Brunei reshuffles cabinet after Olympics blunder

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Brunei's ruler has named a new sports minister, the government said, after the tiny oil-rich nation was dropped from the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games for failing to register any athletes.

Brunei's absence at the Games shocked the nation of 350,000 people, forcing the sports ministry to issue an apology.

Brunei's ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah ordered industry minister Ahmad Jumat to take over the sports ministry as part of a minor cabinet reshuffle, a government statement said late on Thursday.

The IOC said Brunei could not take part in the opening ceremonies because the team did not register any athletes for competition.

Brunei media said the sports ministry had picked two athletes to travel to Beijing and they underwent training. But their names were not on the IOC register when the deadline came, and it was not clear who was responsible for the blunder, newspapers said.

Brunei has never won an Olympic medal.

The sultan who is also the prime minister, finance minister and defence minister, also appointed new ministers for communications, energy, and industry.

(Writing by Jalil Hamid, Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)