Adidas downplays Li Ning 'ambush'

BEIJING - Ambush marketing doesn't come much more blatant than running around the rim of the National Stadium waving a lit torch at the climax of Friday's spectacular Olympic opening ceremony - but 2008 partner adidas is playing down the fact the Olympic Cauldron was lit by Li Ning, the Olympic gymnast turned sportswear tycoon who owns its biggest mainland-owned rival.

by Dominic Fitzsimmons