Olympic Games

Will throw up a tough challenge in London Olympics: Sushil

2010-12-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

INDORE: World wrestling champion Sushil Kumar, who skipped the Asian Games due to injuries on his neck and shoulders, has almost recovered and is now all set to throw up a tough challenge in 2012 London Olympics.

"I have almost recovered from my shoulder injury. After a fortnight I will start my training with an eye on the Olympics," Sushil, who came to attend a wrestling competition, told reporters on Tuesday's night.

"I will try to give an excellent performance in the Olympic ring," added the 27-year-old wrestler.

A bronze medallist in 66kg weight category at Beijing Olympics, Sushil said that he was happy that wrestling on mat has been gaining momentum in the country where traditionally the fights used to take place in soil.

He said that the fights on mats will brighten the Indian wrestlers' chances in excelling at international competitions.

"There is no dearth of wrestlers in the county," he said.

To a question, he said that the players should keep off from doping.

Sushil, who got engaged to Savi, daughter of his coach Satpal Singh on November 8, is getting ready for his marriage to be held on February 18.

The wrestler said he was entering into the wedlock as per his family's wishes, adding that his family members were taking care of all his marriage preparations.

"My entire focus was on wrestling," he said, adding, "I will just reach the venue dressed up like a bridegroom."

Sushil, who hails from a middle-class family, gets full support from his family members and it helps him in concentrating on wrestling.

"I am sure I will continue to get this support from my family after marriage too," he added.

Read more: Will throw up a tough challenge in London Olympics: Sushil - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/more-sports/wrestling/Will-throw-up-a-tough-challenge-in-London-Olympics-Sushil/articleshow/7105513.cms#ixzz18BCXLFA5

China accepts IOC's decision to take back Olympics medal

2010-04-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Beijing, Apr 30 (ANI): The Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) has said it respects the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision of stripping its women's team of a bronze medal won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The decision to strip the women's team of the medal was taken after one of its athletes, Dong Fangxiao, was found to be under age.

"The Chinese Olympic Committee has always been committed to safeguarding the fair-play principle in sports and has always ordered its athletes and officials to comply with all rules and regulations of the relevant international federations," said a COC statement.

"The COC has learnt a lesson and will endeavor to prevent a repeat of such incidents in future," the statement added.

FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

2010-04-05T10:32:00.001-07:00

FIFA dress code rules Iran's girls out of Olympics

ZURICH (AP) — Iran's girls football team has been kicked out of the Youth Olympic Games because FIFA rules prevent players wearing an Islamic head scarf.

Thailand was nominated on Monday to replace the barred Iranians, the Asian Football Confederation said on its Web site.

The Asian governing body said the hijab scarf -- worn to observe Islamic dress code -- was not allowed under FIFA rules relating to on-field equipment.

Iran was scheduled to compete in a six-nation tournament for girls at the games being held Aug. 12-25 in Singapore.

Around 3,600 athletes aged 14-18 will compete in 26 sports at the inaugural Youth Summer Games.

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

2010-04-04T09:29:00.001-07:00

Debate over Olympic ticket spending continues

Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal says she has no regrets about the city spending almost $170,000 on tickets for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

But COPE councillor Ellen Wordsworth, who paid for the Olympic ticket she used, says she thinks the money could have been used better. "Wait a minute, didn't we just cut $61 million from the budget -- and we're closing services and increasing fees?" said Woodsworth.

"About $170,000 can do a lot of things in the city," she said.

All the details about the spending and who got the tickets is in a report going to council Tuesday.

Also included is similar information on the additional $18,920 the city spent on tickets for the Paralympics.

Of the 1,555 Olympic tickets and 534 Paralympic tickets, only two went unallocated.

Steel from Mittal for London's Olympic monument

2010-04-02T20:24:00.000-07:00

Steel from Mittal for London's Olympic monument

The mayor of London has unveiled the design of a 115-metre tall monument that will mark the 2012 London Olympics.

The structure, which will be built in the Olympic Park, has a strong India connection as it is designed by prize-winning artist of Indian-origin, Anish Kapoor, and is being funded by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

This spiraling structure that incorporates the five Olympic rings will be London's answer to the Eiffel Tower. It will be taller than New York's Statue of Liberty, offering panoramic views of London.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, called the statue, "a legacy of the Olympics to London".

Sweden wins 2nd straight gold medal, beating Canada in women’s curling on Norberg’s last shot

2010-02-26T19:20:00.001-08:00

Sweden wins 2nd straight gold in women’s curling

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Sweden went the distance in capturing another gold medal in Olympic women’s curling, beating a Canadian team cheered by a cowbell-clanging crowd.

Anette Norberg played through the din, nailing the last shot to give her team a 7-6 victory in an extra 11th end Friday to spoil the Canadian party.

Olympics: Living it up on the slopes

2010-02-22T21:01:00.000-08:00

THE 2010 Winter Olympics have brought very different results for two New England natives: Bode Miller of Franconia, N.H., and Lindsey Jacobellis of Stratton, Vermont. Sunday in Vancouver was Miller time, when a breathtaking slalom run won Miller the gold in the men’s super combined, adding that medal to his super G silver and his downhill bronze.

While redemption is a cliché of sports narratives, Miller’s performance did show an athlete who has matured markedly since the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. There, his party-boy attitude and blasé platitudes proved profoundly off-putting. In Vancouver, Miller understood the Olympics matter - and not just to millions of spectators worldwide, but to himself as well. With his performance, Miller, 32, has finally lived up to his Olympic promise.

Olympics tops 'American Idol' in ratings

2010-02-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

(AP)

NEW YORK — Shani Davis, Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White are the true American Idols.

In a startling turnaround from the night before, the Olympics clobbered Fox's "American Idol" in the ratings Wednesday night. The Nielsen Co. said that during the one hour the two shows competed against one another, the Olympics were seen by 30.1 million people while 18.4 million watched "American Idol."

It was the first time in six years that anything has beaten the nation's most popular program head to head in the ratings.

Davis, Vonn and White were all heavily promoted American contenders who won gold medals Wednesday.

On Tuesday, "Idol" beat the Olympics by nearly 4 million viewers.

Elder Pharma’s Uttarakhand facility on stream

Mumbai-based Elder Pharmaceuticals has commenced commercial operations at its new U.S. FDA compliant manufacturing facility at Langa Road in Dehradun (Uttarakhand), which is an excise benefit zone.

The company plans to move manufacturing of all syrup-based products to this Rs.150-crore facility. These products are now either being manufactured or being outsourced.

Production lines

The facility has production lines for liquid orals, sterile injectables, cephalosporin block for tablets as well as dry powder injectables.

Anger as Olympic flame fenced off

2010-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER–They came by the thousands to get a photo with the Olympic flame. They had to settle for a shot of the Olympic fence.

The chain-link wall keeping the unwashed away from the outdoor Olympic cauldron is a menacing doozy, maybe 10 feet high and peaked with sharp prongs. It's more North Korea than West Coast Canada, but there it is, fronting a demilitarized zone the size of a football field that separates the flame from the public's closest vantage point.

Winter Olympics Open Friday in Vancouver

2010-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

And I'm Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we tell about the Winter Olympic Games that open February twelfth in Vancouver, Canada.

About five thousand men and women from more than eighty countries will compete for seventeen days at the Vancouver Olympics. They will compete in more than eighty separate medal events in fifteen sports. The games are about sportsmanship, hard work, and national pride. The athletes share a common goal -- to do their best and win a gold medal.

Our Winter Olympics coverage

2010-02-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

While many in the UK have spent the past month hoping for less snow, in unseasonably warm British Columbia they want the opposite.

Not that the organising commitee are letting a lack of the white stuff worry them. Their planning continues apace and in our own way, so does ours as the BBC prepares to cover the Winter Olympics, which takes place 12-28 February in Vancouver, for the 14th time.

So what can you expect from us? Well, Vancouver is eight hours behind GMT, so if you are watching in the UK, your live TV coverage will start most evenings at around 7pm and continue through to the early morning UK time.

BBC Two will dedicate approximately 160 hours to the event over the 17 days, plus 2,000 hours of interactive coverage from BBC Red Button.

Viewers with digital TV can access up to six additional streams of coverage to see extended coverage of the 86 individual events. In addition BBC Red Button and BBC iPlayer will carry a 30-minute Highlights show - available everyday from 0600 on the red button and around 0800 on iPlayer, encapsulating all the day's action.

There will be a catch up show every lunchtime on BBC Two featuring the best of the overnight action.

Cuche still hopeful on Olympics despite thumb injury

2010-01-31T09:50:00.001-08:00

(AFP) – 2 days ago

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia — Swiss veteran Didier Cuche still expects to compete at next month's Winter Games in Vancouver despite fracturing his right thumb in a fall in Friday's giant slalom at Kranjska Gora.

Cuche will have surgery on Saturday in Zurich but expects to make a swift recovery to keep his Olympic dream alive.

"The Olympics are still on. We will see how the operation goes and how (the injury) can be protected," said the super-G world champion, who last week produced a double downhill-super G triumph on the Streif at Kitzbuehel to take his season win tally to four and career total to 13.

Cuche, 35, will be operated on by Dr Walter Frey at Zurich's Schulthess clinic after he suffered the injury in clipping the third last gate "pretty hard".

The veteran has already been racing through the pain barrier in recent weeks after he fractured a rib six weeks ago at Val d'Isere, a problem which took three weeks to clear up.

Vancouver Olympics 2010: American snow boarding hopes a win

2010-01-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Olympics 2010: American snow boarding hopes a win

2010 Olympic Torch returns to B.C.

2010-01-22T11:35:00.001-08:00

KICKING HORSE PASS, on the B.C.-Alta border — At exactly 4:27 p.m. Alberta time, with about 200 loudly cheering people huddled on the side of the highway, the Olympic torch was passed by former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed to B.C. Lions coach Wally Buono.

With a spectacular backdrop of mountains that would be the envy of any Hollywood producer, the two former football players touched their torches together and Lougheed passed the flame on.

"I shouldn't be puffing like this, should I?" said the smiling 81-year-old Lougheed.

‘Lethal force’ an option in Olympic Games airspace: Norad

2010-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

“lethal force” in a worst-case scenario to defend new airspace-security restrictions being imposed during the 2010 Olympic Games.

Lieut. David Lavallee, spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defence Command, told The Vancouver Sun on Tuesday that the response to a violation of flight restrictions could range from simple radio contact with the pilot to the use of Canadian military CF-18 fighter jets and Griffon helicopters.

“There are many facets to a situation like that,” he said. “Suffice it to say we will have aircraft and people ready to respond to violations of the restricted airspace. Norad has a graduated response that can, if necessary, culminate in the use of lethal force.”

Zoë Gillings Winter Olympics diary: fasten your seatblets for Vancouver 2010

2010-01-20T10:47:00.001-08:00

Welcome to the first of several blogs from me, as I swap the snow for the pen as I give you the lowdown on everything happening from Team GB camp here out in Vancouver for the 21st Olympic Winter Olympics over the next few weeks. Our first stop is training camp, a two-week warm-up ahead of the Vancouver Games on Feb 12th.

I’m hoping to represent my country in snowboarding cross - and as the No 1 ranked snowboarder in the UK – I’m hoping to bring home gold.

Kohn clinches 4-man Olympic bobsled spot

2010-01-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Mike Kohn of the United States has secured a four-man bobsled spot at the Vancouver Olympics, after finishing sixth in a World Cup race at St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Kohn's result on Sunday means the Americans will have three sleds in the Olympic four-man competition, with Steven Holcomb and John Napier having already secured enough points to mathematically wrap up bids that will be formally announced later Sunday by the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. The USBSF said Sunday that Kohn had enough points to clinch his trip.

Kohn earned a spot in the two-man Olympic competition on Saturday, also giving the U.S. the maximum allotment of three sleds in that discipline. The USBSF took 14 of a possible 15 Olympic start positions in bobsled and skeleton.

Kohn won a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as a push athlete in Brian Shimer's four-man sled.

Winter Olympics: Winter panel takes a cooler approach

2010-01-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

New Zealand's summer Olympic selection policy has long been known as being demanding on athletes.

Tough standards are set. Expectations are such that in some sports simply achieving the international standard is insufficient.

So too the Commonwealth Games. But for the winter Olympics, which are in Vancouver from February 12-28, the philosophy is rather different.

Ice hockey roster revelations to spark Olympic excitement

2009-12-25T20:17:00.000-08:00

Ice hockey roster revelations to spark Olympic excitement

By Jim Slater (AFP) – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin will lead world champion Russia into the Vancouver Winter Olympics and a host of his fellow National Hockey League superstars will follow him onto team rosters in the next week.

Washington Capitals playmaker Ovechkin, named the NHL's Most Valuable Player the past two seasons, and fellow stars Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar were named Thursday to Russia's 23-man provisional Olympic roster.

Other global powers will follow in the next few days, with defending Olympic champion Sweden announcing Sunday, Slovakia revealing its lineup Tuesday, Czech Republic, Finland and Canada following Wednesday and the Americans next Friday.

Decision makers have used the first three months of the NHL season as an audition period, looking to see if injured players have regained their form and young talents have improved their skills enough to join the quest for gold.

Sweden beat Finland in the 2006 Turin Olympic final with the Czechs beating Russia for bronze and Canada finishing a disappointing seventh, one spot above the Americans.

Russian talent won eight Olympic gold medals, most recently in 1992 as the Unified Team, but defeating Canada in the past two world championship finals has brought bragging rights and a sense the Olympic drought might end in 2010.

Official Olympic ticket reselling site may lead to fraud.

2009-12-23T19:20:00.000-08:00

VANCOUVER – Olympic ticket holders will still keep their original tickets after they sell them on a new Games committee website, creating the potential for some tickets to be illegally resold.
More than 120,000 duplicate 2010 Winter Olympic tickets could be floating around by the time the Games begin in mid-February, officials said.
On Monday, the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee announced the opening of its "fan-to-fan marketplace," an online ticket re-sale venue, and said it expects about 10 per cent of the 1.2 million Olympic tickets made available to the public will be re-sold.

Olympic hero Michael Phelps is beaten as 'Rocky' rules the waves in Manchester

2009-12-20T06:35:00.001-08:00

Michael Rock beat the greatest swimmer of all time as the Duel in the Pool encapsulated everything about swimming in 2009.

Rock relegated Phelps to second in the 200metres butterfly, something the 22-year-old can celebrate for the rest of his days.

But the Stockport man was wearing a performance-enhancing suit, while the Olympic and world champion was wearing the Speedo 2010 textile-only jammer.

VanderBeek to miss 2010 Olympic Games

2009-12-18T19:30:00.001-08:00

VanderBeek to miss 2010 Olympic Games

Updated Thu. Dec. 17 2009 8:28 PM ET

Canadian skier Kelly VanderBeek will not be able to compete in the 2010 Olympics in British Columbia.

The Kitchener native suffered a knee injury while training for Saturday's downhill in Val-d'Isere, France. She was taken from the hill on a stretcher.

The 26-year-old has spent the past four years training for the Olympic Games.

Coaches who saw the fall say VanderBeek hit some ripples on the snow. Her righttp://southwesternontario.ctv.ca/news.php?id=6442

Thousands in Ottawa Valley welcome Olympic flame

2009-12-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

OTTAWA — The streets of Ottawa Valley communities along the Olympic torch route were jammed from end to end with spectators Sunday, as people of all ages came to be part of the party.

Renfrew, Ont.’s Raglan Street looked like a summer fair for all the activity, with thousands or residents participating in a ball hockey tournament, crafts, horse-and-wagon rides, Olympic ring-toss games, free hotdogs, poster contests, and a visit from Santa and some of his elves.

"It’s a party to get ready for the Olympics," said Mayor Sandi Heins.

Mixed tennis and more women's cycling in 2012 Olympics

2009-12-10T19:35:00.001-08:00

LAUSANNE — London 2012 will host a mixed doubles tennis event for the first time in the Olympic Games as well as more women's cycling, the International Olympic Committee announced Thursday.

But the changes, made in a bid to increase the prominence of women's sport, will spell the end of the individual cycling track pursuit races at the Olympics, the IOC said after an executive board meeting.

The changes will increase the number of women cyclists at the Olympics from 35 in Beijing to 84 -- 45 percent of the track cyclists instead of about a fifth - by introducing more track events for women.

A taste of the Olympics

2009-12-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

REPULSE BAY - Michael Putulik returned home to a hero's welcome in Repulse Bay this past week after taking part in the Olympic Torch Relay.

Michael Putulik, centre, brings the torch he carried in the Olympic Torch Relay for a visit with students at Tusarvik School in Repulse Bay this past week. - photo courtesy of Michael Putulik

One aboriginal person from each province and territory were selected to take part in the event.

Putulik, 23, acted as both a torchbearer and a flame attendant during the relay.

He said the flame attendant takes care of the mother flame, which is the actual Olympic flame that came to Canada from Greece for the 2010 Games.

India should not bid for Olympics, says Sports Minister

2009-11-25T10:09:00.000-08:00

Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister M S Gill on Wednesday said that India [ Images ] should not be thinking of hosting Olympics [ Images ] Games in the near future.

Gill's remarks came in response to a statement made by actor-turned-politician of Samajwadi Party (SP) Jaya Bachchan, who reportedly said that the Commonwealth Games [ Images ] gives an opportunity to bid for the Olympics.

IOA to conduct fresh elections for IWF

2009-11-17T08:26:00.001-08:00

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Tuesday said fresh elections will be held for the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after its executive board stepped down taking “moral responsibility” for the series of doping violations.

The International Weightlifting Federation’s executive board will meet in Korea Wednesday on the sidelines of the ongoing World Championships to hear the cases of six Indian lifters returning positive in out-of-competition tests by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA).

IOA president Suresh Kalmadi said Wednesday the International Weightlifting Federation has instructed the association to “withdraw the leadership of IWF and conduct fresh election.”

“IOA will take a final decision on the matter after the meeting in Korea,” Kalmadi said.

“The International Weightlifting Federation president wrote to the IOA about the doping violations committed by Indian weightlifters in the past few weeks and also mentioned that it was not the first time that our lifters tested positive,” Kalmadi said.

The legal counsel for the international organisation Monika Ungar said: “The executive board will hold its meeting tomorrow and a decision regarding the Indian federation will be taken there.”

Indian Weightlifting Federation chief Harbhajan Singh said the executive council members decided to resign en masse in the interest of the sport.

“The executive committee met Tuesday. Not everyone favoured the extreme step of resignation of the entire board and opinions were divided. We discussed it threadbare and came to the conclusion that this could be the only way to escape a harsher penalty from the IOA and the international federation,” Harbhajan told IANS.

