The Pakistani Paralympics athletes will now focus on the next year’s sports competitions in Japan, said the Chef De Mission of Pakistani contingent that took part in Beijing 2008 Paralympics Games in an interview.

“Our next target is Tokyo Games in September 2009 that would follow by 2010 Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China”, Imran Jamil Shami told APP in an interview here on Tuesday.

“In both these games, our athletes would get opportunities to qualify for the 2010 London Paralympics Games”, he noted.

Besides these games, he pointed out that we will also send our athletes to participate in various international competitions including New Zealand.

To a question regarding small number of participation of Pakistani athletes in Beijing Paralympics Games, Shami, who is also the Secretary General of National Paralympics Committee of Pakistan, said that in the last Asian Games we carried 34 players for the qualifications round for the Paralympics Games.

He said that on the performance of these players, the International Paralympics Committee awarded two slots to Pakistan to take part in the Beijing 6-17 Games.

He continued that under the formula, top four athletes were accommodated in one slot, as our eight athletes qualified for the top-4, therefore Pakistan was given two slots.

In the same way, Shami said that in Power Lifting competition Pakistan got two slots, on the basis of IPC qualifying formula.

“If we send maximum number of players to take part in international competitions, we would certainly get more athletes to qualify for Paralympics Games”, he maintained.

“Honestly speaking, we have to do a lot to uplift the game”, he observed.

He said that there is need to improve sporting facilities, we need man power, no doubt require finance to spread the Paralympics movement and to encourage the disabled athletes in whole of Pakistan.

Pakistan has wrapped up its campaign in Beijing Paralympics Games by winning a silver medal in the Long Jump competition.

The Paralympics contingent is scheduled to leave for Pakistan on September 19.

from: app.com.pk

Sport-by-sport guide

Archery
Archery has been a Paralympic sport since Rome 1960. At the Paralympic Games, archers shoot the Olympic round only (70 meters, qualification & finals): Men’s Individual Olympic Round; Men’s (Open) Team Olympic Round; Women’s Individual Olympic Round and Women’s (Open) Team Olympic Round. Archers compete both standing and in a wheelchair in women’s and men’s categories. The Paralympic program includes singles and team events, and the competition and scoring procedures are identical to those used in the Olympic Games. Team competition is an open competition for both men and women and includes three archers of any class (standing or sitting). Archery opened the first International Games for the Disabled at Stoke Mandeville in 1948. It reached a new pinnacle 44 years later when Paralympian Antonio Rebollo ignited both the Olympic and Paralympic flames in Barcelona with a fire arrow.

Athletics
Athletics became a Paralympic Games sport in Rome, 1960 and has more events and competitors than any other sport in the Paralympic Games. Track events include all Olympic distances (100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 10000m, marathon, 4 x 100m relay and 4 x 400m relay). Field comprises, shot put, discus, javelin, club throwing (for severely disabled athletes), pentathlon, long, high and triple jump. Wheelchair racing, 60m sprint was included in the Paralympic Games for the first time in Tokyo, 1964. This continued to be the standard racing distance until Toronto, 1976, when 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m events were introduced.

(Wheelchair) Basketball
Wheelchair Basketball was developed by Sir Ludwig Guttmann at Stoke Mandeville Hospital following WWII as a form of rehabilitation for injured war veterans. Basketball became a Paralympic Games sport at the first Games in Rome in 1960. Wheelchair Basketball is open to male or female athletes and is played by two teams of five players each. Players are allocated points from 1 to 4.5 depending on their functional ability. Five players out of 12 from each team are on the court at any one time and throughout the game the total point value of each team on court must not exceed 14 points.

Boccia
Boccia is unique to the Paralympic Games and was refined from an ancient Greek ball tossing game by the Italians in the 16th century. Men and women compete together in team, pairs and individual events. It is a game of precision with leather balls thrown as close as possible to a white target ball (the jack) on a long, narrow field of play. Boccia became a Paralympic Games sport in Barcelona, 1992.

Cycling
Cycling competitions are relatively new for athletes with disabilities. In the early Eighties, the visually impaired were the first group of athletes to compete, and athletes with cerebral palsy and amputees began racing at the International Games for the Disabled in 1984. Up until the 1992 Paralympics, the competitons for each of these different groups were held separately. Then, at the Barcelona Games, spectators witnessed intense competitions in both track and road races between athletes in all three disability groups. The cycling events are divided into individual and team (a group of three cyclists from one nation) events. Athletes with cerebral palsy compete using standard racing bikes and, in some classes, tricycles. Athletes who are blind or visually impaired compete on tandem bicycles with a sighted team-mate, and they participate in the road race and the time trial events. Finally, amputees and cyclists with permanent locomotor deficiencies compete in individual road race events using cycles specifically constructed for their needs. Handcycling was included for the first time at the Athens Paralympic Games. Handcycling is for athletes who normally require a wheelchair for general mobility, or athletes not able to use a conventional bicycle or tricycle because of severe lower limb disability.

Equestrian
Riders compete only in individual and team dressage and develop creative ways to communicate with their horses if they are unable to give signals with their legs, such as utilising a dressage whip or other aids. In dressage competition, riders perform individually and they must ride a pattern which includes various changes in pace and direction. At the Paralympics, all riders are grouped according to their functional profiles and they are judged on their ability to control and maneuver the horses. Prior to Athens, athletes competed on borrowed horses. Own horses were used in Athens. Equestrian became a Paralympic Games sport in Atlanta 1996.

(Wheelchair) Fencing
Fencing became a Paralympic Games sport in Rome in 1960. There are team and individual events for men and women in foil and epee and for men only in sabre. Athletes are connected electronically to a scoring box that records hits on their opponent. In the initial rounds of the competition the first fencer to score five hits wins but in the latter stages it is the first to 15 hits.

