China used Olympics as a catalyst for human rights abuses: HRW

New York: A leading international human rights watchdog says that the Beijing Olympics has put an end to the notion that the games are a "force for good" as it has resulted in setting back the clock with regards to respect for human rights in China.
In a statement ahead of closing ceremony, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) says it has monitored and documented "extensive human rights violations" directly linked to preparation and hosting of the games.
"The Chinese government's hosting of the Games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention, and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom and increased political repression," said Asia advocacy director of HRW Sophie Richardson.
In addition, the International Olympic Committee has failed to ensure that the government fulfilled those pledges.
"Not a single world leader who attended the Games or members of the IOC seized the opportunity to challenge the Chinese government's behaviour in any meaningful way," Sophie added.

source: www.mid-day.com

Day 15 Preview: Every moment a medal

BEIJING, August 22) -- Tomorrow is the second to last day of the Beijing Games, when the second-highest number of medals in one day will be awarded. For the first time in these Olympics, every event is a medal event.
Also exciting about tomorrow is that team sports are finally peaking. Preliminary round robins, quarterfinals and semifinals -- these teams have fought through days of competition to put it all on the line in one final match.
Before giving these hard-working teams their due attention, let's look at the last big day of multiple-medal action at the National Stadium, where seven medals will be awarded on the penultimate day of the Athletics competition.
Bernard Lagat of the United States is looking to repeat his Men's 5000 meter victory from the World Championships last year, but if Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia wins the event after already having won the 10,000m, he will become the second Ethiopian to achieve the feat.
In the Women's High Jump, reigning world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will target her first Olympic gold and the world record of 2.09m, but defending Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of Russia could stand in her way.
The Women's 4 x 400m Relay qualifiers saw the United States team through the fastest, and they still might call upon experienced relay runner Deedee Trotter to assist them in defending their Olympic title in tomorrow's final. Jamaica and Belarus will be hot on US heels in this event.
The US team in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay is strong apart, with a team including three medalists from the Men's 400m final (LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville), but it remains to be seen if they can also dominate as a team. Great Britain and the Bahamas were the fastest qualifiers into the final.
Finals in the Men's Javelin Throw, Men's 800m and Women's 1500m will also be contested in the last day of big medal competition in Athletics.
Tomorrow is the final day of Diving, and the whole world is waiting to see if China can sweep all the Diving golds in Beijing. In the Men's 10m Platform, German diver Sascha Klein may be all that stands in China's way. Klein is the World No. 1 in this event. He won a surprise gold at the 16th FINA World Cup at the Water Cube earlier this year by fending off strong Chinese divers.
Zhou Luxin and Huo Liang, meanwhile, are out to stage a one-two finish for China. World No. 2 Zhou settled for second at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, as well as the World Cup in Beijing this year. Huo recently won gold in the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform event with teammate Lin Yue.
In another Chinese-dominated sport, the only man standing in the way of China taking all three Men's Singles Table Tennis medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. World No. 1 Wang Ha will face Persson in the semifinals. Persson lost in the Sydney bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China, who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
The other semifinal match is between two Chinese players, World No. 2 Ma Lin and World No. 3 Wang Liqin, and the Table Tennis Men's Singles gold medal match between the winners will take place at 8:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), right after the 7:30 bronze match.
Many finals in team sports events include a rematch between two countries that fought for gold in previous Olympics, and Women's Basketball is no exception. For the third Games in a row, Australia will try and top the United States for the gold. While the Australians have the indomitable center Lauren Jackson, the tournament's second-highest scorer, the United States captain Lisa Leslie is looking for her fourth consecutive gold medal. Both teams enter this final having won all seven of their games. They will tip-off in the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium at 10:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), after China and Russia compete in the bronze medal match at 7:30 p.m.
Men's Baseball ends tomorrow with Japan and the United States playing for bronze, and Cuba and the Republic of Korea vying for gold. Japan defeated the United States 4-2 in extra innings when they met in the preliminaries, and has only finished outside the medal standings once in Olympic history when it finished fourth at Sydney.
Cuba is the defending gold medalist, with three golds and one silver in its history. If the ROK wins gold, it will be the third team to remain undefeated throughout an Olympic Baseball tournament. Cuba has done this twice, once in 1992 and again in 1996. The Baseball bronze match is at 10:00 a.m. local time, while the gold medal game happens at night at 6:00 p.m. at the Wukesong Baseball Field.
Brazil will play the United States in the Women's Volleyball final, while China faces Cuba in the bronze medal match at the Capital Gymnasium. This is the first time Brazil and the United States are playing each in the tournament, and it's Brazil's first Olympic final. The Brazilian players are led by Sheilla Castro and Marianne Steinbrecher as their main force of attack. The US team's Logan Tom is the top scorer in the tournament, with 81 spikes, 19 blocks and eight service aces. The gold medal game starts at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8).
In Men's Hockey, the Netherlands will play Australia in a bronze medal game that is also a rematch of the Athens final (which Australia won), before Germany and Spain compete for the gold at 8:30 p.m. These two teams played each other in a pool A game, which Germany won 1-0, but with a gold medal on the line this game will be hard-fought on both sides. Spain has the ability to upstage world champions Germany, which they showed by beating defending champion Australia 3-2 in the semifinal after being down 0-2.
With Men's Football, Olympic gold medals keep seesawing between South America and Africa in the last three Olympic finals, so it is no surprise Nigeria and Argentina will be facing off tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at the National Stadium. In the semifinals, Argentina beat Brazil 3-0, while Nigeria defeated Belgium 4-1. This is a rematch of the Atlanta gold medal match, which Nigeria won 3-2.
Women's Handball teams will compete in the event's first medal matches tomorrow. Norway and Russia have dominated the Women's competition, and they will play for gold at 3:45 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium, while the Republic of Korea will compete against Hungary for the bronze medal at 1:30 p.m.
Although it might not be the first event that comes to mind when one thinks of team sports, Synchronized Swimming ends tomorrow with eight teams performing their Free Routines for the Team Event medals. Russia is looking to go two-for-two with their second Synchronized Swimming gold medal in Beijing, and they enter this competition in the lead after receiving the highest Technical Routine score on August 22. Russian duo Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova, two of the eight team members, already won gold in the Duet competition.
Russia has won gold at the past two Olympic Games and the past five world championships. The team's strength is, well, its strength, which allows them to perform throws and lifts beyond the capabilities of other teams. Characterized by the team's creativity, Spain currently trails Russia 0.583 points..
Along with Synchronized Swimming, Canoe/Kayak ends tomorrow, and the Beijing Olympics say goodbye to all medal events that take place in or on the water.
In total, six gold medals will be contested in Canoe/Kayak tomorrow, and many of the same paddlers from Friday's finals in the 1000 meter events will compete in the 500 meter races. K1 1000m gold medalist Tim Brabants of Great Britain, silver medalist Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway, bronze medalist Ken Wallace of Australia will all meet again in the K1 500m final. In the C1 500m, Spain's David Cal will hope to improve upon his C1 1000m silver medal finish the previous day.