“In any case, IOA had constituted a panel and you never know they could have asked us to resign. We thought it would be better if we take the moral responsibility instead of being forced to step down.”

“Our lifters have done well in recent tournaments. We won so many medals in the Commonwealth Championships, but at the same time it is also true that we have come under the scanner because some of our lifters tested positive. We do not want to be banned and not participate in the Delhi Commonwealth Games where our lifters have good chances of winning a rich haul of medals.”

Under international rules, three or more violations in one calendar year may result in the “national federation being banned from participation in international tournaments for a period of up to two years and/or be imposed a fine of at least $50,000.”

The IWF has twice been banned in 2004 and 2006 because of more than three or more doping violations in a calendar year.

“The international body will hear our case tomorrow and hopefully they will take a lenient view.”

IOA sources said that the association might set up an ad-hoc committee for the time being until the election could be held. source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal

Olympics - Rio to host 2016 Games after landslide win

2009-10-03T00:44:00.001-07:00

Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics

Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics after the Brazilian city won a landslide victory over Madrid in the final round of voting on Friday.

International Olympic Committee members shocked everyone at the Bella Convention Centre by eliminating favourites Chicago in the first voting round, despite the unprecedented personal support President Barack Obama gave the bid.

Tokyo were the next city to fall before the IOC backed Rio to become the first South American city to host the Games by a final-round margin of 66 votes to Madrid's 32.

A few seconds after the announcement, an almost speechless Carlos Osorio, general secretary of the Brazilian bid, told Reuters: "Overwhelming, spectacular, unbelievable."

Brazil is already preparing to host the soccer World Cup in 2014 and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, left in tears of joy by the announcement, said the country would have to work harder than ever to stage a Games they could be proud of.

"We are going to have to sleep less, think more and work more," Lula said at a news conference.

"Now our term of reference is going to be work, work, work -- work for Brazil to do better than any other time in its history."

CHICAGO STUNNED

Chicago went out after polling just 18 votes in the first round, despite the eloquent speeches on their behalf made by Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to address an IOC session, and first lady Michelle Obama.

Madrid led the race at that stage with 28 votes, followed by Rio on 26 and Tokyo on 22.

Rio came close to polling an absolute majority in the second round with 46 votes, followed by Madrid on 29 with Tokyo going out on 20.

The final round was not even close.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told Reuters: "Rio was a great candidate.

"It was well worth the effort. Olympic sport goes this way sometimes. We had a very good result and there will be other opportunities."

NERVOUS MOMENTS

The announcement was delayed by several nervous seconds as IOC president Jacques Rogge struggled to open the envelope.

"Like in every competition there can only be one winner," Rogge said. "Tonight I have the honour to announce that the Games of the 31st Olympiad are awarded to the city of Rio de Janeiro," Rogge said.

Carlos Nuzman, Rio bid leader, hugged President Lula, both in tears and said: "We did it, we did it," and the Brazilian delegation broke into their "Marvellous City" song, waving flags and hugging each other.

Both finalists had staged impressive presentations, featuring heartfelt contributions from Lula for Rio and former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch for Madrid.

Lula persuaded members it was time to address the fact that South America had never hosted the Games.

The 89-year-old Samaranch, who ran the IOC for more than two decades, asked voters to take his age into account.

"I know I am very near the end of my days," he said. "May I ask you to consider granting my country the honour and also the duty to organise the games in 2016?"

That tug on the heart-strings helped take Madrid into the final but could not prevent the Games going to Brazil.

(Additional reporting by Karolos Grohmann, John Acher and Owen Wyatt)

Brazil optimistic to win bid to host 2016 Olympics

2009-09-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Brazil optimistic to win bid to host 2016 Olympics

STAFF WRITER 9:34 HRS IST

Rio De Janeiro, Sep 24 (Kyodo) Brazil is optimistic that it will win the race against Japan, Spain and US to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will meet in Copenhagen on Oct 2 to announce the host city for the 2016 Games. Rio De Janeiro, Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago are cities contending to host the prestigious event.

"We are aware that anything can happen on Oct 2, but we are optimistic because we have done our homework well," Rio De Janeiro's mayor Mayor Eduardo Paes told reporters yesterday.

Paes said that IOC gave a positive analysis of Rio de Janeiro's bid report although most local sports commentators feel Tokyo will be the main rival in the race for the Games.

Cycle rickshaws to invade London Olympics

2009-09-19T02:53:00.000-07:00

London:

London: For an outsider, it's a strange and pleasant sight to see the pedicab - akin to the cycle rickshaw in India - weave its way across the London streetscape

Since 1995, pedicabs have been a regular at West End, the entertainment area around Covent Garden, Leicester Square and the more crowded Soho, Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus.

Today there are more than 400 of them going up and down the busy London streets. And come 2012, the pedicabs will play an important role in giving the London Olympics a green image.

"The Olympic Village is trying to have 100-400 pedicabs so as to have an eco-friendly environment," said Friedel Schroder, managing director of BugBugs, the market leader in creating pedicabs since 1998.

Life is not so easy for pedicab drivers who often have to struggle to earn a meagre income.

Gokhann, 20, a Turkish national, clad in blue jeans and a black turtleneck sweater , stands in front of the Leicester Square tube station. He has been waiting for two hours for a customer to hitch a ride on his pedicab.

"Sometimes I enjoy my job. But at times, I am tired, especially when I have to pedal with four people on the pedicab," Gokhann said and added on some days he earns a mere 20 pounds.

An Egyptian national who did not wish to be named took up a job as a pedicab driver the day after he came to London almost three months ago. "Money is very difficult to come by in this job. It is difficult to go on like this," he said.

With the Olympics Village giving the nod to pedicabs, there is now some hope for Gokhann and others, as they feel the humble rickshaw could get a lot of publicity during the mega sporting event.

The pedicabs are popular among tourists who take short rides in the eco-friendly vehicle for a few pounds.

"I loved chatting with the pedicabbie when I took it from Oxford Street to Edgware Road. It's a lovely way of seeing London," said Rama Arya, a communications expert for the South African government.

A short trip from Leicester Square to Covent Garden varies from five to 10 pounds and this irks the 'big brother' - the London black cabbies.

"There's no regulation on the pedicab fares. They fleece the tourists for a five-10 minute journey. Our main problem is the congestion the pedicabs creates on the streets," said Bob Oddy, general secretary, Licensed Taxi Drivers Association (LTDA).

But pedicab driver Carl, a Polish national, refutes the allegation. He says he accepts whatever the riders give as a tip, while the fare of the journey is conveyed to the riders in advance.

Soruce:http://news.in.msn.com/national

India bags four medals in Special Winter Olympics

2009-02-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: For a country basking in the glory of Beijing Olympics success, there are more reasons to cheer as India won four medals, including a gold, in the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Idaho, US.

Paras Bhatia bagged gold in Snowboarding while Brajesh and Kaushal Manek clinched the silver medal in the same event of the Games that will conclude on Saturday.

Reena bagged the bronze in the Alpine Skiing category and became the lone girl from India to win a medal at the event, Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) Sports Director K Kumar informed.

A total of 75 students represented India at the Games which had a total participation of 97 countries, including China, the US and Britain.

Bhatia (19) of capital's Ashok Vihar area is speech-impaired like Manek, also 19, of Rohila in North Delhi.

For Brajesh and Reena, it was a 'Slumdog Millionaire' fortune as the duo hails from a South Delhi slum. Both Brajesh (15) of Sanjay Colony and Reena (18) of the same locality are deaf and dumb.

For Deepalaya, an NGO at Sagarpur near Janakpuri here, it was proud moments as two of its students selected by the SOB won medals.

"Our efforts have been paid dividends. And it's cent percentage," the NGO's chief executive TK Mathew said.

"It was something amazing that the students from the tropical country excelled to win medals," he added.

The SOB is the Indian wing of Special Olympics International, a world-wide NGO network taking care of special students.

The Indian contingent was given a ten-day training in Manali in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Games which included events like alpine skiing, cross country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowshoeing and speed skating.

sOURCE: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India-bag-four-medals-in-Special-Winter-Olympics/articleshow/4126190.cms

London to have 'Olympic university' after 2012 games

2009-02-10T20:42:00.001-08:00

LONDON: London will have an "Olympic university" after the 2012 edition of the games are over, a bid to secure a long-term legacy for the 9.3 billion pounds being spent on the event.

According to the official announcement made on Tuesday, the university will be established on the site of the London Olympics 2012.

The facility is likely to be built within the media village once the games are over. It is part of a range of education facilities planned for the site that include a sports-focused secondary school in the Olympic stadium, an arts academy in the Olympic village and three new primary schools.

The plans include proposals to build 10,000 new homes, in addition to 3,000 already being built in the Olympic village.

The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, and Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, said in a joint statement that their vision was for "a vibrant, thriving district of new communities surrounded by beautiful parklands and reclaimed waterways, with outstanding sporting, educational and cultural facilities".

They said the main 25,000-seater stadium would be retained to host major international athletics championships, rock concerts and festivals.

There were also plans for the arena to house the national skills academy for sports and leisure industries, and a centre for the English Institute of Sport.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/London_to_have_Olympic_university_after_2012_games/articleshow/4109799.cms?TOI_latestnews

London to have 'Olympic university' after 2012 games

2009-02-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

Vancouver student, 18, chosen as first Olympic torchbearer

2009-01-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Vancouver student, 18, chosen as first Olympic torchbearer

JAMES CHRISTIE
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail
January 20, 2009 at 5:43 AM EST
Patricia Moreno beat one set of odds in being the first runner named as a torchbearer in the lead-up to the Vancouver Olympics. The next will be to show her friends they're wrong when they tease her about falling down with the torch when the 18-year-old Vancouver high-school student takes centre stage with the Olympic flame as it makes its way toward the 2010 Games.
"I don't know how intense it's going to be that day," Ms. Moreno said as she was introduced at a news conference in Toronto. "When the Coke team showed up at the recreation centre where I volunteer around Christmas, I was shaking."

Ms. Moreno was one of thousands of teens who applied online for a torchbearer job at the SoGo Active site, which the beverage maker maintains in partnership with the health-and-wellness organization ParticipAction. She was picked as the first runner to be introduced "because she embodied the infectious attitude of a young person who wanted to be active and make a difference in her community," said David Moran, director of public affairs and communications for Coca-Cola Ltd.

If Ms. Moreno overcame some odds to be selected from the thousands of applicants, so did the beverage maker. Coca-Cola has long been a sponsor of the International Olympic Committee and a sponsor of torch relays dating back to the Atlanta Olympics of 1996. But its pop image has been uncomplimentary, and its sugared marquee product has often been associated with poor diets and youth obesity.

The company is out to correct that image with this venture, Mr. Moran said. It has positioned itself as a champion of active living and got several health, wellness and environmental groups to sit on its panel to select torchbearers, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, ParticipAction, WWF-Canada and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Games, known as VANOC.
"It's a collaboration," said Kellie Leitch, adviser to Health Canada on healthy children and youth. Dr. Leitch also is a member of the selection panel for the torchbearers. "Obesity among youth has tripled in the last generation," she said. "This is the first generation of kids who won't outlive their parents. But here's an industry partner who is willing to lead the charge toward active living."

Mr. Moran acknowledged that Coke and health advocates are unusual bedfellows, but pointed out that this can be an advantage.

"We can reach a large audience and we can make a difference," he said. In fact, the sugar-sweetened product that gives the company its name is only one of about 80 products marketed to Canadians as the company "reinvents" itself as a "total hydration" operation. Coke also sells bottled water, energy drinks, coffee and juices.

About 1,000 youths will be selected from the SoGo Active teens. Another 1,100 will be picked by the selection panel from essay writers who enter at iCoke.ca, and describe how Canadians can improve their communities through a "Live Active, Live Green" approach. Other torchbearers will be designated by another presenting sponsor, RBC, Games organizer VANOC and other sponsors and suppliers.

Ms. Moreno will be one of 12,000 torchbearers taking part in the longest domestic journey yet for the Olympic flame, spanning some 45,000 kilometres over 106 days, starting on Oct. 30 in Victoria.

The route stretches to Canada's three coasts, from Vancouver Island to Cape Breton to Ellesmere Island in the north. The Olympic flame will reach Alert, Nunavut, the farthest north it will have yet journeyed. The route is designed to bring the flame within an hour's drive of 90 per cent of Canadians. The torch, which is being designed by Bombardier, is to be unveiled in Montreal next month. source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090120.wtorch20/BNStory/National/home

Brace up for glamorous women boxers in the ring

2009-01-16T04:01:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: In a bid to get women’s boxing included in the 2012 London Olympics, the game’s governing body (AIBA) has decided to ‘sex up’ the sport. Taking a leaf out of beach-volleyball, which moved from T-shirts and long shorts to strictly-bikinis dress-code to beef up TRP ratings, the AIBA has commissioned some leading designers of the world with the job of creating a new dress code for the women boxers.

The AIBA is of the opinion that if it wants to make its ‘‘case stronger’’ in front of International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the upcoming meetings in June and October this year, it will have to present women’s boxing as a ‘‘popular sport".

And to popularise the sport, AIBA has realised it will have to make it ‘‘more attractive and viewer-friendly and not let the female boxers appear more like men in the ring" in order to achieve its end.

India’s MC MaryKom, the four-time women’s World boxing champion, laid out the pros and cons of the change in attire when the news was broken to her about AIBA’s intention. ‘‘I agree with the fact that our attire at the moment is boring and manly. And it irritates quite a few boxers because of it," the boxer told TOI from Imphal.

‘‘But the designers should keep in mind some of the conservative countries like India. Many boxers come from Mizoram and although they are quite cool with wearing trendy clothes in their normal lives, I’m sure they won’t be that comfortable when it comes to wearing ‘sexy dress’ in a sporting arena. I hope the AIBA will keep this in mind when it approves the design."

It might be recalled that Indian beach volleyball players refused to wear bikinis in the World Beach Volleyball tournament in Chennai last year because they thought it was ‘objectionable’. The players claimed that the skimpy outfits - mandatory dress - were against their tradition. As a result, the rules were relaxed for the Indian team and they were allowed to compete in T-shirts and long shorts.

‘‘AIBA’s argument on changing the dress-code in the recently-concluded meeting of Asian Boxing Confederation (ASBC) in China was that the women and men boxers look alike in the ring at the moment with their baggy-attires. Therefore the change of dress-code is essential," said PK Muralidharan Raja, secretary of the Indian Boxing Federation, who was present at the meeting.

‘‘It will help in grabbing more eyeballs which will in turn make the IOC look into the matter of including women’s boxing in Olympics with more seriousness. The fact is out of all the disciplines in the Olympics apart from boxing, every sport has women participating. The question is: Why should women’s boxing be left behind? In fact, in 1904 at St. Luis Games, women’s boxing was a demonstration event," Raja said.

The IOC has already looked into this matter and has proposed an initial plan of accepting 44 women boxers if the number of male boxers is correspondingly reduced from the present allotment of 286 at the Games. But it has not been finalised yet. The AIBA in the meantime is doing all it can to sell the dress code idea.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Brace_up_for_glamorous_women_boxers/articleshow/3986175.cms

Vancouver might be on hook for Olympic Village

2009-01-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

It's built on Vancouver's valuable waterfront real estate. How could taxpayers ever get soaked building a glittering, billion-dollar athletes' village for the Olympics?
Easier than you might think.

Thinking it couldn't lose in the real-estate big leagues, a few years ago the City of Vancouver guaranteed the world it could build the Olympic Village for 2010 - and even make a profit. Now the global financial crisis has turned a supposedly sure thing into a high-stakes gamble.

View Larger Image
The Olympic Village under construction in Vancouver.
REUTERS

Email to a friend

Printer friendly
Font:****The dilemma is that the local condo market has turned. The Olympic condo units, which were supposed to be occupied by athletes during the Games and then turned over to new owners, are probably worth 10-to-20-per-cent less than they were expected to be.

Even worse, the prospect of fast sales - most were expected to sell by 2010 - has evaporated. If they don't want to sell at fire-sale prices, city officials now realize sales will probably need to be delayed until the market rebounds, whenever that might be.

Holding off on selling in a falling market is, of course, what any savvy real-estate holder would do. But there's a problem: The Olympic Village is built on a mountain of borrowed money.

Putting off sales will certainly mean extending hundreds of millions of dollars in construction loans well beyond 2010. And that comes at a high price.

Vancouver city officials, and its new administration, continue to keep the details of the Olympic Village finances under a cone of secrecy. But here's what they are looking at:

The biggest loan to construct the Olympic Village is $750 million from Fortress Investment, a Wall St. financial firm. Another, emergency loan of up to $100 million was recently approved by the city. Then there's another $160 million still owed to the city of Vancouver for the sale of the waterfront land where the Olympic Village sits.

Now the assets: There are about 750 Olympic condo units that will go on the market. So far, about 250 of the lower-price condos have been sold at an average price of about $800,000, or $200 million.

Now do the math.

Let's assume building the Olympic Village entails the developer drawing down the full amount of the loans. That means $850 million left to pay. Another $160 million must also be paid back to the City of Vancouver, for its land. Total project liabilities: about $1 billion.

Now, let's optimistically assume all those 250 condos already purchased (mostly on deposit) complete their deals. At an average of $800,000 apiece, that would generate $200 million. That brings total liabilities down to about $800 million.

A year ago, paying that off didn't seem problematic. The remaining 500 units - with prices as high as $6 million - would surely earn enough to put the project solidly in the black after 2010.

Now, with nobody lining up for condos, quick repayment is unlikely. So that means extending the terms of the loans, possibly by years. What's that going to cost?

It's hard to say without seeing the books. But a conservative bet is that in the tight credit market, interest would be about six per cent a year on $800 million in liabilities. (That includes the $160-million the city is still owed, which would likely earn six per cent, too, if it were in hand and shrewdly invested. )

That means carrying costs of that $800 million are about $48 million a year. Add in management costs and deferred property taxes, because most of the Olympic Village is empty, and it's a cost of about $1 million a week to hold onto those Olympic condos.

We can continue to hope that Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and his administration will find a creative way out of this scary scenario. The market might improve. More units might be sold.

But if things go sour, taxpayers will be on the hook. Vancouver city hall has guaranteed hundreds of millions of dollars of those Olympic Village loans

Source: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/features/viewpoints/story.html?id=56bf72b8-671e-42ef-90a6-307474cdd4f5&p=2

Akshay Kumar to join Special Olympics Torch run

2008-12-19T04:38:00.000-08:00

New Delhi, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar will participate Sunday in the Global Law Enforcement Torch Run here for Special Olympics World Winter Games.

Akshay is the celebrity supporter and brand ambassador for the event that is being organised prior to the world games.

Called the Flame of Hope, the torch will pass through Delhi Dec 21. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will flag it off.