Football
Seven-a-side football, for players with Cerebral Palsy, became a Paralympic Sport in New York in 1984 when the Games were split – for financial reasons -between Stoke Mandeville, England and New York. Five-a-side football for visually impaired athletes was introduced at the Summer Paralympic Games in Athens 2004. Goalkeepers can be visually impaired (B2/B3) or fully sighted in five-a-side football. GB has two sighted goalkeepers. The goalkeepers are not permitted to leave their area.

Goalball
Goalball was invented in Europe in 1946 and was used for sport and rehabilitation for the post WWII blind veterans. The game was introduced to the world in 1976 at the Paralympic Games in Toronto and the first world championships were held in Austria in 1978. Women first competed in goalball at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York. All players wear masks and bells in the ball enable players to pick up its movement. Taped lines on the court enable players to ‘feel’ their way around the court. Audience/spectators are asked for silence while watching, as players listen to the bells. Goalball is a team sport for men and women. A team is comprised of six players with no more than three players per team on the court at any one time. The object is to roll the ball past the opposition defence and into the opponent’s goal. A bell inside the competition ball enables defending players to hear it and try to prevent its passage. Matches are played on a court 18m x 9m in two, seven-minute halves, with three players on each side. No GB team competing.

Judo
Originating in the late nineteenth century, judo developed from a diverse range of Japanese combative arts and was funded by Professor Jigoro Kano who studied the principles of the jujitsu schools of Japan’s Samurai warriors when developing the sport. Judo’s inherent qualities of touch, balance and sensitivity complement the highly developed skills of visually impaired athletes. Visually-impaired judo became a Paralympic sport at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul. Women competed for the first time at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004. Unlike sighted judo, visually-impaired judo fighters begin bouts holding each other’s judogis (suits).

Powerlifting
The benchpress competition widely known as “weightlifting ” was among one of the original Paralympic sports dating back to its inclusion in the second Paralympic Games in 1964 and was offered exclusively to Spinal Cord Injured lifters. The sport undertook a major transition with the incorporation of identical rules as those of the able-bodied “powerlifting” competitions and with the inclusion of other disability groups. At the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, 25 countries participated in the Powerlifting competitions. That number more than doubled in 1996 at the Atlanta Paralympic Games with 58 countries in participation. Since 1996 that number has risen to a total worldwide membership of 109 countries on five continents. Women competed for the first time at the Sydney Games in 2000.

(Wheelchair) Rugby
Wheelchair rugby, formally known as ‘murderball’, is unique to the Paralympic Games. It was invented in the 1970′s in Winnipeg by persons who had become quadriplegics as a result of spinal cord injuries to the neck. The purpose of the game is for players to score goals by touching or crossing the opponent’s goal-line while maintaining possession of the ball. Using a volleyball, players carry, dribble or pass the ball while moving toward the opponent’s goal area. The player in possession of the ball must dribble or pass at least once every ten seconds. A goal is scored when a player in control of the ball touches the goal-line with two wheels. It is believed to be the fastest growing wheelchair sport in the world. After being a demonstration event at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, wheelchair rugby became a full medal sport at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. Full contact sport. The athletes’ village has a welding workshop for repair to chairs after collisions.

(Adaptive) Rowing
Rowing was introduced to the Paralympic Programme in 2005 and will make it’s debut to the Games in Beijing in 2008. Rowers compete in four Paralympic boat classes – men’s arms only single scull (AM1x), women’s arms only single scull (AW1x), trunk and arms mixed double (TA2x) and legs, trunk and arms mixed coxed four (LTA4+) and each class race over a distance of 1000m. Rowing is open to athletes with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, lower-limb amputations and visual impairments.

Sailing
Sailing was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games and became a full-medal sport at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. Crews of three athletes compete aboard the 23-foot keelboats in the Sonar event. The 2.4mR is a single-handed keelboat. Both events are open to male and female competitors. There are slight modifications in equipment and a scoring system assigns points based on a level of disability, which allows athletes from different disability groups to compete together. Sailing is open to amputee, cerebral palsy, visually impaired, wheelchair and les autres athletes

Shooting
Shooting became a Paralympic Games sport in 1980 during the sixth Paralympic Games in Arnhem. The shooting competition is divided into rifle and pistol events, air and .22 calibre. Athletes shoot from three positions: standing or sitting, kneeling and prone. The programme includes men’s, women’s, mixed and team events, although team events are not held at the Paralympic Games.

Swimming
Swimming has been a Paralympic Games event since the first games were held in Rome in 1960. It is one of the largest and most popular competitive events in the Paralympic Games. Athletes compete in freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke, individual medley and relay ranging from 50m to 400m. Swimming is open to all disability groups, including swimmers with spinal cord injuries, swimmers with cerebral palsy, swimmers with amputations and others swimmers including those with progressive diseases such a muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis, dwarfs, swimmers with joint disabilities including stiffness, spina bifida, swimmers with a combinations of different disabilities, etc; blind and partially-sighted swimmers.

Table Tennis
Table tennis has been a Paralympic sport since the first Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. Table tennis is played in over 50 countries and in terms of the number of participating athletes is the fourth largest Paralympic Games sport behind athletics, swimming and powerlifting. Table tennis competitions take two forms at the Paralympic Games: standing and wheelchair events (sitting). Individual and team, men’s and women’s events are included in the program.

Wheelchair Tennis
Wheelchair tennis was a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games and became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona, with men’s and women’s singles and doubles events being a part of every Paralympic Tennis event since then. The Quad division (for players affected in three or more limbs) made its Paralympic Games debut in Athens in 2004, where Peter Norfolk MBE became Great Britain’s first-ever Paralympic Games gold medallist in tennis, winning the quad singles title before partnering Mark Eccleston to silver in the quad doubles.