In the Men's K2 500m, defending champions Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskötter of Germany are favored to win, as are China's Yang Wenjun and Meng Guanliang, the Athens gold winners in the Men's K2 500m.
The defending champion pair in the Women's K2 500m, Katalin Kovacs and Natasa Janic, is favored to repeat a gold performance, but the duo must watch out for Germany's Fanny Fischer and Nicole Reinhardt, who surpassed them in the K4 500m final.
Finals for the Women's K1 500m and Men's C2 500m will also take place tomorrow, and all races begin at 3:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
In the one and only day of the Cycling-Mountain Bike event, 50 men and 30 women will have to face added curves, drops and rocks on the difficult Laoshan course. One major change from the last Olympic Games is that cyclists may change bicycle parts with the help of mechanics in designated zones along the course, and carry tools and equipment.
The leading favorite in the Men's event is defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France, but the course changes could favor bikers who are better handlers like Swiss Christoph Sauser.
On the Women's side, defending Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway has struggled with health problems, perhaps clearing the way for bikers like current world champion Margarita Fullana of Spain or Athens silver medalist Canadian Marie-Helene Premont.
In Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia is looking for its third consecutive Olympic gold. Tomorrow is the Individual All-Around finals, and two Russian gymnasts, European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Olga Kapranova, enter with the highest scores from qualifications.
Finally, two combat sports wind down tomorrow, with Boxing awarding its first set of gold medals and Taekwondo giving out its last two.
Five gold medal bouts will take place in Boxing tomorrow at the Workers' Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8). Men's fly (51kg), Men's Feather (57kg), Men's Light Welter (64kg), Men's Middle (75kg) and Men's Heavy (91kg) weight classes will compete.
In Taekwondo, the heavyweight classes enter the stage for the event's last day. In the Women's +67kg weight class, China's Chen Zhong, nicknamed "Taekwondo Queen," is a favorite and looking for her third consecutive gold medal.
In the Men's +80kg weight class, reigning world heavyweight champion Daba Modibo Keita of Mali could be set to win his country's first-ever Olympic medal, and it could be a gold.
That's day 15, when nine events will give their last medal, six events will award their first gold, and 32 medals total will be handed out in Beijing's final medal push.
Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/special/preview/n214576791.shtml