Special Olympics is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of the society through sports training and competition.

The games will be held in Boise, Idaho, US, Feb 2-13 next year.

Source: www.bollywoodworld.com

IOC calls for quick decision on 2012 venues

2008-12-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

LONDON: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expects all of the venues for London 2012 to be decided by next March. Uncertainty still surrounds the venues for at least two sports as London organisers re-think plans to use costly temporary structures that will leave no lasting legacy.

Recession jolts world of sports Fencing and volleyball have already been switched while a decision is yet to be made on badminton and shooting, both of which were to be staged at temporary venues. "We have asked that, at least in March, all of that will be closed so that we know where all the venues are," Gilbert Felli, the IOC's Olympic Games director, said.

Felli was speaking after an IOC board meeting in Lausanne to review London's preparations for the Games. Earlier this year leading accountants KPMG were commissioned by the Government to provide a report into whether significant cost savings could be made by finding alternatives to using four temporary venues.

KPMG's initial findings said basketball, to be held in a 12,000-seat temporary venue in the Olympic Park, and equestrian events, to be staged in nearby Greenwich Park, should not be changed.

However, the 6,000-seat temporary arena to be used for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics is still under review with Wembley Arena a possible venue for badminton.

The plan to stage shooting at the historic Woolwich Barracks has been criticised by the sport's own governing body who say its will leave no lasting legacy.

The harsh economic climate has hit the 2012 Games hard with the Government forced to release 95 million pounds ($142.3 million) of contingency funding so that construction work on the Olympic village can continue.

Earlier this week, Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell did not rule out the Government having to make good a 250 million-pound shortfall in the village project as Australian developer Lend Lease struggles to raise private investment.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Other_Sports/Others/IOC_calls_for_quick_decision_on_2012_venues/articleshow/3824179.cms

IOC must be realistic to survive credit crisis: Rogge

2008-12-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

LAUSANNE (Switzerland): The International Olympic Committee will be able to sustain any blows from the global financial crisis but will need to be realistic and flexible, President Jacques Rogge said on Thursday.

The IOC recently ended a half-century partnership with the European Broadcasting Union over the Games' broadcasting rights for the 2014-2016 Games, saying other bidders were offering more money.

It has also delayed awarding the US TV rights for the 2014/16 Games package until financial conditions improve to get a better deal.

"The IOC is in a position to weather the storm but we have to be realistic and flexible and be ready for anything that might come," Rogge said at the end of an Executive Board meeting. "We are in a mode for lean Games."

He said the end of the partnership with the EBU, which accused the IOC of having surprisingly high financial expectations, was dictated by market conditions.

"The reality is that there were companies in the market that have given more money than the EBU has done at this stage," he said. "It appeared the EBU was not the highest bidder."

"The IOC is doing exactly what UEFA and FIFA is doing and maybe there is a new landscape in Europe," he said.

He also defended the IOC's decision not to clinch a deal with US broadcasters for 2014/16 Games TV rights because of the crisis.

"We are waiting for the best economic circumstances to be present to negotiate," he said.

"We can wait for as long as needed, we have a big cushion of time," he said of the deal which for the two-Games package of Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 netted some $2.2 billion.

Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro are in the running to host the 2016 Games with a decision set for October, 2009.

Rogge did not rule out getting a deal even after the city has been chosen, potentially improving Chicago's chances given US broadcasters would be more interested in paying a higher price to broadcast home Games.

The IOC has also been locked in discussions with the US Olympic Committee over its share of sponsorship and TV revenues and Rogge said he hoped a deal could be reached soon.

The IOC wants to reduce the committee's share of TV rights revenues and top sponsor income with the Americans staunchly refusing to accept any cuts.

The USOC under long-standing agreements receives about 13 per crnt of US broadcasting rights revenues and about one fifth of the IOC's top sponsors programme worth close to a billion dollars as most of the companies investing in the Games in the past were from the United States.

The IOC has called the size of the share immoral given it exceeds the combined total of all other national Olympic committees and several non-American companies are nowadays major IOC sponsors.

Rogge said he would propose "to finalise discussions" by the end of March during an IOC executive Board meeting in Denver.

It is estimated the row could negatively impact Chicago's hopes of winning the bid if it dragged on into the summer.

Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/IOC_must_be_realistic_to_survive_crisis_Rogge/articleshow/3825744.cms

No cricket at 2016 Olympics

2008-10-17T01:08:00.000-07:00

International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge on Friday rejected growing demands from the cricket community to include the popular Twenty20 format at the 2016 Summer Games.

"Twenty20 cricket will not feature in London 2012 or for that matter in 2016," Rogge told reporters on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Youth Games here.

"We are adding two more disciplines for the 2016 Games. The new sports that could be added are squash, softball, baseball, karate, rugby and golf.

"But there is no cricket."

Leading cricketers like Australian captain Ricky Ponting have called for cricket's shortest version to be included in the Olympics, although only 10 nations play the game at the top level.

Ponting said after the Beijing Olympics in August that it was only a matter of time before the sport's newest form was included in the Games, given its popularity in South Asia.

"I actually think it's inevitable Twenty20 cricket will be an Olympic sport," Ponting said in a speech to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of legendary Australian player Donald Bradman in August.

"You think about the audiences in South Asia, 22 or 23 per cent of the world's population is based in that area.

"The IOC could do a lot worse than put cricket into the Olympics."

The explosion of Twenty20 cricket over the last few years led to the successful organisation of the Indian Premier League earlier this year.

The International Cricket Council also held the inaugural World Twenty20 championships in South Africa in September last year. The next event will be held in England in 2009.
Soruce: www.cricbuzz.com

Argentina retain men's football gold

2008-08-23T01:05:00.000-07:00

Argentina retained the Olympic gold medal in men's football after beating Nigeria 1-0 in Saturday's final with a stunning goal from Angel Di Maria.
Di Maria, guilty of a remarkable double penalty-miss in a group game against Serbia, broke clear of the Nigeria defence and clipped the ball over Ambruse Vanzekin in the 58th minute.
Wilting in the searing heat, the Argentines survived a torrid half hour of Nigerian pressure to cling on for victory.
The mid-day showdown at the Bird's Nest was a repeat of the 1996 final, which Nigeria won 3-2 to become the first African team to win the tournament.
The Olympic soccer tournament is restricted to under-23 teams with each allowed to field up to three over-age players.
The first half was played at walking pace and there were no clear cut chances before a much-needed water break on the half hour.
Peter Odemwingie created Nigeria's first opening shortly afterwards when he broke down the left and sent a low ball across the face of the goal but Promise Isaac just failed to make contact.
Di Maria then produced Argentina's first real effort with an out-swinging 25-metre shot which was turned away by Vanzekin.
Vanzekin also had to be quick to dive at the feet of Sergio Aguero after he was set free by an incisive Lionel Messi [Images] pass after the restart.
Messi then had a shot fisted away by Vanzekin before setting up the goal.
The Barcelona player slipped a pass to Di Maria who broke clear on the halfway line and beat Vanzekin with an exquisite finish.
Nigeria sprang to life as Victor Obinna had a shot saved by Sergio Romero and Nicolas Pareja saved Argentina by blocking Victor Anichebe's effort after Promise Isaac pulled the ball back from the byline.
Argentina escaped again when an attempted clearance hit Ebenezer Ajilore and ricocheted centimetres wide of the post and an inswinging cross from Obinna was missed by two Nigerian forwards.
Nigeria were agonisingly close when Anichebe's close-range effort was saved by Romero at the second attempt.
In between, Messi was foiled by a last-ditch tackle from Apam Onyekachi.

source: www.rediff.com

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

2008-08-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-22T20:35:00.001-07:00

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

2008-08-22T20:35:00.000-07:00

Vijender loses semi-final, settles for bronze in Olympics

2008-08-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

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

जमैका की फर्राटा दौड़ों में क्लीन स्वीप

2008-08-21T21:24:00.001-07:00

ब‌र्ड्स नेस्ट स्टेडियम में क्यूबा के डेरोन रॉबल्स ने 110 मीटर बाधा दौड़ का स्वर्ण पदक 12.93 सेकंड में जीता जबकि चेक गणराज्य की बारबोरा स्पोताकोवा ने महिला भाला फेंक का स्वर्ण अपने नाम किया। पुर्तगाल के नेल्सन इवोरा ने तिहरी कूद का स्वर्ण जीता। जमैका की ब्राउन ने दो सौ मीटर रेस में तूफानी गति निकालते हुए 21.74 सेकंड का समय लेकर अपने कैरियर का सर्वश्रेष्ठ प्रदर्शन किया और लगातार दूसरे ओलंपिक में स्वर्ण पदक जीत लिया। उन्होंने अमेरिका की एलिसन फेलिक्स को दूसरे स्थान पर छोड़ दिया। पुरुष और महिला चार गुणा 100 मीटर रिले में बेटन गिराने के कारण अमेरिका की टीम को अयोग्य करार दी गई और फाइनल के लिए क्वालीफाई नहीं कर पाई। फर्राटा दौड़ों में जमैका की पुरुष और महिला टीमों ने आसानी से अपनी हीट जीतकर फाइनल में जगह बनाई। अमेरिका के लिए एक अच्छी खबर यह रही कि उसके धावक लाशान मेरिट ने हमवतन और गत चैंपियन जैरिमी वारिनर को हराकर 43.75 सेकंड के समय के साथ 400 मी. दौड़ का स्वर्ण जीत लिया। वारिनर 44.65 सेकंड के साथ दूसरे और उनके हमवतन डेविड नेविले तीसरे स्थान पर रहे। 1988 के सियोल ओलंपिक में कनाडा के बेन जानसन को अयोग्य करार दिए जाने के बाद उस ओलंपिक में अमेरिका ने चारों फर्राटा स्वर्ण जीते थे। उसके बाद से अब जाकर जमैका ने सभी फर्राटा दौड़ों को क्लीन स्वीप किया है। अमेरिका के लिए 1980 के मास्को ओलंपिक के बहिष्कार के बाद यह पहला मौका है जब वह कोई फर्राटा दौड़ नहीं जीत पाया है। चेक गणराज्य की स्पोताकोवा ने 71.42 मीटर की दूरी तक भाला फेंक कर स्वर्ण पदक जीता।

महिला फुटबाल में अमेरिका ने ब्राजील से छीना सोना
बीजिंग। अमेरिका ने ओलंपिक खेलों में महिला फुटबाल प्रतियोगिता का स्वर्ण पदक जीत लिया है। अमेरिका ने स्वर्ण पदक के लिए खेले गए मुकाबले में ब्राजील को 1-0 से पराजित किया। दोनों टीमें निर्धारित समय तक गोलरहित बराबरी पर थीं। लेकिन अतिरिक्त समय में अमेरिका ने विजयी गोल दागकर स्वर्ण अपने नाम कर लिया। इससे पूर्व विश्व चैंपियन जर्मनी ने जापान को 2-0 से हराकर कांस्य पदक जीता।

साफ्टबाल में जापान ने तोड़ा अमेरिका का बर्चस्व
बीजिंग। अमेरिका की साफ्टबाल टीम ने 2000 के बाद पहली बार हार का सामना करते हुए ओलंपिक खेलों में अपना लगातार चौथा स्वर्ण पदक जीतने से वंचित हो गई। अमेरिकी टीम को जापान ने 1-3 से हरा दिया। जापान के यूकिको यूनो ने शानदार प्रदर्शन कर सिडनी ओलंपिक में 21 सितंबर 2000 के बाद पहली बार अमेरिकियों को हार झेलने पर विवश कर दिया। तब से लेकर अमेरिका ने लगातार 22 जीत दर्ज की है।

कुश्ती में रूस ने अपने नाम किया छह स्वर्ण
बीजिंग। रूस के एस मुरादोव ने ओलंपिक की कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता में अपने देश के लिए छठा स्वर्ण पदक जीता। मुरादोव ने 96 किलो फ्रीस्टाइल वर्ग खिताब जीत कर अपने देश को कुश्ती पावरहाउस साबित किया। यूरोपीय चैंपियन 23 वर्षीय मुरादोव ने फाइनल में कजाकिस्तान के ताइमुराज तिजिव को हराया। रूस ने इस बार ओलंपिक की कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता में तीन फ्रीस्टाइल और तीन ग्रीको रोमन कुल मिलाकर छह स्वर्ण पदक जीते। रूसी पहलवानों को सांतवा स्वर्ण पदक जीतने का सपना उस समय चूर हो गया जब 120 किलो भार वर्ग में पूर्व जूनियर विश्व चैंपियन बख्तियार ऐखमेदेव को पिछले ओलंपिक चैंपियन उजबेकिस्तान के अर्थर तेमाजोव ने हरा दिया। जार्जिया के रेवाजी माइंडोराशविली ने सेमीफाइनल में स्वर्ण के प्रबल दावेदार रूसी खिलाड़ी को हराने के बाद ओलंपिक कुश्ती के 84 किग्रा फ्रीस्टाइल के फाइनल में भी अपना जलवा दिखाकर सोने का तमगा हासिल किया।

कैंसर को मात दे वीज्डेन ने जीता सोना
बीजिंग। सात साल पहले ल्यूकेमिया कैंसर से ग्रस्त घोषित कर दिए जाने वाले हालैंड के तैराक मार्टेन वान डेर वीज्डेन ने ओलंपिक की मैराथन तैराकी स्पर्धा का स्वर्ण जीतकर मानवीय जिजीविषा की विजय का शानदार उदाहरण पेश किया। वीज्डेन ने खुले पानी में 10 किलोमीटर की दूरी लगभग दो घंटे में तय करते हुए बेहद नजदीकी अंतर से स्वर्ण पदक पर कब्जा किया। इस स्पर्धा को ओलंपिक में पहली बार शामिल किया गया है। वीज्डेन की यह जीत यह देखते हुए करिश्माई लगती है कि उन्हें सात वर्ष पहले डाक्टरों ने कैंसर से पीड़ित घोषित कर दिया था। डाक्टरों का कहना था कि ल्यूकेमिया कैंसर से पीड़ित वीज्डेन के जिंदा रहने की उम्मीद भी बहुत कम है। लेकिन वीज्डेन ने हार नहीं मानी और अपनी जिंदगी पर आए इस संकट का पूरी शिद्दत और साहस के साथ सामना किया। वह न केवल इस कैंसर को मात देने में सफल रहे बल्कि उन्होंने तैराकी की सर्वाधिक मुश्किल स्पर्धा को जीतकर अपनी जिंदगी का जश्न भी मनाया।

बीच वालीबाल में चीन ने खाता खोला
बीजिंग। चेन झुई और च्यांग झी ने ब्राजील की रेनाटा रिबेरो और तालिता रोचा को 21-19, 21-17 से हराकर चीन को बीच वालीबाल में पहली बार ओलंपिक पदक दिलाया। चेन और च्यांग ने 7600 दर्शकों के सामने अपने देश के लिए कांस्य पदक जीता। चीन की तियान जिया और वांग जी फाइनल में अमेरिका की केरी वाल्श और मिस्टी मे से भिड़ेगी। अमेरिकी जोड़ी ने अब तक लगातार 107 मैच जीते हैं।

जमैका की फर्राटा दौड़ों में क्लीन स्वीप

2008-08-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

बीजिंग। वेरोनिका केंपबेल ब्राउन के बृहस्पतिवार को महिला 200 मी. दौड़ का स्वर्ण जीतने के साथ ही जमैका ने बीजिंग ओलंपिक में एथलेटिक्स की सभी चार फर्राटा दौड़ों की क्लीन स्वीप कर ली जबकि अमेरिका की पुरुष और महिला चार गुणा 100 मीटर रिले टीम को बेटन गिराने के कारण क्वालीफाइंग दौर से ही बाहर कर दिया गया। वहीं चीन [46] ने ओलंपिक में स्वर्ण पदकों के मामले में अमेरिका [29] से लगभग दोगुने की बढ़त बना ली है। ब्रिटेन आश्चर्यजनक ढंग से 17 स्वर्ण पदकों के साथ तीसरे स्थान पर बना हुआ है। रूस और आस्ट्रेलिया क्रमश: चौथे व पांचवें स्थान पर है।

ब‌र्ड्स नेस्ट स्टेडियम में क्यूबा के डेरोन रॉबल्स ने 110 मीटर बाधा दौड़ का स्वर्ण पदक 12.93 सेकंड में जीता जबकि चेक गणराज्य की बारबोरा स्पोताकोवा ने महिला भाला फेंक का स्वर्ण अपने नाम किया। पुर्तगाल के नेल्सन इवोरा ने तिहरी कूद का स्वर्ण जीता। जमैका की ब्राउन ने दो सौ मीटर रेस में तूफानी गति निकालते हुए 21.74 सेकंड का समय लेकर अपने कैरियर का सर्वश्रेष्ठ प्रदर्शन किया और लगातार दूसरे ओलंपिक में स्वर्ण पदक जीत लिया। उन्होंने अमेरिका की एलिसन फेलिक्स को दूसरे स्थान पर छोड़ दिया। पुरुष और महिला चार गुणा 100 मीटर रिले में बेटन गिराने के कारण अमेरिका की टीम को अयोग्य करार दी गई और फाइनल के लिए क्वालीफाई नहीं कर पाई। फर्राटा दौड़ों में जमैका की पुरुष और महिला टीमों ने आसानी से अपनी हीट जीतकर फाइनल में जगह बनाई। अमेरिका के लिए एक अच्छी खबर यह रही कि उसके धावक लाशान मेरिट ने हमवतन और गत चैंपियन जैरिमी वारिनर को हराकर 43.75 सेकंड के समय के साथ 400 मी. दौड़ का स्वर्ण जीत लिया। वारिनर 44.65 सेकंड के साथ दूसरे और उनके हमवतन डेविड नेविले तीसरे स्थान पर रहे। 1988 के सियोल ओलंपिक में कनाडा के बेन जानसन को अयोग्य करार दिए जाने के बाद उस ओलंपिक में अमेरिका ने चारों फर्राटा स्वर्ण जीते थे। उसके बाद से अब जाकर जमैका ने सभी फर्राटा दौड़ों को क्लीन स्वीप किया है। अमेरिका के लिए 1980 के मास्को ओलंपिक के बहिष्कार के बाद यह पहला मौका है जब वह कोई फर्राटा दौड़ नहीं जीत पाया है। चेक गणराज्य की स्पोताकोवा ने 71.42 मीटर की दूरी तक भाला फेंक कर स्वर्ण पदक जीता।