Volleyball
Volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in Arnhem in 1980. Originally both standing and sitting competitions were included in the Games, however, standing volleyball was removed from the programme following the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney. In sitting volleyball the court is smaller than standard (6x10m) and has a lower net, so the game is a considerable faster than the standing equivalent. The game lasts up to five sets and the winning team is the first to win three sets. The team winning the set is the one to reach 25 points with at least a two-point lead.

source: telegraph.co.uk

A day after a spectacular fireworks display brought down the curtain on the Beijing Olympics, politics is once again at the forefront, with the US strongly criticizing Chinese authorities after eight American pro-Tibet activists were deported.
Washington said it was disappointed the Olympics did not bring more “openness and tolerance” to China.
The US said the eight were deported by Chinese authorities at 9pm on Sunday – while the Olympics closing ceremony was taking place – on a flight to Los Angeles.
A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Beijing called on China “to take positive steps to address international and domestic concerns about its record on human rights and religious freedoms”.

‘Irreversible path’
Tokyo also called for China to open up more on Monday.
“Holding the Olympics was good in terms of China taking a more democratic path. We believe this is an irreversible path,” Nobutaka Machimura, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said.
“While the reformist, open-door policy is said to be making progress in China, it is not always leaping forward,” the spokesman for the government said.
The Olympics should allow Chinese people to “realise how normal, or abnormal, what they are doing is from an international point of view”, he added, responding to a question from a reporter about China’s treatment of ethnic minorities.

Detention
The eight Americans were detained last week for staging a pro-Tibet protest in Beijing and given 10-day sentences, triggering pressure from Clark Randt, the US ambassador, for their release.
They were let go before completing their jail terms.
In addition to the eight Americans, a Briton and a Tibetan-German who were also detained last week, were reportedly also deported.
Activists group Students for a Free Tibet welcomed the news of the release but suggested China was motivated mainly by propaganda concerns.
“After two days of negative publicity over its extra judicial detention of ten Tibet supporters, the Chinese government is seeking to suppress a story that would have cast a shadow over the closing ceremony of these Olympic Games,” said Lhadon Tethong, the group’s executive director.
Pro-Tibet campaigners carried out at least eight public protests in Beijing in the run-up to the Olympics and during the games, despite tight security.
No rallies were held throughout the games in three parks designated as protest zones after Chinese officials declined to issue permits to 77 applicants, and detained some of them.
The authorities expelled foreign activists within a day or two after the early protests, but then appeared to toughen their approach by announcing punishments of 10 days in detention.

Japanese officials on Tuesday denied a report that the track cycling sport of keirin may have bribed its way into the Olympic Games.
The BBC said an investigation had uncovered documents outlining payments of $3 million from the Japan Keirin Association (JKA) to cycling’s world governing body the UCI.
But a senior Japanese official insisted there had been no wrongdoing before keirin first entered the Olympics at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
“The JKA has been co-operating with the UCI for many years to develop keirin and we have been involved in various activities to improve the sport,” the JKA’s Akihiro Matsukawa said.
“I have not been able to verify the documents the BBC say they have but the JKA denies the claims (of bribery).”
Keirin, which involves riders following a motorbike for several laps before a sprint finish, is big business in Japan, its country of origin, generating huge gambling revenues.
Hein Verbruggen, president of the UCI from 1991 to 2005, also protested his innocence.
“It has been done in total transparency,” Verbruggen, currently the International Olympic Committee’s chief inspector, told the BBC.
“This was done for the development of track cycling around the world.”
Britain’s Chris Hoy won keirin gold at this year’s world championships in Manchester and will start as favorite in Beijing.

(Writing by Alastair Himmer in Tokyo; Editing by Ed Osmond)

from: reuters.com

Japanese athletes may don masks made for construction workers to cope with air pollution during the Beijing Olympics, a doctor affiliated with the Japanese Olympic Committee said on Tuesday.

More and more athletes from around the world are considering wearing face masks for the Games, despite official promises of clearer skies in Beijing and warnings that pictures of masked competitors could embarrass host China.

“Our previous research shows the amount of dust in the air is high in Beijing, and that may affect some of the Japanese athletes,” Takao Akama, the committee’s medical adviser, told Reuters.

Marathon runners and bicyclists might not be the only ones who opt to use the masks during competition.

“Some athletes are sensitive, so we have decided to have those pollution masks ready for any member of the Japanese Olympic team who would like to use one,” said Akama, a physician at Waseda University in Tokyo.

Koken Ltd, the company that makes the mask, has supplied the committee with 500 industrial-strength masks, designed for use on construction sites. Japan’s team has almost 600 members.

Beijing’s air pollution, a sometimes acrid mix of construction dust, vehicle exhaust and factory and power plant fumes, has been one of the biggest worries for Games organizers.

On Tuesday, state media quoted Beijing authorities as saying sauna-like weather trapping hazy pollution in the Olympic host city would not last throughout the games in August. Chinese officials have repeatedly said there is no need for foreign athletes to bring masks. Beijing is also considering additional pollution controls if the air stays too dirty.

(Reporting by Naoto Okamura, editing by Linda Sieg and Sophie Hardach)

source: reuters.com

Once upon a time it was customary for the host nation to be able to add a sport to the Olympic program.
So when the Games were in Tokyo in 1964, judo came on board. And it is easy to see why since the Japanese usually dominate the sport.
In the 14 weight classes (seven for men and seven for women) at the Athens Olympics, Japan placed a competitor in 10 gold medal matches. The Japanese won eight of the 10.
The participants in each weight class are divided into two direct-elimination pools and the winner of the two pools meet for the gold medal.
This is also a sport where it pays to cheer for the person who beat you in an early round. All those who lose to the eventual pool champion make up two second-chance pools and the winners of those each get a bronze medal.
Judo is one of only two sports in the Olympics, boxing being the other, where two bronze medals are awarded.

from: jappone.blogspot.com

Winning a fourth consecutive gold medal is only part of the mission in Beijing for the US Olympic softball team. The American women must also try to rescue their sport from Olympic exile.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials voted in 2005 to drop softball and baseball from the Summer Games after Beijing, although both sports are making a bid to have the IOC reconsider the decision.