Day 15 Preview: Every moment a medal

BEIJING, August 22) -- Tomorrow is the second to last day of the Beijing Games, when the second-highest number of medals in one day will be awarded. For the first time in these Olympics, every event is a medal event.
Also exciting about tomorrow is that team sports are finally peaking. Preliminary round robins, quarterfinals and semifinals -- these teams have fought through days of competition to put it all on the line in one final match.
Before giving these hard-working teams their due attention, let's look at the last big day of multiple-medal action at the National Stadium, where seven medals will be awarded on the penultimate day of the Athletics competition.
Bernard Lagat of the United States is looking to repeat his Men's 5000 meter victory from the World Championships last year, but if Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia wins the event after already having won the 10,000m, he will become the second Ethiopian to achieve the feat.
In the Women's High Jump, reigning world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will target her first Olympic gold and the world record of 2.09m, but defending Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of Russia could stand in her way.
The Women's 4 x 400m Relay qualifiers saw the United States team through the fastest, and they still might call upon experienced relay runner Deedee Trotter to assist them in defending their Olympic title in tomorrow's final. Jamaica and Belarus will be hot on US heels in this event.
The US team in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay is strong apart, with a team including three medalists from the Men's 400m final (LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville), but it remains to be seen if they can also dominate as a team. Great Britain and the Bahamas were the fastest qualifiers into the final.
Finals in the Men's Javelin Throw, Men's 800m and Women's 1500m will also be contested in the last day of big medal competition in Athletics.
Tomorrow is the final day of Diving, and the whole world is waiting to see if China can sweep all the Diving golds in Beijing. In the Men's 10m Platform, German diver Sascha Klein may be all that stands in China's way. Klein is the World No. 1 in this event. He won a surprise gold at the 16th FINA World Cup at the Water Cube earlier this year by fending off strong Chinese divers.
Zhou Luxin and Huo Liang, meanwhile, are out to stage a one-two finish for China. World No. 2 Zhou settled for second at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, as well as the World Cup in Beijing this year. Huo recently won gold in the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform event with teammate Lin Yue.
In another Chinese-dominated sport, the only man standing in the way of China taking all three Men's Singles Table Tennis medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. World No. 1 Wang Ha will face Persson in the semifinals. Persson lost in the Sydney bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China, who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
The other semifinal match is between two Chinese players, World No. 2 Ma Lin and World No. 3 Wang Liqin, and the Table Tennis Men's Singles gold medal match between the winners will take place at 8:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), right after the 7:30 bronze match.
Many finals in team sports events include a rematch between two countries that fought for gold in previous Olympics, and Women's Basketball is no exception. For the third Games in a row, Australia will try and top the United States for the gold. While the Australians have the indomitable center Lauren Jackson, the tournament's second-highest scorer, the United States captain Lisa Leslie is looking for her fourth consecutive gold medal. Both teams enter this final having won all seven of their games. They will tip-off in the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium at 10:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), after China and Russia compete in the bronze medal match at 7:30 p.m.
Men's Baseball ends tomorrow with Japan and the United States playing for bronze, and Cuba and the Republic of Korea vying for gold. Japan defeated the United States 4-2 in extra innings when they met in the preliminaries, and has only finished outside the medal standings once in Olympic history when it finished fourth at Sydney.
Cuba is the defending gold medalist, with three golds and one silver in its history. If the ROK wins gold, it will be the third team to remain undefeated throughout an Olympic Baseball tournament. Cuba has done this twice, once in 1992 and again in 1996. The Baseball bronze match is at 10:00 a.m. local time, while the gold medal game happens at night at 6:00 p.m. at the Wukesong Baseball Field.
Brazil will play the United States in the Women's Volleyball final, while China faces Cuba in the bronze medal match at the Capital Gymnasium. This is the first time Brazil and the United States are playing each in the tournament, and it's Brazil's first Olympic final. The Brazilian players are led by Sheilla Castro and Marianne Steinbrecher as their main force of attack. The US team's Logan Tom is the top scorer in the tournament, with 81 spikes, 19 blocks and eight service aces. The gold medal game starts at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8).
In Men's Hockey, the Netherlands will play Australia in a bronze medal game that is also a rematch of the Athens final (which Australia won), before Germany and Spain compete for the gold at 8:30 p.m. These two teams played each other in a pool A game, which Germany won 1-0, but with a gold medal on the line this game will be hard-fought on both sides. Spain has the ability to upstage world champions Germany, which they showed by beating defending champion Australia 3-2 in the semifinal after being down 0-2.
With Men's Football, Olympic gold medals keep seesawing between South America and Africa in the last three Olympic finals, so it is no surprise Nigeria and Argentina will be facing off tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at the National Stadium. In the semifinals, Argentina beat Brazil 3-0, while Nigeria defeated Belgium 4-1. This is a rematch of the Atlanta gold medal match, which Nigeria won 3-2.
Women's Handball teams will compete in the event's first medal matches tomorrow. Norway and Russia have dominated the Women's competition, and they will play for gold at 3:45 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium, while the Republic of Korea will compete against Hungary for the bronze medal at 1:30 p.m.
Although it might not be the first event that comes to mind when one thinks of team sports, Synchronized Swimming ends tomorrow with eight teams performing their Free Routines for the Team Event medals. Russia is looking to go two-for-two with their second Synchronized Swimming gold medal in Beijing, and they enter this competition in the lead after receiving the highest Technical Routine score on August 22. Russian duo Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova, two of the eight team members, already won gold in the Duet competition.
Russia has won gold at the past two Olympic Games and the past five world championships. The team's strength is, well, its strength, which allows them to perform throws and lifts beyond the capabilities of other teams. Characterized by the team's creativity, Spain currently trails Russia 0.583 points..
Along with Synchronized Swimming, Canoe/Kayak ends tomorrow, and the Beijing Olympics say goodbye to all medal events that take place in or on the water.
In total, six gold medals will be contested in Canoe/Kayak tomorrow, and many of the same paddlers from Friday's finals in the 1000 meter events will compete in the 500 meter races. K1 1000m gold medalist Tim Brabants of Great Britain, silver medalist Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway, bronze medalist Ken Wallace of Australia will all meet again in the K1 500m final. In the C1 500m, Spain's David Cal will hope to improve upon his C1 1000m silver medal finish the previous day.