महिला फुटबाल में अमेरिका ने ब्राजील से छीना सोना
बीजिंग। अमेरिका ने ओलंपिक खेलों में महिला फुटबाल प्रतियोगिता का स्वर्ण पदक जीत लिया है। अमेरिका ने स्वर्ण पदक के लिए खेले गए मुकाबले में ब्राजील को 1-0 से पराजित किया। दोनों टीमें निर्धारित समय तक गोलरहित बराबरी पर थीं। लेकिन अतिरिक्त समय में अमेरिका ने विजयी गोल दागकर स्वर्ण अपने नाम कर लिया। इससे पूर्व विश्व चैंपियन जर्मनी ने जापान को 2-0 से हराकर कांस्य पदक जीता।

साफ्टबाल में जापान ने तोड़ा अमेरिका का बर्चस्व
बीजिंग। अमेरिका की साफ्टबाल टीम ने 2000 के बाद पहली बार हार का सामना करते हुए ओलंपिक खेलों में अपना लगातार चौथा स्वर्ण पदक जीतने से वंचित हो गई। अमेरिकी टीम को जापान ने 1-3 से हरा दिया। जापान के यूकिको यूनो ने शानदार प्रदर्शन कर सिडनी ओलंपिक में 21 सितंबर 2000 के बाद पहली बार अमेरिकियों को हार झेलने पर विवश कर दिया। तब से लेकर अमेरिका ने लगातार 22 जीत दर्ज की है।

कुश्ती में रूस ने अपने नाम किया छह स्वर्ण
बीजिंग। रूस के एस मुरादोव ने ओलंपिक की कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता में अपने देश के लिए छठा स्वर्ण पदक जीता। मुरादोव ने 96 किलो फ्रीस्टाइल वर्ग खिताब जीत कर अपने देश को कुश्ती पावरहाउस साबित किया। यूरोपीय चैंपियन 23 वर्षीय मुरादोव ने फाइनल में कजाकिस्तान के ताइमुराज तिजिव को हराया। रूस ने इस बार ओलंपिक की कुश्ती प्रतियोगिता में तीन फ्रीस्टाइल और तीन ग्रीको रोमन कुल मिलाकर छह स्वर्ण पदक जीते। रूसी पहलवानों को सांतवा स्वर्ण पदक जीतने का सपना उस समय चूर हो गया जब 120 किलो भार वर्ग में पूर्व जूनियर विश्व चैंपियन बख्तियार ऐखमेदेव को पिछले ओलंपिक चैंपियन उजबेकिस्तान के अर्थर तेमाजोव ने हरा दिया। जार्जिया के रेवाजी माइंडोराशविली ने सेमीफाइनल में स्वर्ण के प्रबल दावेदार रूसी खिलाड़ी को हराने के बाद ओलंपिक कुश्ती के 84 किग्रा फ्रीस्टाइल के फाइनल में भी अपना जलवा दिखाकर सोने का तमगा हासिल किया।

कैंसर को मात दे वीज्डेन ने जीता सोना
बीजिंग। सात साल पहले ल्यूकेमिया कैंसर से ग्रस्त घोषित कर दिए जाने वाले हालैंड के तैराक मार्टेन वान डेर वीज्डेन ने ओलंपिक की मैराथन तैराकी स्पर्धा का स्वर्ण जीतकर मानवीय जिजीविषा की विजय का शानदार उदाहरण पेश किया। वीज्डेन ने खुले पानी में 10 किलोमीटर की दूरी लगभग दो घंटे में तय करते हुए बेहद नजदीकी अंतर से स्वर्ण पदक पर कब्जा किया। इस स्पर्धा को ओलंपिक में पहली बार शामिल किया गया है। वीज्डेन की यह जीत यह देखते हुए करिश्माई लगती है कि उन्हें सात वर्ष पहले डाक्टरों ने कैंसर से पीड़ित घोषित कर दिया था। डाक्टरों का कहना था कि ल्यूकेमिया कैंसर से पीड़ित वीज्डेन के जिंदा रहने की उम्मीद भी बहुत कम है। लेकिन वीज्डेन ने हार नहीं मानी और अपनी जिंदगी पर आए इस संकट का पूरी शिद्दत और साहस के साथ सामना किया। वह न केवल इस कैंसर को मात देने में सफल रहे बल्कि उन्होंने तैराकी की सर्वाधिक मुश्किल स्पर्धा को जीतकर अपनी जिंदगी का जश्न भी मनाया।

बीच वालीबाल में चीन ने खाता खोला
बीजिंग। चेन झुई और च्यांग झी ने ब्राजील की रेनाटा रिबेरो और तालिता रोचा को 21-19, 21-17 से हराकर चीन को बीच वालीबाल में पहली बार ओलंपिक पदक दिलाया। चेन और च्यांग ने 7600 दर्शकों के सामने अपने देश के लिए कांस्य पदक जीता। चीन की तियान जिया और वांग जी फाइनल में अमेरिका की केरी वाल्श और मिस्टी मे से भिड़ेगी। अमेरिकी जोड़ी ने अब तक लगातार 107 मैच जीते हैं।

भारतीय ओलंपिक अभियान को लगे पंख

2008-08-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

बीजिंग। भारत के लिए ओलंपिक में ऐतिहासिक रहे बीस अगस्त के दिन पहलवान सुशील कुमार ने जहां कांस्य पदक हासिल किया, वहीं मुक्केबाज विजेंदर कुमार ने अपने लिए कम से कम कांसे का तमगा सुनिश्चित करके देश के नाम पर रिकार्ड तीन पदक भी पक्के किए। इन दो और पदकों के भारत की झोली में आने से भारतीय ओलंपिक अभियान को सही मायनों में पंख लग गए हैं।
अभिनव बिंद्रा के पहले सप्ताह में स्वर्ण पदक जीतने के बाद 25 वर्षीय सुशील कुमार कुश्ती में कांस्य पदक जीतकर अचानक सुर्खियों में छा गए जबकि विजेंदर ने भारतीय खेलों के लिए ऐतिहासिक दिन में एक और स्वर्ण पदक की आस जगा दी।
सुशील और विजेंदर ने बीजिंग ओलंपिक खेलों में भारतीय खिलाडि़यों में एक के बाद एक स्पर्धाओं में बाहर होते जाने आ रही निराशा को आज उत्साह में बदल दिया। भारत के लिए कुश्ती स्पर्धा में 56 साल पहले 1952 के हेलसिंकी ओलंपिक में केडी जाधव ने जीता था। इसके बाद सुशील कुमार यह उपलब्धि हासिल करने वाले दूसरे पहलवान बन गए। सुशील और विजेंदर ने जहां देश को गौरवान्वित किया वहीं पदक के एक अन्य दावेदार जितेंदर कुमार अच्छे प्रयासों के बावजूद क्वार्टर फाइनल में हार गए।
बीजिंग ओलंपिक में सुशील कुमार द्वारा 56 वर्ष बाद लाया गया कांस्य पदक एक बार फिर से देश में पहलवानी का युग वापस लाने में सहायक होगा। यह कहना है पूर्व ओलंपियन प्रेमनाथ सोनकर, एसएस दहिया व रोशन लाल का। प्रेमनाथ पहलवान ने सुशील को बधाई देते हुए कहा कि जहां इस खेल को लोग बुरी नजर से देखने लगे थे, पर आज उस पर विराम लग गया। उन्होंने कहा कि देश में आज क्रिकेट को ही पूजा जाता है। प्रेमनाथ ने कहा कि आज हर कोई अपने बच्चों को क्रिकेटर बनाना चाहता है। ओलंपिक में अभिनव बिंद्रा ने स्वर्ण व सुशील ने कांस्य पदक जीतकर इस फिजा को बदलने में कारगर साबित हो सकते हैं। सुशील ने जिस तरह विपक्षी पहलवान को हराया है। इससे वह कोई जिगर वाला पहलवान ही लगता है। उसने अपने जिदारी दांव खेलकर जीत को अपने पक्ष में किया।
प्रेमनाथ ने कहा कि सुशील के पदक से पहलवानी के प्रति एक अलग माहौल पैदा होगा, जो पिछले कुछ वर्षो से कम हो गया था। 56 वर्ष के बाद कुश्ती में पदक आना अपने आप में सुखद अनुभव है। यह कहना था सुशील के अखाडे़ के कोच यशबीर का। उन्होंने कहा कि सुशील जब छत्रसाल अखाड़े पर आए उस दौरान उनकी उम्र मात्र 14 वर्ष थी। 25 वर्ष में उसने यह कमाल दिखाया, इससे साफ है कि इस पहलवान ने काफी मेहनत की होगी। यशबीर ने कहा कि देश को एक सुंदर मौका मिला है। सुशील के पदक से कुश्ती को अपनी पहचान फिर से मिलेगी। पूर्व ओलंपियन एसएस दहिया ने कहा कि बुधवार का दिन भारत के लिए गौरवशाली रहा। उनकी खेल बिरादरी में एक नया पहलवान शामिल हुआ है। 1952 के बाद एक पदक आने के लिए हमारे देशवासी तरस गए थे। हालांकि इसमें कई तकनीकी काम भी शामिल है, पर सुशील ने सतपाल पहलवान या छत्रसाल अखाडे़ का ही नहीं, पूरे देश में पहलवानों का सिर गर्व से ऊंचा कर दिया। सुशील के पदक से अब हमारे लिए ओलंपिक के दरवाजे खुले हैं। इसको शुरुआत माना जा सकता है। यह युवाओं को इस खेल की तरफ मोड़ने का काम करेगा। अंतरराष्ट्रीय पहलवान रोशन लाल ने कहा कि केडी जाधव के दौरान की कुश्ती और आज की कुश्ती में काफी अंतर आ चुका है। कई नियम बदल गए हैं। इन सभी को झुठलाते हुए सुनील ने जो कर दिखाया उससे पहलवानों का सिर गर्व से ऊंचा हो गया। 2007 का द्रोणाचार्य पुरस्कार पाने वाले ओलंपियन जगमिंदर ने कहा कि यह दिन कुश्ती इतिहास में हमेशा याद रहेगा। जाधव के बाद हमें ओलंपिक पदक पाने के लिए जरूर 56 वर्ष लग गए हो, पर अब यह वनवास खत्म हो चुका है। इस जीत के पीछे उसकी शानदार फिटनेस का भी कमाल है। जगत पहलवान ने कहा कि पहलवान अपना परिवार व शरीर तोड़कर बनता है। उसको हमेशा ही पैसे की कमी खलती है, दूसरे खेलों के खिलाड़ियों को प्रायोजक मिलते रहते हैं पर कुश्ती में ऐसा न के बराबर है। सुशील का पदक कार्पोरेट जगत को भी सोचने को मजबूर करेगा।
उधर, ओलंपिक के इतिहास में भारत के लिए मुक्केबाजी में पहला पदक सुनिश्चित करने वाले तेजतर्रार मुक्केबाज विजेंदर ने सात साल पहले 2001 में जर्मनी में सब जूनियर इंटरनेशनल चैंपियनशिप का स्वर्ण जीतकर ओलंपिक पदक के अपने अभियान की शुरुआत कर दी थी। बीजिंग ओलंपिक के 75 किग्रा भार वर्ग के क्वार्टर फाइनल में इक्वाडोर के मुक्केबाज कार्लोस गोंगोरा को अंकों के आधार पर 9-4 से हराकर सेमीफाइनल में प्रवेश करने वाले विजेंदर ने कम से कम कांस्य पदक मिला सुनिश्चित कर लिया है। हरियाणा रोडवेज के ड्राइवर महिपाल सिंह के यहां 29 अक्तूबर 1985 को जन्में विजेंदर ने मात्र 16 साल की उम्र में अंतरराष्ट्रीय स्तर पर स्वर्ण पदक जीतकर अपनी काबीलियत साबित कर दी थी। भिवानी के इस मुक्केबाज को इसके बाद अपने कौशल को निखारने के लिए अपने परिवार से दूर रहना पड़ा और पिछले आठ साल में उनका अधिकतर समय चैंपियनशिप में खेलते हुए या शिविर में ही बीता। विजेंदर के पिता ने कहा कि हम आठ साल से अपने बच्चे से अच्छी तरह नहीं मिल पाएं हैं। अधिकतर उससे फोन पर ही बात होती है। उन्होंने कहा कि हम तो सीधे सादे लोग हैं। मैं ड्राइवरी करता हूं और विजेंदर की मां आज भी गाय भैंस चराने जाती है। विजेंदर ने हमें पहचान दिलाई है। टीवी और मीडिया वाले हमारे घर के बाहर खड़े हैं। मैंने तो सपने में भी नहीं सोचा था कि टीवी पर नजर आऊंगा।

source: www.in.jagarn.com

Tick, tick, tick: Beijing Olympics are almost here

2008-08-03T19:26:00.001-07:00

By STEPHEN WADE – 12 hours ago
BEIJING (AP) — Tick, tick, tick.
The official countdown clock in Tiananmen Square hits "4 Days To Go" on Monday. More than 40 million potted flowers are in bloom everywhere, even along the center medians of gritty highways. And for several days now, blue skies have taken the place of the usual gray smog.
So far, so good.

The day China has long-awaited, the day it makes its debut on the international sports stage with, literally, a cast of thousands, arrives Friday when opening ceremonies kick off the Beijing Olympics inside its stunning 91,000-seat "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.

"I hope the sky can stay blue like this, both during and after the Olympic Games," said 25-year-old Zhang Shuang, a government office worker. "This will give foreigners a good impression of the city and leave a legacy to Beijing citizens."

Though it's hot and humid, the city's morale has been lifted by several days of noticeably cleaner air, replacing the shroud of chemical haze that usually hangs over the Chinese capital.

"It's much better than I expected, there's none of the gunk in the air," said Paul Lewis, sports editor of the Auckland, New Zealand, Herald on Sunday newspaper. "There is a little haze in the air, but that reminds me of Los Angeles in 1984, but it's nothing like I've been reading about."

Even if the good weather hangs around, lingering issues could shift the focus from sports in a snap. Among them: Tibet, terrorism and Internet censorship. And since February, the country has been wracked by crisis after crisis. Deadly riots in Tibet sparked chaos and protests on international legs of the Olympic torch relay, stunning patriotic Chinese who staged counterprotests. In May, almost 70,000 people died in the Sichuan earthquake, which sparked an outpouring of sympathy around the world and muted criticisms of China's policies on Tibet, human rights, Darfur and the treatment of its Muslim minority.

To a lesser extent, there was the nuisance of an algae bloom at the Olympic sailing site, caused by water pollution.

With the games about to start, it's anyone's guess how they will end. They could showcase China's rising economic and political power of the 21st century or they could descend into a miasma of protests, police crackdowns and Chinese citizens angry with their rude guests.
The communist government says it wants the games to convey a message of friendship and has mobilized the security apparatus to ensure it.

In a rare meeting this week with foreign journalists, President Hu Jintao said the games would be successful if the sports were good and they promoted world friendship. He asked journalists to be fair and keep politics out on the sidelines.

That friendly face of the games contrasts with a much harsher side featuring 100,000 troops, commandos and policemen. They're aided by thousands of neighborhood watch groups — whose members wear red armbands — and are further augmented by watchmen and guards dressed in gray or blue uniforms.

Add to this 70,000 Olympics volunteers, and several hundred-thousand so-called "city volunteers" who fill subway stops, work in street-side tents offering tourist information, or simply stand at attention in hallways at Olympic venues.

"A safe Olympics is the biggest indicator of the success of the games," Vice President Xi Jinping, the senior-most Communist Party leader overseeing preparations, told a rally of volunteers last month. "A safe Olympics is also a key indicator of the positive reflection of our nation's image."
Victor Cha, the director of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, said the government must reach four targets to be successful.

Cha said Chinese athletes must do well in the medal count. Many pick them to win more than 40 gold medals and top the United States. Clean air is a must. Organization and logistics must go well, and political protests have to be marginalized.

"Protest by athletes doesn't really mar the games because that is something even the IOC would be opposed to," Cha said. "But I think major protests that the Chinese put down in front of television cameras, particularly if they are foreign protesters, that could look very bad."

The IOC has maintained the games are about sports, not politics. But Cha said spending $40 billion on venues and infrastructure was a political statement, and the more Chinese officials reject the tag, the more it sticks.

"When you are the biggest country in the world, and you're an illiberal regime, and you're hosting the Olympics, then it's bound to be political," Cha said. "These multibillion dollar iconic Olympic facilities are meant to show that China is not simply the Great Wall. It's modern, it's powerful, it's a player."

Tick, tick, tick: Beijing Olympics are almost here

2008-08-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Though it's hot and humid, the city's morale has been lifted by several days of noticeably cleaner air, replacing the shroud of chemical haze that usually hangs over the Chinese capital.

To a lesser extent, there was the nuisance of an algae bloom at the Olympic sailing site, caused by water pollution.

Beijing preserves cultural heritage while achieving modernization

2008-07-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, July 30) -- The Chinese government has succeeded in transforming Beijing into a modern, cosmopolitan city while protecting its 3,000-year cultural heritage, Kong Fanzhi, director, and Yu Ping, deputy director, of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, told reporters at a press conference at 11:00 a.m. on July 30.
Beijing has long been faced with the complex responsibility of protecting the cultural heritage, relics and artifacts that have accumulated in the past 3,000 years. The task has been made all the more difficult for the central and municipal governments, as modernization of the urban environment in the city has been equally essential.
As it has in developing its economy, Beijing has also been attempting to take into account the experience of developed countries in preserving its heritage.
Kong introduced the government's approaches to preserving historical and cultural heritages in the city. By preserving the core essence of the city, it is preserving the sites of the Ming and Qing Dynasties that have existed for more than 500 years. The 7.8-kilometer Central Axis running from Yongdingmen, crossing through Zhengyangmen, the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park and then to the Bell and Drum Towers, still remains intact. The imperial city area (8.6 square meters), including the imperial garden, is well preserved, and its original pattern in a reversed capitalized T remains unchanged.
Moreover, Beijing spreads the scope of preservation to the cultural houses and hutong in a large area and the more than 1,000 heritage buildings within the ancient city.
For effective protection, a series of rules, regulations and laws have been passed to protect the famous historical and cultural city. Kong named the laws protecting the imperial city and the imperial palace as examples.
For modern buildings, high-rises in particular, a limit was in place on the height of new buildings built prior to 2004; now there is control on both the height and number of buildings.
Kong revealed that the government's investment in heritage protection reached 930 million yuan in 2000-2007 and it will increase to 1.2 billion yuan in 2008-2015. Before 1990, the total annual investment was only around one million yuan. In addition, society has invested five billion yuan into those protection projects. In the past eight years, 139 projects have been completed, of which 78 projects increased the number of areas open to the public. The Summer Palace, for example, after renovation, has opened up the western part to the public, with 20 hectares of accessible garden.
Moreover, the government has put in one billion yuan for the renovation of hutong and siheyuan to improve the living conditions of local residents.
Finally he introduced the protection efforts in the planning and construction of the Olympic venues and installations.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/live/pressconference/mpc/n214489296.shtml

Games tickets for Beijing venues sold out

2008-07-29T02:07:00.000-07:00

July 28, 2008 11:26 IST
Olympic tickets for events in host city Beijing have completely sold out, Games organisers said, leaving only tickets for competitions in co-host cities still available.