“We’ve got two things in mind, win gold and get softball in people’s minds,” US outfielder Laura Berg said. “There are 128 countries that play the sport. It is important the IOC sees that.”

The US women might be victims of their own domination, having won all three Olympic golds with a combined 25-4 record. They went 9-0 in 2004 at Athens, outscoring foes 51-1 and only allowing Australia a late run in the title game.

“We can prove softball should remain in the Olympics if we just go out and play to the best of our ability and win,” US pitcher Cat Osterman said. “The biggest thing we can do is show them the best softball they have ever seen.”

Some feel the IOC punished baseball for the fact Major League Baseball, hit with recent doping scandals, will not shut down its season to send stars to the Olympics with softball thrown out for being a women’s version of the same game.

“It was about baseball,” US standout Jessica Mendoza said. “To me that’s disrespectful, that they would remove a sport without knowing about it.

“That’s where I think the IOC needs to do us right. We don’t take steroids. We’re not turning down the Olympics to make millions of dollars.

“My challenge is to get the IOC to come and watch a game, look these girls in the eye and tell me this sport should be taken from the Olympics.”

Whether IOC members ever bother to go and watch a game, softball has been ejected for London in 2012 and has an uphill fight for a place in 2016 at either Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid or Rio de Janeiro.

US pin-up Jennie Finch, a fireball pitcher who became a mother since starring in 2004, hopes for reinstatement thanks to global growth.

“Interest in the game is at an all-time high,” Finch said. “More for outside the US, it’s important for dreams of girls in places like Croatia and Japan. We look at Beijing as a world-class stage to prove we belong.”

Japan, third in Athens and second at the 2006 world championships and 2007 World Cup, could provide the biggest US threat with pitcher Yukiko Ueno, who hurled the first perfect game in Olympic history against China in 2004.

The Japanese also boast outfielder Eri Yamada, nicknamed the “Female Ichiro” for batting success similar to Japan’s Ichiro Suzuki, a baseball star for the Seattle Mariners.

The Aussies, with two Olympic bronzes and a silver, are led by Stacey Porter and veteran pitcher Tanya Harding while Canada could challenge behind pitcher Lauren Bay, whose older brother Jason stars for baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates.

China will seek a podium finish after coming fourth at two Olympics and three world tournaments. Venezuela and the Netherlands complete the field.

from: afp.google.com

Japanese swim star Kosuke Kitajima relishes the role of the challenger, but he will have to adopt that of the favourite when he defends his 100m and 200 Olympic breaststroke titles in Beijing.
It was as a challenger that Kitajima won the double gold haul in Athens four years ago. Only a month earlier, Brendan Hansen had broken Kitajima’s world records in both distances to fire him up for revenge. The American had to settle for the silver in the 100m and the bronze in the 200m in Athens. But the situation has changed ahead of the Beijing Games. Kitajima slashed Hansen’s 200m world record by 0.99 second to 2:07.51 at a domestic meet in June, two months before the Olympic opening ceremony, wearing Speedo’s blockbuster LZR Racer swimsuit for the first time. And, a month later, Hansen booked a 100m Olympic berth but foundered in the 200m at the US trials. Hansen was also wearing the sensational new swimwear, bypassing his contract to rival maker Nike. But, visibly nervous, he could not come close to any world record by stalling in the last lap in both trials.
“He didn’t seem to set down a marker and rise to the challenge just one month ahead of the (Olympic) showdown,” Kitajima said of Hansen’s performances. “I’ll just do what I have to do now.” Hansen was run down in the 200m trial by his training partners Scott Spann and Eric Shanteau who claimed the first and second places needed to qualify for Beijing. “It’s going to be hard, but I’m going to show these guys what they need to do to beat him,” said Hansen, apparently referring to Kitajima. Kitajima, the 25-year-old son of a Tokyo butcher, still feels he is the one to make a challenge. He has not beaten Hansen head to head since 2005 while the American, who will turn 27 in August, kept lowering world marks. “I feel like crying,” Kitajima said when he broke Hansen’s 200m mark. “I will go out fighting as if I am a challenger.” “I only have the gold medals on my mind. I won’t come home if I don’t get them,” he said ahead of his third Olympics.
Kitajima finished fourth in the 100m at the 2000 Sydney Games, the best finish for Japanese male swimmers at that date. His first world-class victory came at the 2002 Pan-Pacific championships when he won the 100m, followed by double gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games where he set his first world record of 2:09.97 in the 200m. Kitajima lowered the mark in 2003. But Hansen rewrote it at the 2004 Olympic trials and then twice in 2006. Hansen has also held the 100m world record since he broke Kitajima’s mark in 2004 and lowered it to 59.13 in 2006. At the world championships last year, Hansen beat Kitajima into second spot in the 100m. But viral infection forced the American to withdraw from the 200m won by Kitajima. Relatively small at 177 centimeters (5.8 feet) and 72 kilogrammess (159 pounds), Kitajima is known for his efficient swimming style, compared to Hansen’s powerful strokes.
After building up his muscles, Kitajima has expanded the length of his strokes by 1.5 times this year to match his big kicks, in what his coach Norimasa Hirai calls “four-wheel-drive swimming.” Kitajima’s latest world record has prompted the Japanese Swimming Federation to allow Japanese swimmers to use the LZR in Beijing, despite its contract with domestic suppliers. “It’s me that swims,” a bitter message in Japanese read on Kitajima’s T-shirt before he broke down the time and contractual barriers – undoubtedly meaning it’s not the bodysuit that races.

from: dailytimes.com.pk

The election of the host city of the 2016 Games will take place on 2 October 2009 during the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen. IOC members will cast their votes until one city has obtained a majority.