In the Men's K2 500m, defending champions Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskötter of Germany are favored to win, as are China's Yang Wenjun and Meng Guanliang, the Athens gold winners in the Men's K2 500m.
The defending champion pair in the Women's K2 500m, Katalin Kovacs and Natasa Janic, is favored to repeat a gold performance, but the duo must watch out for Germany's Fanny Fischer and Nicole Reinhardt, who surpassed them in the K4 500m final.
Finals for the Women's K1 500m and Men's C2 500m will also take place tomorrow, and all races begin at 3:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
In the one and only day of the Cycling-Mountain Bike event, 50 men and 30 women will have to face added curves, drops and rocks on the difficult Laoshan course. One major change from the last Olympic Games is that cyclists may change bicycle parts with the help of mechanics in designated zones along the course, and carry tools and equipment.
The leading favorite in the Men's event is defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France, but the course changes could favor bikers who are better handlers like Swiss Christoph Sauser.
On the Women's side, defending Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway has struggled with health problems, perhaps clearing the way for bikers like current world champion Margarita Fullana of Spain or Athens silver medalist Canadian Marie-Helene Premont.
In Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia is looking for its third consecutive Olympic gold. Tomorrow is the Individual All-Around finals, and two Russian gymnasts, European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Olga Kapranova, enter with the highest scores from qualifications.
Finally, two combat sports wind down tomorrow, with Boxing awarding its first set of gold medals and Taekwondo giving out its last two.
Five gold medal bouts will take place in Boxing tomorrow at the Workers' Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8). Men's fly (51kg), Men's Feather (57kg), Men's Light Welter (64kg), Men's Middle (75kg) and Men's Heavy (91kg) weight classes will compete.
In Taekwondo, the heavyweight classes enter the stage for the event's last day. In the Women's +67kg weight class, China's Chen Zhong, nicknamed "Taekwondo Queen," is a favorite and looking for her third consecutive gold medal.
In the Men's +80kg weight class, reigning world heavyweight champion Daba Modibo Keita of Mali could be set to win his country's first-ever Olympic medal, and it could be a gold.
That's day 15, when nine events will give their last medal, six events will award their first gold, and 32 medals total will be handed out in Beijing's final medal push.
Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/special/preview/n214576791.shtml

Vijender loses semi-final, settles for bronze in Olympics

Indian boxer Vijender Kumar settled for a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics after being out-punched by Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux in the semi-finals of the 75 kg category in Beijing on Friday.
The 22-year-old was simply out-thought by his Cuban opponent, who negated the height and reach advantage of Vijender by fighting from a safe distance to score an 8-5 victory.
source: www.rediff.com