-point deficit back to two with less than a minute to go.

Jones claimed the referees missed a blatant foul when he was tripped as he charged in for the match-tying shot inside the final 30 seconds.

"The decision not to call a foul which we all thought was a foul was very disappointing. It's unfortunate it had to come down to that," he said.

Following boxer Soulan Pownceby's early elimination on the first day, New Zealand's other combatants in martial sports suffered a similar fate with fencer Jessica Beer lasting 4-1/2 minutes against Greek opponent Dimitra Magkanoudari and judoka Rochelle Stormont lasting just 30 seconds before being downed in an ippon by Romania's Ioana Maria Aluas.

None of the four New Zealand swimmers in heats on day two -- Hannah McLean in the women's 100m backstroke, 15-year-old Annabelle Carey in the 100m breaststroke, Cameron Gibson in the men's 100m backstroke, and Rebecca Linton in the 400m freestyle -- managed to swim near their personal bests heats, let alone qualify for a semifinal or final.

There was also a reality check for the New Zealand's men's hockey team, when outclassed 1-4 by world No 3 Australia.

The only goal for New Zealand came from Darren Smith who deflected in a David Kosoof penalty corner .

The mixed doubles badminton partnership of Daniel Shirley and Sara Runesten Petersen may be at an end after they were beaten in straight games by seventh-seeded Danes Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen in the second round.

A dejected Shirley said he and Runesten Petersen would reconsider their future in the sport.

- NZPA