Organisers released the final tranche of 820,000 tickets on Friday, prompting chaotic scenes at ticket booths in Beijing, where queues of tens of thousands of people strained to break heavy police cordons.

"With a heated participation of ticket buyers, Games-time competition tickets of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games venues in Beijing have been sold out," the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games said on its website late on Sunday.

Some 250,000 of the final tranche were for Beijing-based events, with the rest for soccer qualifiers held in co-host cities Tianjin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.
A final batch of 14,000 tickets for equestrian events would go on sale in co-host city Hong Kong on Tuesday, organisers said on the competition website.

Tickets for many competitions in Beijing sold out within hours, with some buyers camping out at ticket booths two days before they opened.

Thousands of police and paramilitary troops struggled to keep order at booths during the last-chance sale, where scuffles broke out between frustrated ticket-buyers, security officials and reporters.

Beijing's sale of nearly 7 million Olympic tickets has been swift but not without incident. Prospective buyers complained on blogs and Internet chat-rooms of not being able to complete purchases after the third batch of tickets was released in May.

The former Olympic ticketing chief was sacked last November after the ticketing website crashed almost immediately on the opening day of the second round of sales.
The Beijing Games start on August 8. source: rediff.com

Ticket sales for Olympic venues in Beijing complete

2008-07-27T20:28:00.000-07:00

(BEIJING, July 27) -- With a heated participation of ticket buyers, Games-time competition tickets of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games for Olympic venues in Beijing have been sold out.
BOCOG fully comprehends the considerations and supports from all walks of life for the Beijing Olympic ticket sales.

Source:: http://en.beijing2008.cn/tickets/news/n214483901.shtml

Beijing Olympic Village opens to athletes

2008-07-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The Olympic Village for the Beijing Games was officially opened Sunday morning as hundreds of Chinese athletes started checking into the 66-hectare compound.
Village mayor Chen Zhili announced its opening, which is about 20 minutes' walk northwest of the Games' two centerpiece venues - the Bird's Nest stadium and aquatic venue Water Cube. The sprawling complex houses about 16,000 athletes, coaches and their entourage coming for the Olympics
"We now welcome athletes from around the world to come to the Games," said Chen, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).
"We will try to satisfy the needs of people from different cultural and religious backgrounds. We hope you will like the facilities and services, and achieve desirable results at the Games," she said.
The Chinese delegation was the first to check in by raising its national flag in the village. Athens Olympics 110 meters hurdles champion Liu Xiang and NBA star Yao Ming were among about a hundred athletes who were present at the ceremony.
At least two other delegations, Cuba and Poland, are scheduled to arrive at the village on Sunday.
China has announced that it will send the largest ever delegation of 1,099 members to the Games, including 639 athletes.
"As athletes from the host country, I hope you will present the peaceful, civilized and open stance of China," Chen told the Chinese delegation. She also had talks to the athletes and wished them good luck.
Chen Wenbin, the head coach of men's weightlifting squad, said "coming into the village made me really feel the pulse of the Gamesand it will add impetus to our athletes".
We will arrange training programs for the weightlifters after they move in, but before that, we need to send staff here to see to accommodation and dining and make sure everything is OK," he said.
The sprawling village is divided into three sections of the international area, residential area and operations area. It contains a main restaurant that can feed 5,000 people, its own fire station, teahouses, coffee shops, a barbershop, post office, shops, library and a clinic.
Diversified meals, along with customized beds, space for religious masses and entertainment facilities, are part of the efforts to provide comfortable stay for the athletes.
Other services like chances of learning the Chinese language and watching Chinese cultural performances are expected to add colors to their Olympic experience.
"The village is modern and nicely fitted," said Glenda Korporaal, a senior writer from The Australian newspaper who comes to cover the Games.
In line with IOC (International Olympic Committee) regulations, a religious center has been set up in the village. Worship rooms are arranged for major religions -- Christianity, Buddhism, Islamism, and Hinduism and Judaism.
The total of 42 apartment buildings in the village was built with energy saving technologies, water recycling system, environmentally friendly construction materials and solar-powered lighting. Some of the apartments have been sold out as up-scale residences.
Deng Yaping, a famed Olympic table tennis champion as well as the spokes-person and deputy director of the Olympic Village Department, said on Friday that 46 countries and regions have had some representation in the village since its preliminary opening onJuly 20. The village is expected to be fully lodged.
It will close on Aug. 27 and reopen as the Paralympic Village on Aug. 30 until Sept. 20.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/venues/olympicvillage/headlines/n214482778.shtml

FIFA asks clubs to release Olympics players

2008-07-25T02:34:00.000-07:00

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday that clubs must release their eligible Under-23 players for the Olympic soccer tournament despite the claims of Europe's leading clubs that they were under no obligation to do so.
FIFA, world football's governing body, and the European Club Association (ECA), the successor to the G14 which represents Europe's leading clubs, issued totally contradictory statements on Wednesday with FIFA reaffirming it was mandatory for clubs to release their players.
Blatter, in a letter to all FIFA members said: "The release of players below the age of 23 has always been mandatory for all clubs. The same principle applies for Beijing [Images] 2008."
He added that the fact that the Beijing Olympics [Images] is not included in the coordinated international match calendar did not mean there was no release obligation for the relevant clubs."
However, ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement that there "was no legal obligation" on clubs to release their players for next month's Olympic tournament.
Rummenigge said in a statement: "As the Olympics are not included in the harmonized International Match Calendar, the obligation to release players for national team matches according to the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players does not apply.
"We, therefore, support all clubs that currently face losing important players.
Earlier this week, Brazil [Images] defender Rafinha absented himself without leave from training with Schalke 04 in Germany [Images] after they repeatedly refused to release him for the Games.
On Tuesday Werder Bremen playmaker Diego defied orders from his club and left Germany to join the Brazil squad, while the Brazilian FA (CBF) criticised Real Madrid's [Images] decision to pull Robinho out of the squad on Wednesday saying the timing of the Spanish club's decision had disrupted their preparations.
Schalke 04 said on Wednesday they would take their dispute with Rafinha to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, following Werder Bremen's decision to do the same on Tuesday.
Schalke said they were taking the step after they received no response by noon on Tuesday to letters of protest to the International Olympic Committee and the Brazil federation (CBF) sent a day earlier.
The disagreement over the status of the Olympic tournament centres on the fact that the Games are not included in the international match calendar.
FIFA says that that omission is an irrelevance and the Olympic tournament is deliberately not included in the international calendar.
TREATED DIFFERENTLY
In his letter Blatter added: "Due to its unique character the men's Olympic football tournament has always been intentionally treated differently. However this does not mean that there is no release obligation for the relevant clubs."
The ECA takes a different view and said in its statement: "The ECA suggests that FIFA president Sepp Blatter should define clear guidelines and regulations in consultation with the IOC regarding subsequent Olympic Games, once the current framework for the Olympic football tournament expires.
"ECA would be happy to contribute to the development of these future guidelines on behalf of the clubs."
Olympic squads can also include up to three players aged over 23 in their squads, but their inclusion is not mandatory.

source: www.rediff.com

India's contingent for the Beijing Olympics

2008-07-25T02:29:00.000-07:00

Archery: Dola Banerjee, Pranitha Vardhineni, L Bombayala Devi, Mangal Singh Champia.

Athletics: Anju Bobby George (Long Jump), Krishna Poonia (Discus), Harwant Kaur (Discus), Preeja Sreedharan (10,000m), Manjit Kaur (400m), Chitra Soman (4x400m relay), Sini Jose (4x400m relay), MR Poovamma (4x400m relay), Mandeep Kaur (4x400m relay), S Geeta (4x400m relay), K Mridula (4x400m relay), J J Shobha (Heptathlon), Sushmita Singh Roy (Heptathlon), G G Pramila (Heptathlon), Vikas Gowda (Discus), Renjith Maheswary (Triple Jump), Surender Singh (10000m).

Badminton: Anup Sridhar, Saina Nehwal .
Boxing: Jitender (51kg), Akhil Kumar (54kg), A L Lakhra (57kg), Vijender(75kg) and Dinesh Kumar (81kg).

Judo: Khumujam Tombi Devi, Divya.

Rowing: Bajrang Lal Takhar (Single M1X), Devnder Khandwal and Manjeet Singh (Light Weight Double Scull).

Shooting: Manavjit Singh Sandhu (Clay Pigeon Trap), Mansher Singh (Clay Pigeon Trap), Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Clay Pigeon Double Trap), Gagan Narang (10m Air Rifle), Abhinav Bindra (10m Air Rifle), Samaresh Jung (10m Air Pistol), Sanjeev Rajput (50m Rifle 3 Position), Anjali Bhagwat (50m Rifle 3 Position), Avneet Kaur Sidhu (10m Air Rifle).

Swimming: Virdawal Khade (50m, 100m, 200m Freestyle), Ankur Poseria (100m Butterfly), Sandeep Sejwal (100m, 200m Breaststroke), Rehan Poncha (200m butterfly).

Table Tennis: Achanta Sharath Kamal, Neha Aggarwal.

Tennis: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi (doubles), Sania Mirza (singles and doubles), Sunitha Rao (doubles).

Weightlifting: L Monika Devi (69kg)

Wrestling: Sushil Kumar (66 kg Freestyle), Yogeshwar Dutt (60 kg Freestyle), Rajiv Tomar (120 kg Freestyle).

Yachting: Maj N S Johal (Heavyweight dinghy).

Source: www.rediff.com

57 athletes to represent India at Olympics

2008-07-25T02:27:00.000-07:00

Reena Kumari's Olympic hopes are all but over. The archer failed to make it to the list of 57 athletes who will represent India at the Beijing Games.
Reena, who met Sports Minister M S Gill claiming foul play in the selection process, was left out of the archery contingent, which includes Dola Banerjee, Pranitha Vardhineni and L Bombayala Devi, and a lone male competitor in Mangal Singh Champia.

China Badminton Team announced

2008-07-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 25) -- China's badminton chief, Coach Li Yongbo, has announced that 19 players will represent China at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
China will have the maximum number of players in both the men's and women's singles competitions. Only three players can represent each National Olympic Committee (NOC) in each category.
Deciding the women's singles roster was the biggest challenge given that China has four of the top ranked players in the world. No. 1 and No. 2 players, Xie Xingfang and Lu Lan were obvious choices; defending champion Zhang Ning was ultimately selected over 2007 World Champion Zhu Lin.
Missing the team placement was a hard call for 33-year-old Zhu, currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Zhang is only ranked at No. 7 due to her absence from key tournaments this year due to injury.
In Mixed Doubles, with only two teams representing each country, the younger duo of He Hanbin and Yu Yang were selected ahead of Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen. World No2 duo Zheng Bo and Gao Ling, earned the other place.
Yu Yang will compete in the Women's Doubles with partner Du Jing and again in Mixed Doubles with He Hanbin.
While Xie Zhongbo and Zhang Yawen lost the Mixed Doubles place, they will still compete. Xie will play with Guo Zhendong in Men's Doubles and Zhang Yawen with partner Wei Yili in Women's Doubles.
China's top three players, Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin, will all participate in the Men's Singles tournament.
Chinese Badminton team:
Men's Singles: Lin Dan, Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin
Women's Singles: Xie XingFang and Lu Lan and Zhang Ning
Men's Doubles: Fu Haifeng / Cai Yun and Guo Zhendong / Xie Zhongbo
Women's Doubles: Du Jing/ Yu Yang, Yang Wei / Zhang Jiewen and Zhang Yawen / Wei Yili
Mixed Doubles: He Hanbin / Yu Yang and Zheng Bo / Gao LingSource: http://en.beijing2008.cn/cptvenues/sports/badminton/index.shtm

Italy names 347 athletes for Beijing Olympics

2008-07-25T02:12:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 25) -- Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) determined the final squad for Beijing Olympics during its July 23 meeting in Rome.
Three-hundred and forty-seven athletes are on the list -- 20 less than the number for Athens Olympics. There are 215 male athletes and 132 female ones, the latter comprising 39% of the total -- a larger percentage than 2004. Italy will be sending relatively more athletes to participate in individual events than for team sports. Teams will not be sent to compete in basketball, baseball or softball.
According to the Italian National Olympic Committee website, Italian athletes will participate in events including, track-and-field, swimming, water polo, volleyball, shooting, fencing and football. Forty-nine athletes will be competing in track-and-field, 34 in swimming, 26 in water polo and 24 in volleyball competition. Only one athlete has qualified for the badminton event – the country's smallest number of competitors for any one event.
CONI President, Giovanni Petrucci, and CONI Secretary-General and head of the Italian delegation to the Beijing Olympics, Raffaele Pagnozzi, told press Wednesday that without teams in basketball, baseball and softball, it would a challenge for the country to attain the same level of achievement as seen at the Athens Games where the country placed second in men's basketball. In 2004, Italy took home a total of 32 medals – 10 gold, 11 silver and 11 bronze.
The Italian swim team left for Beijing on the evening of July 23 to begin adaptive training and participate in warm-up matches. The remainder of the Italian Olympic team will arrive in stages over the course of the coming week.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/noc/eoc/n214473500.shtml

Largest Chinese Olympic delegation established in Beijing

2008-07-25T02:11:00.001-07:00

BEIJING, July 25) -- China's largest Olympic delegation ever was established in Beijing at 9:00 on July 25. The 1,099-member delegation will participate in all the competitions of 28 Olympic events and 38 disciplines and includes 639 athletes from the sports associations of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and of the PLA, the Railway and the Chinese Police.
The average age of the athletes is 24.2. Thirty-seven of the athletes participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 165 participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. This will be the third Olympic Games for diver Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and basketball player Li Nan. Beijing 2008 will be the Olympic debut for 469 Chinese athletes.

Liu Peng was appointed head of the delegation, while Yu Zaiqing, Duan Shijie, Xiao Tian, Cui Dalin and Cai Zhenhua will serve as deputy heads. Cui Dalin will double as secretary-general.
The Games of the 29th Olympiad will be held August 8-24 in Beijing. Events will also take place in Shanghai, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/official/noc/oca/n214473751.shtml

Shooters the best bet for medals

2008-07-20T04:35:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: Most Indian sports fans are convinced that the shooters have the best chance to strike a medal or two in the Beijing Olympics.

The main reason is that the shooters have come through stringent qualifying standards, virtually beating the world, to just make the grade.

The best part is that they have generally reached such high standards that they need not shoot their best scores to strike an Olympic medal.

Abhinav Bindra won the World championship gold in Zagreb in July 2006, topping the table in a field of 122 shooters in air rifle, to secure a berth for his third successive Olympics.

Unlucky
Abhinav had shot 597 out of 600 in winning the World championship gold, but he was unlucky to miss a medal in the Olympics at Athens with the same score, owing to an unstable surface on which he was standing in the final.

Looking back, you find that Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had won a bronze medal in double trap in the World championship in 2003 in Nicosia to get one of the last berths for the Athens Olympics before marching ahead to capture the first individual silver medal for independent India in the Olympic Games.

Compared to the last Olympics, the current Indian team is strengthened by two world champions and an Olympic medallist.

On the flip side, the Olympic bound shooters, except Gagan Narang, have not won a medal on the world stage this season.

However, as the Italian coach Marcello Dradi, had emphasised, while trying to explain the low scores of World champion Manavjit Sandhu, it had to be conceded that the shooters have been focusing purely on training and preparing hard, rather than touch their best form.

Competitive mode
By moving into the competitive mode already and winning a bronze medal in the World Cup in Beijing, Gagan has captured the imagination of the entire nation.
Incidentally, Gagan also shot a 597 while missing better medals by decimal fractions in that World Cup.

The bottom line, of course, is that World Cup medals, or not winning them is no indication of things to follow.

Abhinav himself had nothing to show except two World Cup bronze medals all these years before he became the World champion.

A string of good scores are also no guarantee of a good fare in the Olympics, as Anjali Bhagwat had found out in Athens after having shot 399 out of 400 regularly in international competitions.
The strength of the Indian shooters can be gleaned from the fact that a double world record holder like Ronjan Sodhi could not find a place in the Olympics.

Fourth Olympics
Trap shooter Mansher Singh’s entry into his fourth Olympics, 24 years after his first in Los Angeles, was also dramatic as he endured a shoot-off in the World Cup at Lonato, after 122 out of 125, before capturing the sole berth in a strong field of 149 shooters.

By just adding a point or two to what they have been shooting this season, like 595 by Bindra, or 119 by Mansher, the Indian marksmen would be able to get into the reckoning for a final berth.
Thereafter, it will be the form of the day and destiny that would hold the key.

Delegation to Beijing Paralympic Games largest in Chinese history

2008-07-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 17) -- The Chinese delegation to the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games hosted a press conference on Thursday, revealing that a total of 547 representatives will be part of the group, which includes 332 athletes who will be competing in all 20 events.
197 men and 135 women will make up the competitive team, the largest in Chinese history; the oldest athlete is 51-years-old and the youngest is 15-years-old. Compared to the Athens Paralympic Games, the Chinese delegation this time around has increased by 261 people, which includes 132 more athletes than in 2004. The athletes come from all walks of life from all over the country: students, farmers, self-employed individuals and workers will be representing China in September. For 226 of these athletes, 2008 will be their Olympic debut year.