from: olympic.org

The dream meet for athletes can be poison for economists. Many host countries of previous Olympics have faced economic slowdown after the Games following a growth burst in the run-up to the event. Is China going the same way?
Most economists and financial analysts tell China Business Weekly that the country doesn’t need to worry about a post-Olympic slowdown. A growing service industry and a maturing middle class will ensure continued growth. Besides, industries such as those related to environmental protection and renewable energy will generate new and solid investment opportunities.
So does China need to be afraid at all?
“My answer,” says Chen Jian, secretary-general of Beijing Olympic Economy Research Association, “is an absolute ‘no’.”
He points out that the so-called post-Olympic downturn, called “Valley Effect” or “V-low Effect” by experts, is mainly caused by a dramatic increase in investment in the pre-Olympics stage, accompanied by a boom in consumption and revenues. Investment and consumption shrink in the post-Olympic stage, which also comes with the heavy burden of maintenance cost for idle Games venues.
“However, these are impossible in China after 2008,” says Chen.
Seung Ho Park, president of non-profit Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI), says a short-term economic lull right after the Games is expected, but all countries recover thereafter.
“The host gets comprehensive benefits out of the event – in terms of national image, popular enthusiasm and living quality. We should not see it from the economic perspective only,” he says, citing Japan and South Korea as examples. Despite experiencing economic downturns immediately after the Olympics, they have evolved into two of the biggest economies in Asia thanks to the Games.

Investment momentum
One of the sponsors of the Beijing Games, Bank of China (BOC), has carried out a study of 12 sessions of the Games spanning 60 years. In nine of these 12 sessions, the hosts’ annual GDP growth in eight years after the Olympics was 0.4 to 2.5 percent lower that the eight years running up to the event, showing an economic slowdown after the mother of all sporting meets is commonplace.
Following the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and Seoul Olympics in 1988, Japanese and South Korean economies slowed by more than 2 percent on a year-on-year basis. Both nations had been enjoying double-digit growth in the run-up to the Olympics.
“Our analysis finds that the deceleration occurs largely in small nations,” says Zhu Min, vice-president of BOC, adding the effect of the Games on large nations has been relatively small.
Echoing Zhu, Zhao Jinping, researcher with Development Research Center of the State Council, says Beijing’s economy makes up 4 to 5 percent of China’s, while Tokyo and Seoul accounted for about 10 percent of Japan’s and South Korea’s economies.
“So even if Beijing grows at a relatively slower speed, China’s progress, in general, is unlikely to slow,” says Zhao.
China is also a huge market undergoing rapid development, so there are numerous investment opportunities in any case, such as infrastructure, energy, manufactures and services, which means an economic deceleration due to inadequate investment is an unlikely scenario.
In addition, China will host a series of international events and embark on mega projects right after the Olympics, which may further accelerate the economy. These include the 200 billion yuan Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, South-North Water Project, the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Experts also predict that the Olympic Games will mark the beginning of a new chapter for China’s tertiary industry, involving tourism, finance, culture, exhibition, sports and real estate sectors. China’s service segment now contributes around 30 percent to the nation’s GDP, which is far behind the 65-75 percent in developed nations.
Zhao says the service industry can effectively increase job opportunities and enhance living standards. It will also greatly optimize the structure of China’s economy and facilitate sustainable and sound development.
Chen predicts the 2008 Olympics will also continue to benefit the country’s tourism industry for about a decade after the event. His association forecasts 600,000 foreigners will flood into the capital for the Games. Some 4.5 million foreign tourists are expected to come to Beijing this year, spending a total of $4.8 to $4.9 billion. That number is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8 to 9 percent, meaning 5 million to 5.3 million foreign tourists may visit the capital in 2010, spending between $5.3 and $5.6 billion.

Tourism boost
Barcelona is a good example of how Olympics boosts tourism. The host city of the 1992 Games spent $7 billion to build its Olympic Center on a virgin beach and developed it into a tourism area, which has become a landmark resort for not only Spain but the entire Europe. The coastal city, which was ranked 16th in the Top Tourism European Cities list in 1992, jumped to the third position after the Games.
Many foreign service operators are confident of China’s post-Olympic opportunities. WPP CEO Sir Martine Sorrell declared during his trip to China in October that the advertisement and consulting giant would invest more in China even as some predicted a post-Olympic slowdown.
“WPP is well prepared to tackle the expected ‘bump’. The growth will carry on for a number of years,” he said. “Maybe others will disappear, get scared and leave, but it will only give us more scope.”
Experts say the Olympics do wonders for a nation’s image. “It is a chance to showcase China’s open, peaceful and transparent progress in all fields, which will enhance investors’ confidence in the nation,”says Chen.
SERI’s Park stresses that Olympics can provide local corporations a global platform. “It turned Sony, Honda, Korean Air and Samsung into global brands. Many Japanese and South Korean companies began to emerge in the world market following the Tokyo and Seoul Games,” says Park. He believes the Beijing Games will have a similar effect on Lenovo, China Mobile, Bank of China and Air China.
Take Yili for example. It’s the only dairy sponsor of the Beijing Olympics. “The Games is an opportunity for us to turn from a national to an international brand,” says Pan Gang, president of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group. The company currently exports dairy products to 20 countries and regions.
Yili generated an operating revenue of 19.4 billion yuan last year, up 17.56 percent over 2006, with a net profit of 439 million yuan. Its 2008 target for operating revenue is 21.6 billion yuan and a net profit of 600 million yuan.
“We completed restructuring our products structure in the first half of 2007, with high-value and hi-tech products now accounting for 40 percent of Yili’s total operation,” says Pan, adding the Olympics sponsorship has prompted it to upgrade the product structure.

from: chinadaily.com.cn 

TOKYO – World champions Germany secured the final spot in this year’s Beijing Olympics men’s hockey tournament after overpowering hosts Japan 4-0 on Sunday.
The world’s top-ranked side won all six of their matches in the final Olympic qualifying tournament in Gifu, scoring 34 goals without conceding one.
Christopher Zeller scored twice for the Germans, who had defeated Japan by the same scoreline in midweek. They also racked up an 8-0 win over Italy and pummelled Switzerland 10-0.
Japan, bidding to reach their first Olympic tournament since the 1968 Mexico Games, had their chances but were guilty of poor finishing, in contrast to the clinical Germans.
Florian Keller smashed in Germany’s opening goal after 15 minutes before Zeller doubled their lead moments into the second half.
Zeller added another goal in the 47th minute and Sebastian Draguhn completed a comfortable victory for Germany with a smart finish two minutes from time.

