Hamm shows he’s ready to compete in Beijing

Give Paul Hamm a hand. And a plane ticket to Beijing.

The Olympic champion will get to defend his title in China thanks to a performance Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., that ended any doubt about whether his broken right hand has healed.

Eight weeks after the injury, Hamm needed to show competitive readiness at the final intrasquad meet before the U.S. team leaves for China. After watching Hamm excel, then gathering for a short meeting, the men’s selection committee confirmed the 25-year-old defending all-around champion would be on the team.

“It’s been a wild ride for me ever since my comeback into the sport,” Hamm said. “I’m just happy right now to be able to compete at this level.”

The Americans go through team qualifying in Beijing on Aug. 9.

Hamm said he has enjoyed almost exponential improvement since he returned to training in full about two weeks ago.

Tennis

Williams injures knee

Serena Williams’ busy summer schedule caught up with her, making her the latest U.S. Olympian dealing with a knee injury as the Beijing Games approach.

Williams injured her left knee and pulled out of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Calif., becoming the third singles player on the U.S. women’s team with a knee injury.

Williams retired from her match after losing the first set and falling behind in the second set of her semifinal against qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak.

Wozniak will play in today’s final against Marion Bartoli, who beat Ai Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3.

•Top-seeded James Blake struggled after a rain delay and was upset by defending champion Dimitry Tursunov 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championship.

Tursunov, the third seed, will meet second-seeded Gilles Simon of France in the championship match today. Simon outlasted fourth-seeded American Sam Querrey 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the other semifinal.