For the first time in any Paralympic Games, equestrian, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, rowing, sailing, boccia, goalball, football 5-a-side and football 7-a-side events will be held.
The Paralympic Games have continuously gained popularity over the years, not only in China, but worldwide. It occupies the same stage as the Olympic Games as an internationally celebrated event, as awareness and support of people with disabilities increase.

source: http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/sports/others/n214459089.shtml

For some Beijingers, the Olympics are a lost opportunity

2008-07-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

For some Beijingers, the Olympics are a lost opportunity

Reuters, Tuesday July 15 2008

By Jason Subler
BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - Zhou Zhilian is one of thousands of entrepreneurs for whom the Olympic Games next month represent more a missed opportunity than a chance to cash in on the influx of visitors expected to pour into Beijing.
The market in which Zhou runs an undergarment shop will soon be closed down for a month due to authorities' worries that visitors might be able to find a scattering of fake name-brand goods among its predominantly cheap yet bona fide clothes.
That will force her to return to her native Zhejiang province until at least late August, with no income during that time and no guarantee that the business she has worked hard to build up will survive once she is able to reopen it.
"Who knows what will happen?" Zhou remarked between customers, trying to make as many sales as she can before she's shut down.
"There are other shops, and people will go there in the meantime. It'll be really difficult to get them to come back here."
Zhou's experience is being repeated in varying ways and degrees by small business owners across Beijing and beyond, as they are impacted by the government's relentless drive to do anything it takes to ensure that the Games go off without a hitch.
In contrast with the firms that have gotten a piece of the $35-40 billion spent on improving infrastructure or the millions of dollars that visitors are expected to spend, many small businesses are finding themselves caught up in a web of often invasive measures.
Use of private cars will be restricted from later this month, and security checkpoints for vehicles arriving from outside the city are leading to long lines of trucks and cars waiting to get in.
The government is forcing hundreds of steel mills and other polluting factories in neighbouring provinces to shut down or cut production as part of its bid for cleaner air, and many construction projects will be halted during the Games to cut down on dust.
LITTLE MACRO IMPACT
Economists say the temporary restrictions on construction and production are unlikely to have much of an impact on national economic growth, given that Beijing accounts for less than 4 percent of the overall economy.
"And spending by tourists, athletes, officials and media will mitigate much of the impact of industrial closures on the local economy," Andy Rothman, strategist with brokerage CLSA in Shanghai, said in a research note.
But that is little consolation to small businesses that are seeing their bottom lines hit, without the bargaining power that bigger firms have to seek sweeteners for their sacrifice.
A number of restaurants and bars near an Olympic venue in central Beijing have reportedly been told to shut their doors during the Games out of security concerns, forcing some of them to cancel lucrative contracts to host events for major companies.
Xu Yongji runs the Neweast School, a private institute in Beijing that trains students from around the country in the art of Chinese cuisine.
While the Olympics have increased demand for graduates, the school currently has around 300 fewer students than normal because of restrictions on non-Beijing residents staying in the city, Xu said, seriously impacting tuition revenue.
"Most of the schools inside the third ring road have been told to have vacations," Xu said, explaining that his school was at least able to remain open because it lies further outside the city centre.
"But many students have called us to ask if we are going to close down during the Games."
Authorities have been stepping up checks on people without Beijing residency over the past months, many people affected say, in a sweep that has taken aim at clearing the city of potential protesters and others, including poor migrant workers, who might dent Beijing's image as a modern metropolis.
TAKING BUSINESS ELSEWHERE
Paul French, chief China analyst at research firm Access Asia, points to potentially long-lasting problems for exporters around the country due to tighter visa controls for foreigners, as Beijing seeks to prevent potential troublemakers from entering the country.
A number of Western brands have been unable to get visas for their factory inspectors, meaning that they may not be able to award contracts to Chinese firms for Christmas orders if they cannot get the inspections done in time, French said.
"That cannot wait until September. Basically, everyone is scrambling around looking for capacity in Vietnam and Bangladesh," he said.
"This is actually going to start hitting business pretty severely."
To Zhao Jing, the Olympics have so far brought a double disappointment to her pocketbook.
Not only have universities near her clothing shop cut back on summer classes and encouraged students to go home, bringing the flow of customers to a trickle, but her investments are performing poorly.
China's stock market dropped around 45 percent so far this year, cutting off a source of income that she and many other Chinese people had counted on through the Olympics.
"Other countries saw their stock markets go up before the Olympics -- they all made something out of it, so I don't understand why we haven't," Zhao said.
She was not consoled by the fact that the market's drop has been part of a global fall in equities in the wake of the U.S. subprime crisis.
"Most of us are just affected negatively by the Olympics. The businesses that can make money out of them are very few." (Additional reporting by Kitty Bu and Ben Blanchard; editing by Megan Goldin) (For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)

China to issue special 10-yuan notes to mark Olympics

2008-07-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, is to issue a commemorative bank note with a face value of 10 yuan ($1.46) from Tuesday to mark the Beijing Olympic Games, the bank said in a statement on Sunday.
The PBOC said it would issue a total of 6 million such notes, which would be circulated in the currency market with the same denomination as the ordinary 10-yuan notes.
The new note, in cyan, is 148.5 millimeters long and 72 millimeters wide, according to the central bank. While the ordinary 10-yuan notes are in cobalt black, 140 millimeters long and 70 millimeters wide.
On one side is a picture of the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, the main venue for the Games in August. Above the picture is the emblem of the Beijing Games, "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing". The picture of national stadium and the emblem are both set against the backdrop of the Temple of Heaven, one of the country's best-known landmarks.
This takes the place of the portrait of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong and China's national emblem on the ordinary 10-yuan notes.
The other side features the famous ancient Greek marble statue of a discus-thrower, Discobolus, portraits of athletes and the Arabic numeral "2008".
These replace the drawing of the scenic Three Gorges, but the name of the PBOC in Chinese pinyin, Mongolian, Tibetan, Ugyur and Zhuang, remains in the top right corner.
The central bank also said it incorporated watermarks and other technologies to prevent counterfeiting of the notes.
A clear watermark appears on the picture of the National Stadium in the shape of the Arabic numeral "10" and the Games of XXIX Olympiad in the Chinese characters, said the bank.
Source: (China Daily)

At one-month mark, China making final Games preparations

2008-07-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- With just 30 days until the Olympics opens, officials gathered here on Wednesday to review preparations for the event, with security and stadium management as priorities.
"We will do our utmost to fulfill the tasks in the final preparations. We will host exciting, wonderful and successful Olympics and Paralympic Games that will satisfy the world, the athletes and the audience," Vice President Xi Jinping told the gathering.
With assistance from the International Olympic Committee and the world, all preparations were going smoothly, he said, extending appreciation to those in China and abroad for contributing to the Games.
In the next 30 days, the country will repeatedly test its security measures to ensure the safety of the coming torch relay in Beijing, the events and the venues, he said.
The local governments of Beijing and its neighboring provinces were urged to finalize their security measures and develop contingency plans.
Residents are welcome to participate in the work, Xi said, adding: "We will enhance international cooperation in this aspect of the preparations."
Another major task will be to have test runs of the venues and improve their efficiency and management, Xi said. "We will test every detail at every post and make sure we find any flaws and correct them as quickly as possible, even during the Games."
Xi also promised to provide good service to journalists coming to cover the Games and good treatment for all foreign guests.
He urged relevant departments to ensure food safety, standard air quality and good traffic conditions, as well as water, power and gas supplies, and to avoid disturbing the daily life of the public.
"We should also do preparation work well for the Paralympics, which means checking working plans for the Paralympic stadiums, examining barrier-free facilities, and mobilizing the public to care about Paralympic sports," he said.
Chinese athletes should train well and prepare for the contests, he said, adding that strict penalties should be introduced against doping, to ensure that all athletes show good spirit and morality.
Xi also urged enhancement of the "civilization campaign" and etiquette education among the public. He said that local spectators should respect players from all over the world, to present a good image of China as a "country of etiquette."
Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, also attended the meeting.
Source: http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/news/official/n214444408.shtml

Beijing opens new bus tour routes for Olympics

2008-07-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Two new sightseeing bus tour routes will soon be launched in Beijing to help visitors experience both the ancient and modern in the Chinese capital during the Olympics.
One route starts at Yongdingmen Gate in southern Beijing, and passes several major historic attractions including the Temple of Heaven, the Front Gate (Qianmen), the Tian'anmen Gate, Jingshan Park and the Drum Tower.
The other route starts at Datun, outside the north fourth ring road, and passes major Olympic venues and facilities like the Olympic Green, the Olympic village and the "Bird's Nest" National Stadium.
The new routes, measuring 18.1 km and 16.25 km respectively, would be operational starting July 20, according to the Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd. Group.
The tour buses would be double-deckers and air-conditioned.
The fare for the routes would be set in the next few days to come, said the group.
The spokesman said more special tour routes would be opened if they were called for.
The Beijing Olympics opens on Aug. 8.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/olympiccities/beijing/n214445747.shtml

Beijing offers free bus, subway for Olympic ticket holders

2008-07-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will offer free bus and subway services for Olympic ticket holders during the Games, as the Chinese capital gears up to provide swift transport for 8 million athletes, media people and spectators.
In addition, the city will extend the operation time of more than 350 bus routes and open 34 new routes connecting the city with each of the Olympic competition venue, according to Zhou Zhengyu, Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications director.
The authorities were still working on details for the free bus and subway services for spectators, reporters and Games' staff.
Spectators can take buses and subways free in downtown Beijing till 4 a.m. the next day of the ticket date. However, they would have to pay for buses on the outskirts of the city and the airport express subway.
Beijing is expect to handle 15 million bus trips per day and 21.1 million trips on its public transport network during the Games.
Beijing, which hosts the Olympics from Aug. 8 to 24 and the Paralympics from Sept. 6 to 17, is expected to draw about 500,000 overseas visitors during the Games period, according to a Beijing Municipal Tourism Administration forecast.

Source: http://en.beijing2008.cn/news/olympiccities/beijing/n214445667.shtml

Olympic Village impresses mock dwellers with Chinese culture

2008-07-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Over 2,000 "athletes" who poured into the Beijing Olympic Village in the latest test run of the athletes' compounds were asked to be picky and choosy.
Mock dwellers, however, gave thumbs-up to the facilities and were impressed with Chinese culture that permeates the village, said the village's general secretary Wu Jingmin.
Non-Chinese Olympic villagers, if they like, can pick up their Chinese names which use phonetic sounds for foreign names.
Sun Shishu, a Chinese language teacher working in the village, gave dozens of Chinese names in the first several hours of the trial run of the village.

"Let your surname be An, which means peace and safety. And your first name is Taifu, which means peace and happiness," Sun explained to Typhen Ann, an engineer from Britain, who works at the Main Cafeteria of the Olympic Village.
The village, which is the home to about 16,000 athletes and officials during the Games, sits on the north end of the axis of Beijing. Important buildings of all ages, including the Forbidden City and the Tiananmen Square, are aligned down this line.
Further north lies the Olympic Green. To the south is the National Stadium, popularly known as the "Bird Nest".
Deng Yaping, the village's vice mayor and four-time table tennis Olympic champion, believes the biggest attraction for the Olympic Village lies in its Chinese culture.
"For most of the (foreign) athletes I've talked with, they are amazed at Chinese culture. They want to try, to feel what is the real Chinese culture," Deng said.
"The village is a place where the athletes can unwind and get to know Chinese culture. We want to give them a full experience with Chinese culture."
The Olympic Village is divided into northern and southern halves. In the north, or the International Area, are the Head of Village Office, Flag Square, shopping areas, restaurants, entertainment and fitness facilities. In the south are athletes' apartments, whose main gates is decorated with a bronze art panel.
On the lawns around the apartments stand Chinese traditional lamp posts and dragon-patterned stone pillars, while water lilies float on the ponds.
The buildings in the International Area are temporary, except for a Chinese temple compound right next to the Flag Square, which is used as the Head of Village Office where Deng will work during the Games.

Chinese handicraft workroom sits in the International Area, painted with Chinese traditional colors of red, yellow and blue. About 20 handicraftsmen will show their talent in embroidery, woodcarving, painting and Beijing Opera mask making during the Games.
"Athletes can watch the artists finishing their works, and they can buy whatever they like," said Wang Jinqiang, the workroom manager.
The Beijing Olympic Village will officially open on July 27 and close on August 27. Also as the Paralympic Village, it will reopen on August 30 and close on September 20.
Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/10/content_8522081.htm

China warns Dalai not to disrupt Games

2008-07-09T04:46:00.000-07:00

BEIJING: China on Monday said the Dalai Lama should do nothing that would result in disruption of the Olympic Games next month if he really wanted to continue the dialogue for settlement of the Tibet problem. The Tibetan leader must prove his sincerity about solving the problem with his deeds and not merely his words, a government spokesman said. These demands were conveyed by United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China officials, Lodi Gyari and Kelsang Gyaltsen, Du Qinglin, to representatives of the Dalai at their recent talks. The Tibetan leader has been asked to refrain from backing any of the arguments made in favour of splitting China to create an independent Tibet. The Dalai Lama should openly and explicitly promise and prove it in his actions not to support activities to disturb the upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, Chinese leaders said. He should also not back any plot to spread criminal activities in the name of Tibetan independence, the Chinese leaders said. "The door for dialogue is always open and contacts will make positive moves as long as the Dalai Lama suits his actions with his words and truly practices the four 'not-to-supports'," the UFWD spokesman said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Dont_disrupt_Games_China_to_Dalai/articleshow/3208630.cms

Games a new start for China

2008-07-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, July 9 -- China can host a high-level Olympic Games successfully even after the devastating earthquake that jolted southwestern Sichuan province and neighboring regions on May 12, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:
The massive disaster was a major test for China and the country passed it splendidly.
The quake will not batter the determination of 1.3 billion people to host a successful Olympics, nor will it fail the expectation of the Chinese nation to realize the century-old dream.
The Beijing Olympics will be a brand new start for the Chinese nation and the 1.3 billion Chinese people are opening their arms to welcome all the friends of the world to come.
The Games will enable China and the rest of the world to enhance mutual understanding, seek common ground and promote cooperation.
The questions, misunderstandings and rejections that the nation may face along the road will not hamper its sincere intention to communicate with the world.
China's joining the Olympic family is closely connected with the process of its reform and opening up, its rapid development and modernization, and its pursuit of a higher-level civilization and contribution to the world peace.
We will give warm applauses to all the players participating in the Games as it is more important to participate in the Olympics than to win and we will safeguard fairness and justice during the Games, sharing the honor of the Olympic spirit with the world. The 100,000 volunteers, 400,000 city volunteers and 1 million social volunteers will provide good services to guests from all over the world, getting joy and friendship through contributions to the Games.

Beijing has been making a final push for a successful Olympics in order to satisfy the international community, the players and the people.
(Source: China Daily)

NBC plans extensive Olympic coverage NBCOlympics.com to show 2,200 hours of live events

2008-07-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

NBCOlympics.com to show 2,200 hours of live events
Posted Tuesday, July 8, 2008 3:04 PM ET

NBC Universal, broadcasting its record 11th Olympics and surpassing ABC for the most Olympics broadcast by any network, will present an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic Games coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history. NBCU's unprecedented Olympics coverage features the most live coverage in the United States (75 percent in all), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad commence on Aug. 8. The announcement was made today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBCU's Olympic coverage.

The 3,600 total hours of coverage on seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, is 1,000 hours more than the combined coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history (Rome 1960 - Athens 2004, 2,562 hours). NBCOlympics.com will feature approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage, the first live online Olympic coverage in the United States."For the first time, the average American will be able to create their own unique Olympic experience whether at home, at the office or on-the-go," said Ebersol."With 25 sports streamed live at NBCOlympics.com and significant live coverage on our cable platforms and NBC, highlighted by all swimming finals, the biggest nights of gymnastics and beach volleyball live in primetime, the viewer has plenty of options for live coverage."In the 41 years since my first Olympics, it's staggering to me to be involved in a Games where we are producing 2,900 hours of live coverage - especially from an Olympics half-a-world away. It's more live coverage from a single Olympics than the total of all previous Summer Olympics combined. The enormity of what we're doing just blows me away."

Following is a breakdown of the Beijing Olympics coverage on the NBC Universal networks:
The seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, will offer the most in-depth Olympic coverage in history. The 3,600 hours is 1,000 hours more than the total coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history. Note: Dating back nearly 50 years to CBS in Rome in 1960 (20 total hours) through NBCU in Athens in 2004 (1,210 total hours), the 12 Summer Olympics broadcasts have totaled 2,562 hours. Even the live hours of Beijing coverage surpass the total from those 12 Summer Games (Nearly 2,900 to 2,562).

Over the 17 days of the Beijing Games (Aug. 8-24), NBCU's coverage will average more than 212 hours per day - that's more coverage than was produced in total for each Summer Olympics through the 1996 Atlanta Games, which delivered 176.5 hours just 12 years ago.

The NBCU networks will offer more live coverage than any Olympics in history, domestic or foreign, despite the 12-hour time difference from the Eastern time zone to Beijing. Approximately 75 percent of NBCU's Beijing Olympics coverage will be live.

The 3,600 total hours of coverage from Beijing nearly triples the 1,210 total hours of coverage from Athens in 2004 and is more than eight times the 441.5 broadcast hours from Sydney on NBC in 2000.

For the first time by a U.S. broadcaster at a Summer Olympics, NBCU will broadcast the entire Olympic Games entirely in high definition.

The networks of NBCU will provide coverage of every one of the 34 Summer Olympic sports.
The 2008 Olympic Games from Beijing, China represent the 11th Olympics broadcast by NBC, surpassing ABC's 10 Olympics for the most Olympic broadcasts by any U.S. network.

In addition to the 3,600 hours, NBCU is also providing coverage of the entire men's and women's soccer and basketball tournaments through Soccer (58 games) and Basketball (76 games) NBC Olympics specialty channels.

Two foreign language channels in both Korean and Mandarin Chinese will feature a variety of Olympic events.

A breakdown of coverage network-by-network follows:
NBCThe NBC network schedule is divided into three dayparts: afternoon, primetime and late night - for a total of 225 hours of coverage over 17 days beginning with the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Aug. 8, at 8 p.m. ET.

Primetime on NBC will feature live coverage of all 32 swimming gold medal finals; four key nights of men's and women's gymnastics led by the women's and men's team gold medal finals, as well as the women's and men's individual gold medal finals; beach volleyball; and, for the first time ever, both men's and women's marathons. The first week of the Olympics features gymnastics and swimming, two sports in which the USA is especially strong this year. The USA's women's gymnastics team, led by 2007 world all-around champion Shawn Johnson and nine-time world medalist Nastia Liukin, and the USA men's gymnastics team, led by 2004 Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm, should be strong competitors for Olympic gold. In swimming, the USA is as solid as ever. Michael Phelps, the 23-year-old phenom, looks to make Olympic history and, by the end of the first week, could break the records for most career gold medals by any Olympian (nine) and most golds in one Games (seven), famously held by Mark Spitz. Five-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin leads the women and continues to be the 100m gold medal favorite.

In 2004, the Athens Olympic Games on NBC earned ratings gold. NBC's unprecedented 1,210 hours of coverage from Athens (Aug. 13-29) were watched by 203 million total viewers and earned the distinction of the most watched non-U.S. Olympics in history.

In addition to a 14 percent increase in average primetime viewership over Sydney (24.6 million vs. 21.5), a nine percent increase in 18-34 primetime demos (7.0 vs. 6.4), and a five percent increase in 18-49 demos (8.7 vs. 8.3), NBC's daytime, late night and weekend broadcasts all boasted increases in total households, as well as in the key adult demographic.

Uphold Olympic spirit

2008-07-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Special report: 2008 Olympic Games

BEIJING, July 8 -- With the city of Beijing racing against time to do all it can to present the best possible Olympic Games, the world should take advantage of the last days before August 8 and decide what it will bring to - and take home from - the once-every-four-years global sports fiesta.