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Betrayed finally by the body which once hurtled along a track faster than any man in the world, Maurice Greene reached journey’s end this month.
At the age of 33, the 2000 Sydney Olympics 100 meters champion conceded that he could not get in shape in time for the Beijing Games and announced his retirement.
“I was getting these little nagging injuries that have just stopped me from training the way that I need to,” Greene told Reuters in a telephone interview from Los Angeles this week.
“It’s a mental battle trying to come back from injuries and I don’t feel like having that mental battle with myself.”
American hegemony in the men’s 100 metres has been taken for granted since the rebirth of the Olympic Games in 1896. In reality, there have been lulls; notably in the 1920s and 1970s and again in the 1990s, the decade when Greene’s raw talent first became apparent in his home town of Kansas City.
After Carl Lewis had run his last great race at the 1991 Tokyo world championships, Linford Christie won the 1992 Olympic title for Britain in Barcelona.
Christie captured the 1993 world title and was then succeeded as world and Olympic champion by another Jamaican-born sprinter, Canadian Donovan Bailey.
Meanwhile, Greene was eliminated in the quarter-finals at the 1995 Gothenburg world championships and, hampered by a hamstring injury, failed to qualify for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics team.

Maurice Greene, former US world and Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m sprints said he would not be competing in the 2008 Games and that his future would probably be in coaching. The veteran Greene, who won the 100m and 200m gold in Sydney in 2000, said that he was sad he would not race here in August but felt the United States had a worthy successor in Tyson Gay

HARD PATH
Greene came up the hard way. In Kansas City he worked in fast food outlets, emptied trucks and tore tickets at a movie theatre. Frustrated by his lack of progress in athletics, he decided in 1996 to drive to Los Angeles with his father Ernest to train with John Smith, by common consent the best sprint coach in the world.
“I just told myself I needed a change,” Greene recalled. “If I really wanted to do something I had to go to someplace else. I decided to go to John Smith.
“He worked me very hard. He asked me what I wanted to do and I wanted to be the best in the world.”
Training with the equally competitive Trinidadian Ato Boldon, who was to finish second to the American in Sydney, Greene set out to attain his goal.
“We knew if we both wanted to be successful we had to work together to get to where we wanted to be,” Greene said.
“He taught me things and I learned a lot from him and we began to study the sport more and learn more things about the sport. We became a dynamic duo.”
Greene’s breakthrough came in 1997 when he won the world 100 metres title in Athens. In the following year he set a world indoor 60 metres record of 6.39 seconds which still stands and then came his golden year of 1999 when he clocked a world 100 record of 9.79 seconds in Athens and the first world 100-200 double in Seville.
“Everybody was talking about U.S. sprint domination being over,” Greene said. “As a U.S. athlete I don’t like that kind of talk.”

JOHNSON TIME
The 100 record held particular significance for Greene.
Bailey’s mark of 9.84 set at the Atlanta Games was the official mark. But everybody knew that Ben Johnson had clocked 9.79 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a record that was never ratified after the Canadian’s positive test for steroids.
“I started to really study races and that’s when I really started to piece together how to run that sort of time,” Greene said.
At the turn of the century, Greene was at the top of the world, a position confirmed in 2000 when he won the Sydney Olympic 100 and anchored the 4×100 relay team to victory.
Then came the 2001 Edmonton world 100 final which developed into what Greene believes was his best and also his most frustrating performance.
Greene hobbled over the line after sustaining quadricep and hamstring injuries. Incredibly he still clocked 9.82 seconds, only 0.08 seconds outside Jamaican Asafa Powell’s current record.
“If you look at the race closely, at 65 metres there was a grimace on my face. I just hobbled the rest of the way. The good Lord let me finish that race and I still ran 9.82,” he said.
Asked what the time would have been had he not been injured, Greene replied: “I would say around 9.6.”
Injuries came increasingly to define Greene’s life, although there was one last chance of glory at the 2004 Athens Olympics when he believes he should have beaten compatriot Justin Gatlin.
Greene eased up in the semi-finals and paid for a slow time by getting lane seven in the final, won by Gatlin ahead of Portuguese Francis Obikwelu with Greene third in the closest Olympic three-way 100 metres finish.
“I should have run all the way through instead of easing up. I would have had a better lane and then I could have felt what was going on in the middle of the track,” he said.
“I basically ran that race blind. I’ve always said I messed that race up, I threw away my gold medal.”
Greene’s record stands comparison with any of his predecessors and his tally of 52 sub-10 second marks, far ahead of Powell’s 33, shows his remarkable consistency.
Asked recently who he considered the greatest 100 metres sprinter ever, Powell did not name Lewis or 1936 Olympic quadruple gold medalist Jesse Owens.
Instead he chose Greene “because of his technical abilities and his consistency over the years”.
“I’m flattered that he would say that about me,” Greene responded. “I would want to believe, hope to believe, that I was up there at the top.”

from: chinadaily.com.cn

Brazil on Sunday remained on its throne as the world’s top volleyball powerhouse. The Brazilians, which have more-or-less dominated the sport since 2001, won their second straight World Cup by easily overcoming host Japan 3-1 before an enthusiastic crowd of 10,000, a match punctuated by the Brazilians’ samba celebrations and high-flying game. Tokyo has apparently turned into a “home venue” for the Brazilians as they also won the previous world cup (2003) again in the Japanese metropolis, the same city where they were crowned World Champions in 2006 and where they won the Grand Champions Cup (2005). The reigning Olympic and World Champions Brazil are the second team to win back-to-back World Cups after the former Soviet Union, which won the trophy in 1977 and 1981, along with 1965 and 1991. Russia and Bulgaria picked up the two other berths for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Russia recovered from its previous losses to Bulgaria and Brazil by beating the USA team 3-2 in the top match of the 11th day. Wild card entry Bulgaria easily defeated South American runner up Argentina 3-0. Meanwhile, Spain notched its seventh victory by defeating, in 3-1 sets, Tunisia (1-10), while the World Cup closed with two surprises: Wild card entry Korea (2-9) beat NORCECA runner up Puerto Rico (5-6) in 3-2 sets, and African Champion Egypt (3-8) overcame Asian Champion Australia (4-7) in four sets.