The waves of China-bashing, which climaxed into disgusting anti-China farces in a handful of countries during the Olympic torch relay, were a timely reminder to the people of China that there are people uneasy about its growing presence.

But China is no longer what it was 30 years back. Nor are its people. After the initial outbursts of rage, more and more have come to believe it is simply not worth their time to worry about those dejected losers who are unable to adapt to new realities.

A huge bonus for the authorities at home, very much against the wishes of those who had wanted to sow seeds of discord within the country, is that the average citizen has seen through the real intentions of the fuss-makers and rallied more closely than ever around the Olympic undertaking.

And the consensus now is to make the Beijing Games a success. The unpleasant episodes in the past months only consolidated the resolve to make it so.

With the meticulous preparations led and coordinated by the organizing authorities, as well as the unreserved support of the central and local governments, and that of the concerned public, we have full confidence Beijing will live up to all our anticipations of a successful Olympic Games.

But such a success entails more than host hospitality.

The single obvious threat to the impending Games appears to be politicization. It is no secret that various anti-China forces have been colluding to hijack the Games for political ends.

Yet the Beijing Games belongs not to Beijing, or China. It is rather the entire world celebrating sportsmanship, peace and friendship in Beijing. We should not tolerate any plot to derail the event, because that will be blasphemy against what is held dear in the heart of the international Olympic family.

With exactly a month to go before the Games, the world must make a choice - about the future course of mankind's most celebrated event in spectator sports.

For the health of the international Olympic movement, let sports be sports.

(Source: China Daily)

Cricket-mad India focussed on Beijing Olympics

2008-07-07T04:17:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI (AFP) — India face the four-yearly dilemma of watching their favourite sport cricket or switching to the Olympics, and this time the Beijing extravaganza appears to be winning.

The Olympics clash with India's cricket tour of Sri Lanka with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar needing just 172 runs to overtake West Indian Brian Lara as the most prolific Test batsman.

Indians can't live without cricket but the younger generation, grown on a steady diet of live world-class sporting action on their television screens, regard the Olympics as a must-watch.

A recent poll conducted by one of the Games sponsors found that almost 70 percent of city-bred Indians will closely follow the action in Beijing even as the cricket goes on in Sri Lanka.

"We may be a one-sport nation but it will be wrong to assume the new generation only follows cricket," said veteran sports writer Vijay Lokapally.

"They understand what the Olympics is all about and won't allow just cricket to dominate their mindset. You can't fool this generation."

It does not matter that India's returns from past Olympics have been minimal.

The last time India won an Olympic gold medal was in hockey at the west-boycotted Moscow Games in 1980. This time, the eight-time champions have not even qualified for the Games.

India have just four individual medals, the last three coming in each of the previous three editions.

The country is pinning its hopes on shooters, archers, boxers and tennis veterans to deliver a medal, a prospect that excites viewers as much as Tendulkar's impending record.

"It will be great if Tendulkar goes past Lara but his record will be broken one day by someone else," said sports enthusiast Pritam Sinha. "But an Olympic medal is for keeps and carries immense value."

Sharda Ugra, sports editor of the respected India Today magazine, said an early medal will enliven Indian interest in the Games.

"If we win an early medal, there will be a lot of interest," said Ugra.

"Anyway, we have always been a nation of great sports watchers. There has been good viewership for quality sports in the country since past so many years.

"Olympics is a visual treat and fans enjoy the atmosphere."

Boxing official Muralidharan Raja said the charm of the Olympics was unrivalled.

"The Olympics is in a different league altogether, it's the ultimate challenge," he said.

"India may be crazy about cricket but the Olympics have their own fans and following. Olympics will never lose out to cricket."

Raja's views were echoed by young tennis player Venayak Gupta, 16.

"We get to watch so much cricket, it gets boring after some time," he said. "The Olympics come once in four years, why would anyone want to miss them."

Major events at the Olympics will be shown live by state-run broadcaster Dooordarshan, while a large media contingent will make the trip to Beijing despite India's absence in hockey.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j6GVatfFqLK0T98utXmstLWZ3OGA

Indian Women’s 4x400 Relay Team Win Olympic Qualification

2008-07-05T00:27:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI - Indian women 4x400m relay team qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games after giving a brilliant display by clocking 3:28.29s in the second leg of Asian Grand Prix at Korat, Thailand June 26.The team of Chitra K. Soman, Raja M. Pooyamma, Mandeep Kaur and S. Geetha ensured that they are among the World’s top 16 teams which will run in Beijing Olympics this August.They were followed by China (3:29.75s) and Thailand (3:38.76s) on the second and third sport respectively.Indian team had finished on seventh place in Athens Olympics in 2004 and since then, the team was on the winning spree on the continental level with title at Asian Games 2006, Asian Championships 2007 and silver in Commonwealth Games 2006.Slowdown in timing in 2007 raised doubt over team’s performance but it was largely due to transition of runners from junior to senior level.Emergence of Mandeep Kaur and Sini Jose and consistent performance from Chitra Soman brought back the team in winning gear in 2008.National record holder Manjit Kaur who attained B qualification in Yalta got injured during Madurai Nationals and the June 26 race was without Manjit but still the team managed to register best timings since Athens 2004.As per Olympic qualification rule, average of two best performances of 2007 and 2008 will be considered and with the June 26 performance India’s average is 3:30.42s (3:32.55s in Bangkok and 3:28.20s in Korat) which still place India on 14th place in World top 16 teams. It’s now better than 14th placed Italy team

Source: http://www.indiajournal.com/pages/event.php?id=3770

Indian Women’s 4x400 Relay Team Win Olympic Qualification

2008-07-05T00:27:00.000-07:00

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts to service Olympic Games Media Village

2008-07-05T00:25:00.001-07:00

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts will make a contribution to a successful 2008 Beijing Olympics by servicing four apartment buildings with 1,633 rooms at the Green Homeland Media Village, part of the Beijing Olympic Village, during the 2008 Olympic Games.In addition to provision of daily housekeeping services, Shangri-La will provide a special central service centre to handle enquiries and provide city information to more than 1,500 international journalists who will be staying at the Green Homeland Media Village.Shangri-La has appointed a dedicated committee, led by the group’s executive vice president and comprised of the top management from the group and its hotels, to focus on streamlining the Shangri-La hospitality experience for Media Village residents through administration, staff training and coordination. A service team comprising more than 100 hotel staff from various Shangri-La hotels in mainland China will be formed and trained in Media Village product knowledge and service operation procedures, prior to relocating to the Media Village in July 2008."We are honoured to be granted this opportunity by the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee to showcase Shangri-La’s well-known Asian style of warm hospitality to the world’s media. Given our group’s strength in China, it is fitting that we should play a significant role to making a contribution to the Games,” said James Jin, the group’s executive vice president and committee chairman.In preparation for the Olympics, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has fast-tracked employee training and language classes at its four Beijing properties, which are also Olympic Partner Hotels: China World Hotel; Shangri-La’s Kerry Centre Hotel; Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing; and Traders Hotel, Beijing. The group’s Beijing hotels represent a total of 2,430 rooms; 12,368 square metres of conference space; and approximately 3,000 staff to meet the needs of Olympics visitors.Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, currently owns and/or manages 55 hotels under the deluxe Shangri-La and mid-market Traders brands, with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. The group has over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

Source: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/26335

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts to service Olympic Games Media Village

2008-07-05T00:25:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/26335

President Bush To Attend Olympic Games

2008-07-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

Kris Alingod - AHN News Writer, Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President George Bush will be attending the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics despite a boycott by fellow world leaders because of China's violent repression of Tibetan protesters and support of the Sudanese government.
President Bush will attend the Games' opening gala on August 8 as part of a trip to Asia that includes stops in Thailand and South Korea.
"We are pleased that the Dalai Lama and the Chinese are finally in discussions, and that's one of the things the President had called on," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told reporters on Thursday.
Perino said the President's attendance was not conditional on the results of the talks between China and the Dalai Lama, who has been in exile in India since 1959.
Demonstrations in March in China against the government's refusal to recognize Tibet as a separate nation turned violent after police clashed with protesters. The violence was internationally condemned. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared that he was not attending the Olympics; he joined other world leaders, including those from Germany and Poland, in the boycott.
Save Darfur Coalition, a human rights group working to end the war in Sudan, criticized President Bush as well as "rhetoric from world leaders who claim solidarity with those suffering and dying, yet cast their lots with those who abet and enable genocide."
The war in Darfur, which began in 2003 among warring ethnic factions, is regarded as one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. China has maintained its support for the Sudanese government, which has been accused of funding an Arab militia to wage a war against non-Arab rebels.

Source: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011505213

Let the Games Beijing

2008-07-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

All 37 Olympic venues have been declared fully functioning, including 12 new venues such as the iconic Bird's Nest National Stadium and the Water Cube aquatic centre.
The entire city appears to have been scrubbed clean, repainted or rebuilt, but there are some surprise omissions in store for visitors to Beijing during the Games.
There is no greater icon of Beijing and modern China than Tiananmen Square so it is surprising that when the authorities were deciding how best to showcase "5000 years of culture" and the "new modern China, new Beijing" for the Olympics, they decided to leave out China's National Museum.
The museum, intended to be the "supreme hall of culture and art for the Chinese nation", has effectively been demolished from the inside out, with just its northern, western and southern facades remaining so that it doesn't look too strange during the Olympics.
The controversial redevelopment of the main street of the historic Qianmen neighbourhood, south of Tiananmen Square, into a refurbished Qing dynasty street will also not be ready in time for the Olympics.
The rebuilding of the street (97 per cent of the area has been demolished and businesses evicted) with traditional Chinese architecture housing "time-honoured" Chinese businesses, along with selected foreign brands such as Prada, Apple and Starbucks, was to be a key part of the Olympic marathon route.
The marathon will still run down restored Qianmen street, which runs along the sacred north-south axis - but the beautifully created shopfronts will be empty.
Australian restaurateur Michelle Garnaut, who already has restaurants in Hong Kong and Shanghai, hoped to open her first Beijing outlet, a 400-seat restaurant with a terrace overlooking Tiananmen Square, in time for the Olympics, but several months ago she and other retailers including Apple quietly shelved that timetable after it became clear the 17-block, 36-hectare project would not be completed by August 8. It is now scheduled to open next year.
The Olympic Forest Park - Beijing's massive new 680-hectare "green lung" - will also not be ready until mid next year. Although the artificial lake and mountain backdrop are substantially in place, the park will be opened only to 5000 athletes and Olympic officials and 20,000 local residents (ticket only) during the Games, because massive security forces to protect the city are likely to be stationed there.
Gilbert van Kerckhove, a business consultant who has been advising the Beijing Olympics organising committee and has lived in Beijing since 1980, says no one will care about unfinished projects such as Qianmen, the National Museum or Olympic Forest Park because the overall transformation of the city, from its water and sewerage up, has been so extraordinary.

"What they want to be ready will be ready. It won't be as bad as in Greece when they were still working an hour before opening, but there may be small hiccups, which are normal. Beijing is probably better prepared than any other city," says van Kerckhove.
"Even if they screw up something, this is China and they can put 10,000 guys on the job and finish it overnight."
Arup, the global engineering and design consultancy with 9000 staff worldwide, a quarter of them in China, has managed to snare an unprecedented share of some of the most critical new developments in Beijing. These include the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube and other Olympic venues as well as the new Beijing International airport.
The director in charge of Chinese business development at Arup, Michael Kwok, says the capital has squeezed 15 years of development into seven years since it won the right to host the 2008 Games in 2001.
When he moved here in 2000 to open Arup's Beijing office he was astonished at how "underdeveloped, underserviced" the city was. In terms of quality office space, there were basically two options, the Kerry Centre and the World Trade Centre.
He says political leaders seemed to have designated Shanghai and Shenzhen, in southern China, the first area opened to foreign enterprises after China embarked on its opening and reform policy after 1978, as the "experimental laboratory" for modernisation, while Beijing was left lagging.
"[China joining the] WTO and the Olympics have been very much a catalyst for Beijing to catch up … This whole fast-forwarding has pushed Beijing to really take a big step forward as a world city and become a lot more welcoming, a lot more liveable than six to seven years ago," says Kwok.
"People are now talking about Beijing as the place to visit … These stadiums aren't just stadiums, they are permanent monuments that reflect much more than two or three weeks of Games. They are the thinking and aspiration of how Beijing wants the world to see it."
Kwok is not bothered that key projects that will define the city for decades - including the extraordinary new home of the national broadcaster, CCTV (China Central Television) which has been described as a pair of walking legs or two splayed fingers - won't be ready in time for the Olympics.
"I would prefer they take a longer time to finish projects that aren't 100 per cent essential for the Olympics so they are of high quality, rather than just rushed jobs to meet deadlines which sometimes happens in China where too much decision-making is based on politics.

"Life goes on after the Olympics."
What worries many long-term foreign residents of the city, such as van Kerckhove, is that Beijing during the month-long Olympics and Paralympics will be lifeless.
"The vibrant life we have in Beijing will be killed off for security reasons and pollution during the Olympics," van Kerckhove says.
He says that despite the extraordinary transformation, the city authorities still have not solved two key issues - traffic and pollution - and after the violent and widespread Tibet protests they are also terrified of any demonstrations or disturbances during the Games.
Their answer, he says, will be to shut down offices, factories, bars and restaurants, kicking out hundreds of thousands of people such as migrant workers and other minorities from the city. He says they are also making it much more difficult for long-term foreign residents and business people and tourists to get visas.
The toughened visa rules that came into operation in April have stranded thousands of foreigners outside China unable to renew visas, even when they have businesses and families here.
New rules effectively eliminating multiple-entry visas for foreign business people based in Hong Kong to commute across the border to visit mainland factories caused an outcry when they came into effect.
Chinese embassies and consulates around the world have stopped issuing visas valid for longer than 30 days, and prospective tourists have had to show hotel reservations, plane tickets and other documents in order to get a visa at all.
While it is arguable that China has been far too lenient in issuing visas previously, the timing of this crackdown has caused an unexpected slump in tourist numbers and hotel bookings are far below the 90 per cent predicted.
This has been exacerbated by the difficulty in foreigners getting tickets. Only 25 per cent of the 7.1 million tickets were reserved for foreigners - half the percentage of Athens in 2004 - because of the massive demand from Chinese citizens.
"Many tourists who want to come won't be able to and the Chinese don't care because they say the Olympic Games are for television and it will be picture perfect on TV so screw the others," van Kerckhove says.
"This won't be Sydney 2000," he says, referring to the relaxed party atmosphere of the 2000 Olympics.
"This is not going to be spontaneous … Many food and beverage outlets will be closed or taken over by countries or corporations for Olympic hospitality. It will very much be a dead city, where nothing will be allowed that is not scripted by the Chinese Communist Party."

Souce: http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/let-the-games-beijing/2008/07/04/1214951041631.html

Newfoundland to get its day at Vancouver's 2010 Olympic Games

2008-07-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

Vancouver SunPublished: Friday, July 04, 2008
Newfoundland and Labrador's culture will be highlighted on the international stage as a result of an agreement between the province and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The province has agreed to contribute $1.5 million toward Canadian athletes and the staging of the Games in Vancouver, it was announced Friday.
"Our government is proud to be a partner in the 2010 Winter Games, and we look forward to contributing the rich cultural heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador to this international phenomenon," said Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams.

Williams said the highlight of the province's involvement will be a dedicated Newfoundland and Labrador Day held during the Games. Accompanied by a comprehensive media marketing campaign, the day will feature several activities including a warm-up to that evening's Olympic Victory Ceremony in Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium, a networking event, arts performances and concurrent celebratory activities to be held throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.
Of the $1.5 million investment from Newfoundland and Labrador, $750,000 will go towards the Own the Podium 2010 program, which supports Canadian athletes in their preparation for the Games, and $750,000 will be dedicated to ensuring the province takes full advantage of a wide range of benefits associated with the VANOC partnership.

A vibrant Olympic debut

2008-06-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

A vibrant Olympic debut-

Assamese artist’s painting selected for the mega event

Guwahati, June 27: Assam will have a “colourful” presence in the Beijing Olympics.
A painting by city-based artist Utpal Barua — an associate professor in the department of design at IIT Guwahati — has been selected for Olympic Fine Arts, 2008, an exhibition which will run alongside the mega sporting event starting on August 8.
“It is a great honour for me as well as the state,” Barua said after receiving the information from the Beijing art committee.
Barua’s painting, A butterfly was passing by, will be among the works of nearly 300 other artists from around the globe, whose creations will feature at the exhibition.
After the Olympics, the painting will feature at international exhibitions to be held in different places of the world for two years.
“Subsequently, it will be kept permanently in the Olympic Fine Arts Museum at the Tai Miao Temple in Beijing,” Barua added.
His painting was selected from among thousands of artwork on the themes “Sports and Olympism” and “China, the World.”
For the artist, there will be other moments to remember too. He has been invited to attend the opening ceremony and will also be given an honorary certificate and a gold medal, besides a replica of the Olympic torch.
Barua said the acrylic painting was “an expression of the Olympic spirit through a butterfly which signifies hope and expectations.
The colours in the abstract painting signifies the Northeast.
“My painting is an inscape, a reflection of what an artist sees through the inner eye,” the artist added.
Barua will be the first artist from the region to take part in an Olympic event. Born in the north bank town of Tezpur, the 48-year-old artist has over 10 international exhibitions in cities like Birmingham, Ontario and Singapore, besides several others all over the country. His works are also among the exhibits at the National Academy of Art in New Delhi.
Besides his passion for playing with colours, Barua has also dabbled in films, having worked as the art director in the national award-winning film, Wosobipo, in 1990.
Barua will leave for China in the first week of August. The Olympic Games will run through September 17. Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080628/jsp/northeast/story_9472584.jsp

PSU gymnastics coach to compete in Olympics

2008-06-23T06:08:00.001-07:00

PSU gymnastics coach to compete in Olympics

By Andrew J. Cassavell Collegian Staff Writer

Kevin Tan saw his childhood dream come to fruition Sunday, when he was named as one of six gymnasts who will represent the United States in this summer's Olympic Games.

The Penn State assistant men's gymnastics coach won back to back rings titles for the Nittany Lions in 2003 and 2004 and figures to be an important addition to a United States squad which earned the silver medal four years ago.

"He'll be [the USA's] top ring guy," said Penn State head coach Randy Jepson. "But he'll compete on Pommel Horse, parallel bar, and he'll probably be an alternate on High Bar."

The announcement was made Sunday after two days of Olympic qualification trials in Philadelphia, PA.