The FIVB President, Dr. Rubén Acosta, awards the MVP Giba

Bulgaria booked a place in the 2008 Olympic Games by sweeping Argentina 3-0 in the first match of the day at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The tournament wild cards, ranked seventh in the world, beat the South American vice champions 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 to finish the 12-team round-robin with a 9-2 record, good enough to secure a podium finish and a place in Beijing. Argentina, ranked ninth in the world, ended with a losing 5-6 record. Head Coach Martin Stoev said: “For sure this was not our best game, but the most important thing was to gain the victory. The main goal was to gain the ticket for the Olympics. This was the key point, and we came up in this short period”. Meanwhile Bulgarian Captain Plamen Konstantinov stated: “I am very happy about this victory and about this tournament because finally we reached the Olympics. This was the most important tournament for us of this year and maybe of the last four years because we were preparing all those years to reach the Olympics. So this is a big day for Bulgarian volleyball. I hope we will make a great Olympic Games.”

Russia joined Brazil and Bulgaria in the Beijing Olympics by beating USA 3-2 in a World Cup decider at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. The Russians won 25-23, 20-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-8 to improve to 9-2 and leave USA stranded on 8-3 and out of the top three. It was a wonderful match for the fans, full of crashing blocks and occasionally heating over due to the fierce rivalry between the teams and the massive prize at stake. Russian player Semen Poltavskiy said: “I do not have anything in particular to say about the game, other than that it was very important to win because it meant we could go to the Olympics. We achieved that and that is the only thing that matters. We are always amazed at the excellent organization in Japan.”

After an early struggle, World No. 1 Brazil put Japan in their place 3-1 in the last match of the World Cup at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Sunday night. The reigning Olympic and world champions recovered from losing the first set to emerge victorious 23-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 and defend their World Cup title with a 10-1 record. Japan, playing before a crowd of 10,000, dropped to 3-8 but emerged from their last match with a lot of credit and pride in tact. They were also leading the fourth set 7-2, but the seven points were wiped out due to a technicality on the line-up rotation. Head Coach Bernardo Rezende said: “It was a tough match after a tough match yesterday against Russia, which was like a final. We suffered from the beginning and lacked a bit of energy and focus. Japan played loose and calm with no responsibility, but we managed to fight to the end and win under this pressure. At the start of the fourth set Japan lost seven points due to the referee’s mistake. We have two World Championships, two World Cups and our aim is to end this cycle with two Olympic gold medals. Now we are at the end of the seventh year with this team, and one more year to go. This is a great conclusion to the seventh year. We have to party for one night and from tomorrow think about Beijing and improve what we are lacking.”

European Champions Spain downed African Vice Champions Tunisia in four sets on Sunday to end the men’s World Cup with a 7-4 record. Man of the match Guillermo Falasca inspired the Spanish to a 25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 25-18 win at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo, handing the Tunisians their 10th defeat of the tournament. The Spanish were comfortably in control from the start against Tunisia, with Jose Luis Molto’s spike putting the Europeans five ahead at the first technical timeout. Spanish captain Rafael Pascual said: “Today was the last day and we are satisfied with this result. Maybe we will finish fifth in the rankings and this helps us in the qualifying for the Olympics and helps us with our effort in getting a good result. I’d like to thank the FIVB for the good decision of choosing Japan for hosting the event”.

Asian Wild Cards Korea showed real heart to beat NORCECA Vice Champions Puerto Rico in a rollercoaster five-set match. The Koreans won 21-25, 25-18, 26-24, 20-25, 15-8 for only their second win out of 11, while the Puerto Ricans dropped to 5-6. Man of the match Moon Sung-Min inspired Korea with some brilliant play throughout the game and was a popular choice among the pro-Korean crowd. Korean captain Shin Young-Soo said: “We hadn’t had good results until now so we have been frustrated but we could do our best today. I want to thank all the players for their effort. The members of the team by next May (the time of the next Olympic qualifying tournament) will be different but the most important thing now is to improve our defensive skills. In our team there are a lot of young players so it is necessary for us to improve our skills in dealing with moments of crisis”.

African Champions Egypt downed Asian Champions Australia in four sets. Man of the match Abdalla Ahmed recovered from a head injury in the early stages to inspire Egypt to a 25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-22 victory at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo. It was Egypt’s third victory of the tournament, while Australia dropped to 4-7. Egyptian head coach Ahmed Zakaria Ahmed said: “Today was the best result in the Egypt’s history for volleyball. If we could have played like this from the beginning our end position would have been better. I’m very happy today and we thank the organization and the Japanese and we will come back for the World League and play Japan.”