Joining Tan in Beijing, China August 8-24 will be brothers Paul and Morgan Hamm, Joey Haggerty, Jonathan Horton, and Justin Spring.

Tan, who is in his third season as assistant coach after graduating in 2004 will be the 17th Nittany Lion gymnast to represent the United States at the Olympics, but the first since 1976.
"It's something he's purposed his whole competitive career around," Jepson said. "It's great to see it all come together now."

PSU gymnastics coach to compete in Olympics

2008-06-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

PSU gymnastics coach to compete in Olympics

By Andrew J. Cassavell Collegian Staff Writer

Sonia gets China invite to Olympics

2008-06-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

14 Jun 2008, 0315 hrs IST, Bhaskar Roy ,TNN
NEW DELHI: Hardly two months before the Beijing Olympics, the top Chinese leadership has invited Congress president Sonia Gandhi to the Games in early August. Leaving behind the recent low in bilateral ties over border disputes, Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping has sent a personal invitation to Sonia to be in Beijing for the Games. During external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to China in early June, Jinping handed him a letter for the UPA chairperson inviting her to the Olympics. Jinping, tipped to be President Hu Jintao's successor, had a meeting with Mukherjee. Returning home, Mukherjee, according to Congress sources, personally delivered Jinping's letter to Sonia. However, it is not yet known whether the Congress president will visit Beijing during the Games. Despite sustained efforts by both sides, bilateral ties has run into bumps of late following Chinese claims over parts of Arunachal Pradesh and certain points on the Sikkim border. On its part, India too has used soft power and recalled the common cultural heritage to smoothen the relations. Mukherjee visited 97-year-old Sanskrit scholar Ji Xianlin in a Beijing hospital to confer the Padma Bhushan on him. Xianlin has translated the Ramayana into Chinese.

Third phase of Olympic ticket sales to begin in May

2008-06-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Third phase of Olympic ticket sales to begin in MayUpdated：2008-04-23

(BEIJING, April 23) -- BOCOG announced Wednesday the official dates of the third phase of Olympic ticket sales within the Chinese mainland. Between May 5 and June 9, interested persons may visit designated Bank of China ticket outlets or sign-up at the BOCOG Ticketing Center website to apply for tickets. Because the number of tickets allotted for Bank of China outlets during this phase of sales is lower than in phases one or two, fans are urged to phone the Ticketing Call Center for more information at +86 10 952008 or to visit the Beijing Olympic ticketing website, www.tickets.beijing2008.cn.

Like the first two phases, this third period of ticket sales is only open for individual sales; group sales are not permitted. Ticket purchasers must apply with valid identification (for more information, please visit the Beijing Olympic ticketing website). The purchase limit is 2 sessions per application and 3 tickets per session.

Unlike the first two phases, however, tickets sold during this phase will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Available tickets may be reserved for a limited period of time; however, if reserved tickets are not paid for in the allotted amount of time, they will be canceled and resold. Tickets for wheelchair seats for the Olympics can be attained through Gehua Ticketmaster Ticketing's customer service hotline.

According to BOCOG, 1.38 million tickets will be put on sale during this last phase, which include tickets for 17 disciplines in 16 sports for a total of 244 matches. These sports include athletics, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, flatwater canoe/kayak, mountain biking, equestrian, football, handball, field hockey, modern pentathlon, rowing, softball, marathon swimming, volleyball, and wrestling. For each event, barrier-free seat tickets will be available; about 20 thousand tickets in all are offered in this category.

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games -- Terms and Conditions of Ticket Sales and Use

2008-06-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games -- Terms and Conditions of Ticket Sales and Use

This is the complete version of the "Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games – Terms and Conditions of Ticket Sales and Use" (hereinafter "Terms and Conditions"). This complete version is available on the website at http://tickets.beijing2008.cn, at all venue box offices and in the "Spectator Guide for the Paralympic Games." The terms and conditions on the back of the Ticket constitute the simplified version of these Terms and Conditions. Please read this complete version carefully. Anyone who purchases, holds or uses a Ticket shall be deemed as having read, understood and accepted all Terms and Conditions.
1. Definitions
1.1 BOCOG means Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, including its officers, managers, employees, agents, assignees and volunteers.
1.2 Ceremony means the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
1.3 CPC means the Chinese Paralympic Committee, including its officers, managers, employees, agents, assignees, volunteers and the Chinese delegation to the Paralympic Games.
1.4 Event means any competition of the Paralympic Games for which Tickets are sold by BOCOG or third parties authorized by BOCOG.
1.5 IPC means the International Paralympics Committee.
1.6 Paralympic Games means the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games unless otherwise provided.
1.7 Session means the Ceremony and/or Events of the Paralympic Games.
1.8 Ticket is the ticket to a Session, including Day Pass unless otherwise provided.
1.9 Venues are all places where the Sessions are held.
1.10 You (or "you") means anyone who purchases, holds or uses a Ticket.
2. Details about the Tickets and Sessions
2.1 All spectators, regardless of age, must have a valid Ticket to enter a Venue. The only exception to this rule is described in clause 2.2 below.
2.2 Any child who is two years old or younger than two years old on the day of the Session can enter the Venue without a Ticket, provided that the child shares the same seat with the child's guardian, who holds a valid Ticket.
2.3 You must purchase a Ticket from BOCOG or third parties authorized by BOCOG. If you acquire a Ticket through unauthorized channels (i.e., other than through BOCOG or third parties authorized by BOCOG), you should assume the risk that such Ticket could be previously lost or missing, stolen, counterfeited, damaged, illegible or obtained through other illegal means. In such case, you may be refused entry into the Venue or be requested to leave the Venue without receiving a refund nor a substitution.
2.4 You cannot resell or trade your Ticket. You cannot use the Ticket for any political, religious, commercial, advertising or promotional purposes (for example, as prizes for competitions, etc.) without the prior written approval of BOCOG.
2.5 Tickets to the Ceremonies may only be transferred once. You must obtain the written approval of BOCOG before you transfer a Ceremony Ticket and you may only transfer the Ceremony Ticket in compliance with the transfer procedures announced by BOCOG. BOCOG shall assume no responsibility for any Ticket holder who is refused entry into a Venue without a refund because a Ceremony Ticket was transferred without complying with BOCOG's announced transfer procedures.
2.6 The Ticket holder of a Ceremony Ticket must be the original purchaser or a transferee approved by BOCOG.
2.7 BOCOG reserves the right to change the date, time, participants and other relevant details of all Sessions and BOCOG will give prior notice if reasonably able to do so.
2.8 BOCOG has the right to invalidate any Ticket for any reason at any time.
2.9 Please sit at your designated seat. If there is no seat number, please sit at the designated area after entering into the Venue. Except Day Pass, the Ticket is only good for one admission into a Venue. You will be prohibited from re-entering the Venue if you leave for any reason.
2.10 You can enter into any Venue in the Olympic Green to watch any non-high demand Session with a valid Day Pass, provided that BOCOG reserves the right to postpone your admission to a later time in the case of overflow, as determined by BOCOG in its sole and absolute discretion, and you will not be entitled to a refund nor substitution for your Day Pass.
One Day Pass is only good for one admission into the Olympic Green. You should show your Day Pass before entering any Venue. The Day Pass shall be valid only for the date specified on it. In case that part of the Events be changed or cancelled, you will not be entitled to a replacement or refund for your Day Pass.

Overseas spectators to get more tickets than previous Olympic Games

2008-06-07T04:55:00.000-07:00

From：Xinhuanet
BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) will ensure that the number of Overseas ticket sales are arranged through local Olympic Games Committees or agencies in each nation or region.

So far, more than 180 committees have applied for tickets of this summer's Olympic Games, almost twice the number of applicants in the Athens Olympic Games, Rong said.
Many of the committees applied for several times more tickets than the tickets they got in the Athens Olympics, he said, adding that in the previous Olympics Games in 2004, only less than 100 committees made ticket application.

The BOCOG will not compulsively sell tickets of high-demand sessions and low-demand sessions together, as was the policy adopted in some previous Olympic Games, Rong said.
The BOCOG have fully taken into consideration strong and traditional sports of each nation and region in the allocation of overseas tickets, Rong said.

The BOCOG Ticketing Center is working on the second, or the last round of overseas tickets allocation. Amid high demand and limited number of tickets available, the BOCOG will have to communicate with the committees to make adjustments of their applications, he said.
Rong pointed out that, of the tickets allocated to overseas spectators, the ratio of high-demand and low-demand tickets is higher than that of the Athens Olympic Games.

Foreigners who work or study in China can buy tickets as Chinese citizens, through any designated Bank of China ticket outlets or the official ticketing website, Rong said.
For foreigners outside China, the only legal channel to buy tickets at this stage is to apply to the local Olympic Committees or agencies, he said, adding that during the Olympic Games, foreigners in China can also buy tickets in box offices around the venues.

Although the Olympic Games tickets cannot enable ticket holders to get visas, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs will try to facilitate the visa process of ticket holders, Rong said.
So far, 4.5 million tickets, or around 65 percent of all the Beijing Olympic Games tickets, have been sold.

Beijing Olympics wheelchair-accessible seats still available

2008-06-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Beijing Olympics wheelchair-accessible seats still availableUpdated：2008-05-09
(BEIJING, May 9) -- Thursday was the third day of Phase 3 ticketing for the Beijing Olympics. All regular seating tickets to Olympic events taking place in Beijing and Hong Kong have been reserved; the only tickets remaining are for football events held outside of Beijing. According to Xinhua, representatives of BOCOG emphasized, however, that although these tickets have been reserved, this does not mean that they have been picked up. Therefore, there may be some tickets that will be sold at the door during the Games.
Wang Hui, director of the BOCOG media and communications department, explained that those that have reserved tickets have until May 14 to pay for them. Those tickets that have not been fully paid for will be leftover to be sold during the actual events in August and September.
In contrast to the frenzy over regular tickets for Olympic events, barrier-free seating is still available for many competitions, including the finals of track and field, women's volleyball, and other popular events.
Because wheelchair-accessible seats are relatively small in number compared to regular seats, those that wish to reserve the special tickets must call the ticketing hotline. Wheelchair-accessible ticket applicants have the opportunity to also apply for a companion ticket, which is the same as a regular seat. At present, over 20,000 barrier-free seating tickets are still available for 17 event sessions. These tickets must be paid for immediately via Visa card online, or within three days of reservation at participating Bank of China outlets.
During the Games, those holding companion tickets must attend the sporting event with holders of tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats.

Beijing Olympics wheelchair-accessible seats still available

2008-06-07T04:50:00.000-07:00

Beijing Olympics wheelchair-accessible seats still availableUpdated：2008-05-09
(BEIJING, May 9) -- Thursday was the third day of Phase 3 ticketing for the Beijing Olympics. All regular seating tickets to Olympic events taking place in Beijing and Hong Kong have been reserved; the only tickets remaining are for football events held outside of Beijing. According to Xinhua, representatives of BOCOG emphasized, however, that although these tickets have been reserved, this does not mean that they have been picked up. Therefore, there may be some tickets that will be sold at the door during the Games.

Wang Hui, director of the BOCOG media and communications department, explained that those that have reserved tickets have until May 14 to pay for them. Those tickets that have not been fully paid for will be leftover to be sold during the actual events in August and September.
In contrast to the frenzy over regular tickets for Olympic events, barrier-free seating is still available for many competitions, including the finals of track and field, women's volleyball, and other popular events.
Because wheelchair-accessible seats are relatively small in number compared to regular seats, those that wish to reserve the special tickets must call the ticketing hotline. Wheelchair-accessible ticket applicants have the opportunity to also apply for a companion ticket, which is the same as a regular seat. At present, over 20,000 barrier-free seating tickets are still available for 17 event sessions. These tickets must be paid for immediately via Visa card online, or within three days of reservation at participating Bank of China outlets.
During the Games, those holding companion tickets must attend the sporting event with holders of tickets for wheelchair-accessible seats.

The third phase of ticket sales deadlines

2008-06-07T04:48:00.000-07:00

The third phase of ticket sales deadlines

Updated：2008-05-10
(BEIJING, May 9) -- The third phase of ticket sales for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, which began on May 5, captured the attention of sports fans worldwide. In order to facilitate the process of purchasing tickets for those that have already reserved them on the official website and have chosen to pay for them offline, the Beijing Olympics Ticketing Center has issued the following information:
Those that have successfully reserved tickets to the Olympics between May 5 and May 9 must go to a participating Bank of China outlet to pay for and retrieve their tickets by May 14.
Those that reserve tickets on or after May 10 on the official website must go to a participating Bank of China outlet to pay for and retrieve their tickets within three days of reservation.
Those tickets that have not been claimed before their respective deadlines will automatically be recycled to be resold.

Empty seats unlikely in Beijing Olympics

2008-06-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The empty seats that hurt the festive mood of the Athens Olympics won't be seen in Beijing when the Chinese capital hosts the 2008 Games.
The final batch of Olympic tickets for domestic spectators, previously expected to be sold out in 36 days, had been snapped up within two days.

A total of 1.38 million tickets for 16 sports, including boxing, soccer, volleyball and basketball, had been put on sale since last Monday both at Bank of China branches and on the official website.

Within two days, tickets for Beijing venues were sold out, only leaving some for the soccer tournament in co-host cities Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.
An official with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) admitted that they had never expected these tickets to sell so fast.

People all over the country showed great enthusiasm in snapping up Olympic tickets. Thousands of people lined in long queues and waited outside Bank of China outlets.
A Beijing resident surnamed Liu said he had waited for four hours before getting tickets from the bank counter.

"I bought tickets for track and field finals. I want to see LiuXiang racing in the final," he said, referring to the Chinese Olympic champion and world record holder of 110 meters hurdles.
Wang Xudong, who purchased three tickets for women's soccer preliminary games, said it was a regret that he had not got the tickets for some hot games.

"Lucky for me that I have bought a ticket for the Olympics' opening ceremony and a few semifinal tickets," said Andy Lau, one of Chinese cinema's biggest stars, after he ran as the fourth torchbearer in the Hong Kong leg on May 2.

"But I feel a bit disappointed that I didn't have tickets for volleyball and diving, which are my favorite sports," he said.

"I finally get a ticket and my dream to watch the Beijing Olympic Games will come true," said Qu Zhen, a Tibetan University student, on the day when the tickets started to sell in Lhasa.
The online ticket sales went smoothly except for some small problems.

"We have made sufficient preparations for this time, including the tests of our network, our credit card operation and our system of the acceptance of purchase applications," said Xu Zheng, director of Olympic Affairs Office of Bank of China.

"The preparation work was done in a very careful way because we had lessons to learn from last year's experience."

The online system collapsed due to overwhelming demand hours after the second round of sales started last November, forcing organizers to revert to a lottery system.

"Through the ticket sales, we feel once again the passion of all the people home and abroad and their support for the Olympic Games," said Wang Hui, director of the media and communications department of the BOCOG.

However, the third and final round sale did not mean all the tickets had been sold out, said Wang. It just meant the ticket booking had ended, and people who had not got the tickets still had chance, she added.

After three rounds of ticket sales, some tickets will likely be available at ticket booths around sports venues during the Games, said an official from the ticketing department of the BOCOG.

Ticket demand overseas keeps rising

2008-06-07T04:32:00.000-07:00

Ticket demand overseas keeps rising One World, One Dream is the theme of the Beijing Games - and if overseas ticket demand is any indicator, the whole world wants to be in Beijing for the Games to live their dream.
Beijing Games organizers have said that they are "still trying to dig out resources for tickets so as to satisfy demand worldwide".
"Olympic tickets are 'hot' and the enthusiasm is very high," said Zhu Yan, director of Beijing Olympic Ticketing Center.
"Overseas demand was taken fully into consideration in ticket sales, and we are still trying to provide more," he added.
About 6.8 million tickets are available for sale for the Beijing Games and it is estimated that 75 percent of those will be for the domestic market.
Overseas tickets are handed over to the national or regional Olympic committees (NOCs) and most of them appoint ticket agents to deal with sales.
In Finland, for example, all the 10,000 tickets allocated have been sold out. Officials there are asking for more.
"The number of tickets we allocated for the NOCs is much more than that in previous Games," said Zhu. "The allocation strictly followed the rules of the International Olympic Committee and we have tried our best to meet the needs of all the NOCs.

"But since their demand is still on the rise, we will continue to discuss with them and balance the requirements of all sides."
Zhu said it is hard to put a figure on the exact number of tickets sold outside the Chinese mainland because sales are still under way.
On the Chinese mainland, the third and the final round of ticket sales start next month. About 1.38 million tickets will be on offer from May 5 to June 9.
Tickets for 244 events in 16 disciplines are available at Bank of China outlets or on the official ticketing website on a "first come, first served" basis.
People are allowed to buy a maximum of six tickets at one time, three each for two sessions.
Overwhelming demand caused the computer system to crash just a few hours after the second sales phase started six months ago, forcing organizers to revert to a lottery system.
But Zhu reassured people that thousands of tickets are available for most of the events, and urged them not to rush. The system has been fixed and there will be no repeat of the chaos in the previous round, he said.

"The system has been optimized and updated and it is being tested right now," Zhu said last week. "I am confident that the system will meet the requirements of customers."
People who paid for the tickets through the website can get their tickets printed anytime during the third phase and those who paid at Bank of China outlets can get tickets on site.
The first stage of the domestic sales was conducted from April to June last year, with some 1.6 million tickets, including all the tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, allocated by lottery.
The second stage was launched last October but was suspended until December. About 1.8 million tickets were sold.
Ticket delivery for the buyers in the first two stages is planned to start in June.

Overview of Nanning

2008-06-07T04:06:00.000-07:00

Located in southwestern China, Nanning is the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which borders Vietnam. It has a total area of over 22,600 sq. km. and a total population of over six million.

The city is a very good place to live; it even won the 2007 UN Habitat Scroll of Honor Award. With trees covering about 40% of its land, the city has an abundance of fresh air and a beautiful environment.

Torch Relay's Nanning leg ends

2008-06-07T04:04:00.001-07:00

(NANNING, June 7) -- Chen Wenzhong proudly carried the Olympic torch shortly after noon on Saturday as he ran into the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center, where the flame was used to light the cauldron and mark the end of the Torch Relay in Nanning.

Chen, a sprinter and a Nanning native, was the last of 208 torchbearers who took part in the 16.5-km relay, which started at 9:15 a.m. with Wu Shude, a 1984 Olympic weightlifting gold medalist, running the first leg.

Mainly along Minzu Avenue, the relay route was planned with two considerations. First, as this year's National College Entrance Exam is being administered this weekend, organizers wanted to minimize the disturbance to students. Second, the chosen route contains several of the city's landmarks, including the South Lake, Wuxiang Square and the Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center.

The Torch Relay will move on to Baise, Guangxi Province next.