FINAL STANDINGS

1. Brazil
2. Russia
3. Bulgaria
4. USA
5. Spain
6. Puerto Rico
7. Argentina
8. Australia
9. Japan
10. Egypt
11. Korea
12. Tunisia

from: beijing2008.com

Bulgaria on Friday ended Russia’s undefeated streak, leaving the latter and Brazil with a share of first place. Bulgaria and the USA, along with leaders Russia and Brazil, will now vie for the first three spots at the world cup that lead to a berth for the Beijing Olympics next year. Bulgaria’s major upset came during the ninth day of play at the ongoing World Cup in Japan. The wild card entry team beat previously undefeated Russia 3-2 in a thrilling match. In another outstanding match, Brazil, the current titleholder, easily defeated rival Argentina 3-0 during a swift and decisive victory that more-or-less leads down the road to Beijing. The NORCECA champions, the USA team, beat host Japan 3-0 before a partisan crowd of 10,000 spectators. In other matches, European Champions Spain beat Australia 3-0, Puerto Rico defeated Tunisia 3-0 and Egypt posted its first victory over Republic of Korea 3-1. With the results on Friday, Brazil and Russia lead the standings with eight victories in nine matches. With Friday’s result the race for the first three spots, which lead to a direct berth for next year’s Beijing Olympic Games, is wide open, with the matches over the next two days determining the title and the Olympic berths. The showdown of the tournament comes tomorrow with the Russia-Brazil game, while on Sunday the Russian team faces the USA. Meanwhile, Brazil on Sunday will face Japan. The USA teams goes up against Argentina on Saturday, while Bulgaria will face Japan the same day, followed by Argentina on Sunday.

Russian Yury Berezhko spikes against Bulgarian Nikolov, Ivanov and Kaziyski

The European heavyweight contest went the distance at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Friday before Bulgaria landed the knockout blow in the tiebreak, beating Russia 3-2 in a bruising encounter. The two Euro giants slugged it out point for point, set by set, until Vladimir Nikolov, rising on the right, beat the Russian block to end it. With the 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12 victory, Bulgaria improved to 7-2 and took a massive step on the road to Beijing. Russia suffered their first defeat of the World Cup and dropped to 8-1. Bulgarian Head Coach Martin Stoev said: “I was very happy about the victory today. It was a very important match for us in this tournament, and we have not beaten Russia for four years. Brazil and Russia have one defeat, and we have two, so we need to win the two remaining games.”

Brazil swept Argentina 3-0 in the South American “derby”. The World Cup holders continued their dominance over their regional rivals with a business-like 25-20, 25-22, 25-16 victory to improve their win-loss record to 8-1. After losing their first match of the tournament 3-0 to the United States, the reigning Olympic and world champions have won eight straight without dropping a set. Argentina, who qualified for the World Cup as South American vice champions behind Brazil, dropped to 5-4 with two matches to play. Brazilian Captain Giba said: “It was a good match today. Brazil played very well. Argentina is so difficult to play against because they have a very good defense. All the time I say forget about this match and think of the next match because all the time the next match is the most difficult.”

The United States maintained their hopes of a World Cup podium finish by beating Japan 3-0. The Americans improved their win-loss record to 7-2 with an impressive 25-18, 27-25, 25-19 victory over Japan, who missed one set point in the second frame and slipped to 3-6. Having suffered two defeats already, to Puerto Rico and Spain, the United States needed three wins from the final phase to stand a chance of qualifying for Beijing, especially after Bulgaria’s victory over Russia. Head Coach Hugh McCutcheon: “Of course we are very happy to come away with a victory this evening. It is always tough playing Japan in Japan and tonight was no exception. After the two days off our team was able to get back into a pretty good rhythm. Once we settled down into a good service rhythm and got some block and defense going we played pretty well.”

In Site B, NORCECA vice champions Puerto Rico crushed Tunisia in straight sets at Komazawa Gymnasium in Tokyo. The Puerto Ricans, lead well by man of the match Hector Soto and Jose Rivera, won 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 to improve to 5-4, while Tunisia dropped to 1-8. With two matches left to play, the Tunisians will be hoping for a victory against fellow strugglers Egypt while Puerto will be confident, on this form, of finishing with two more victories against Australia and Republic of Korea. They are aiming to finish as high as fourth place. Puerto Rican Head Coach Carlos Cardona said: “Today we were supposed to have a tough game but we played well. We tend to lose concentration if we have more than 24 hours off but we were very happy to win the first match in Tokyo”.

At the ninth time of asking, Egypt earned their first victory in the men’s World Cup by coming from a set down to beat Republic of Korea 21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22. Man of the match Abdalla Ahmed inspired the North Africans alongside Mohamed Gabal as Republic of Korea dropped to 1-8. Cue delirious celebrations from Egypt. They’d finally won one. “It was the first win for our team and it is mentally good for the players. The first reason why we won is that we had a strong block. Tomorrow, it will be special because we play Tunisia and we hope to win for the next two matches”, said Egyptian Head Coach Zakaria Ahmed.

European champions Spain proved too strong for Asian champions Australia in a final-round match-up. Man of the match Manuel Sevillano eclipsed Aussie danger man Paul Carroll as the Spanish won 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 to improve to 5-4, while the Aussies dropped to 3-6. Spanish Head Coach Marcelo Mendez stated: “We were a little bit tired but it’s good to be able to maintain our concentration in this condition, I think our teamwork is getting better and I’m happy being in this round in this condition. Our service was good although we had a few mistakes but overall it was good and I was happy we could win”.

COMPETITION SCHEDULE (4th ROUND)

Tokyo (A) 01 Dec 14:05 05:05 Argentina-USA
Tokyo (A) 01 Dec 16:35 07:35 Brazil-Russia
Tokyo (A) 01 Dec 19:30 10:30 Japan-Bulgaria
Tokyo (B) 01 Dec 12:35 03:35 Egypt-Tunisia
Tokyo (B) 01 Dec 15:05 06:05 Spain-KOR
Tokyo (B) 01 Dec 18:05 09:05 Australia-Puerto Rico
Tokyo (A) 02 Dec 14:05 05:05 Argentina-Bulgaria
Tokyo (A) 02 Dec 16:35 07:35 Russia-USA
Tokyo (A) 02 Dec 19:30 10:30 Japan-Brazil
Tokyo (B) 02 Dec 12:05 03:05 Spain-Tunisia
Tokyo (B) 02 Dec 14:35 05:35 KOR-Puerto Rico
Tokyo (B) 02 Dec 17:35 08:35 Australia-Egypt

(Credit: FIVB. Click here for further information.)
From: beijing2008.cn