Chinese Thing

Tia Hellebaut wins Belgium first gold medal

2008-08-24T07:55:00.004-07:00

With only one day left, Belgium finally got on to the Beijing Olympic gold medals table when Tia Hellebaut won a women's high jump title in Beijing on Saturday.

Tia Hellebaut of Belgium celebrates with Blanka Vlasic of Croatia after the women's high jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Tia Hellebaut won the title with 2.05 metres. Blanka Vlasic took the silver.

The 30-year-old Hellebaut, the world indoor pentathlon champion, cleared 2.05 meters on her first attempt to claim the gold medal

Croatian Blanka Vlasic had to settle for the silver as she failed the first attempt on 2.05. The world champion, who had the eight best marks of the season and was a big favorite coming into the Olympics, didn't miss at any heights until her first go at 2.05 meters, which she cleared on her second attempt.

The bronze medal went to Russian Anna Chicherova with 2.03 meters.

Another Russian Elena Slesarenko, the 2004 Athens gold medalist and two-time world indoors champion, was fourth at 2.01.

Source: Xinhua

United States wins Olympic gold for women's basketball

2008-08-24T07:55:00.003-07:00

Players of the U.S. women's volleyball team wave on the podium after winning the silver medal of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.

Australian women's basketball team attend the awarding ceremony of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games basketball event at Olympic Basketball Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.
Defending champions United States won their fourth consecutive Olympic women's basketball gold medal on Saturday, beating Australia 92-65 in the third final between two sides since the 2000 Olympics.

The U.S. led the first half 47-30.

Samuel Kamau Wansiru of Kenya winns marathon gold medal

2008-08-24T07:55:00.001-07:00

Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru crosses the finish line during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title.

Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru crosses the finish line during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title.

Kenya's Samuel Kamau Wansiru competes during men's marathon final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the title.
-- Samuel Kamau Wansiru won the men's marathon, the final event of the Beijing Games track and field sports, with a perfect performance at the long-distance running on Sunday.

After dominated the distance running in the Bird's Nest, the 21-year-old Kenyan won the race for African in a time of two hours six minutes and 32 seconds, breaking the Olympic record set by Carlos Lopes of Portugal at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles by two minutes 49 seconds.

Jaouad Gharib of Morocco finished second, also broke the previous Olympic record, in a time of two hours seven minutes and 16 seconds, while Tsegay Kebede of Ethiopia won the bronze in 2:10:00.

South Korea wins taekwondo men 80kg gold medal

2008-08-24T07:54:00.004-07:00

Cha Dongmin of South Korea fights against Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece during the Taekwondo men +80kg gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Cha Dongmin defeaded Alexandros Nikolaidis and won the gold.

Cha Dongmin of South Korea fights against Alexandros Nikolaidis of Greece during the Taekwondo men +80kg gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Cha Dongmin defeated Alexandros Nikolaidis and won the gold.

Brazil beats U.S. for women's volleyball gold

2008-08-24T07:54:00.003-07:00

Players of Brazilian women's volleyball team celebrate after winning the gold medal of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.

Players of Chinese women's volleyball team pose after winning the bronze of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.

Players of the U.S. women's volleyball team wave on the podium after winning the silver medal of women's volleyball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.

Players of Brazil celebrate after the women's volleyball gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Brazil beat the United States 3-1 and won the gold.

Typhoon Nuri brings downpours to south China

2008-08-24T07:54:00.001-07:00

Downpours brought by Typhoon Nuri swept south China's Guangdong and Guangxi from Friday to Saturday, but no casualties have been reported.

A float bridge is damaged by the gale at Dayawan sea area in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 22, 2008.
From 8 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, rainstorms accompanied by winds of up to 68 km per hour, hit the southeastern areas of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the biggest precipitation of 350 mm in Beiliu County, according to the regional meteorological station.

Heavy rain was forecast to continue in the region on Sunday and Monday.

Typhoon Nuri was downgraded to a strong tropical storm on Friday afternoon after it landed in the coastal areas along Sai Kung of Hong Kong. The storm made another landfall in southern Guangdong late on Friday, packing winds of up to 90 km per hour.

Heavy clouds are seen over the skyline in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 22, 2008.
In a farming yard in Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital, 186 tourists, including 55 foreigners, were evacuated to safe areas by police after the wooden house where they stayed were damaged by strong winds with power cut off.

Source:Xinhua

South Korea wins Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal

2008-08-24T07:53:00.005-07:00

South Korean men's baseball team celebrate after winning the gold of baseball event at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.
South Korea beat defending champion Cuba 3-2 here Saturday to win Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Lee Yong-kyu opened the winning team's lead with a two run homer in the first inning and teammate Park Jim-man added one point in the seventh inning.

Lee Yongkyu of South Korea competes during the Baseball gold medal game against Cuba at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. South Korea beat Cuba and won the gold.
Cuba's Michel Enriquez and Alexei Bell homered respectively in the first and seventh innings.

The bronze medal went to the United States.

Asia's first Olympic baseball gold medal could be last one for this sport as baseball will not be included in the 2012 London Games. Whether it can enter the Games afterwards remains unclear.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese Zhang Xiaoping wins Olympic light heavy weight (81kg) gold

2008-08-24T07:53:00.003-07:00

Zhang Xiaoping of China celebrates after defeating Kenny Egan of Ireland at the men's light heavy final bout at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Zhang Xiaoping won the gold medal of the event.
Chinese Zhang Xiaoping beat Ireland's Kenny Egan to win the Olympic light weight gold medal at the Olympic Games here on Sunday.

Zhang Xiaoping of China celebrates after defeating Kenny Egan of Ireland at the men's light heavy final bout at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Worker's Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Zhang Xiaoping won the gold medal of the event.
Zhang maintained his leading position through out the match and ended it at 11-7. Zhang and Egan got the same points in the second and third rounds, but Zhang made a better start and ending.

It is a breakthrough for China's boxing as none of Chinese heavy weight boxers had won Olympic medals before.

Just before Zhang's victory, his team mate "Pirate" Zou Shiming claimed the gold of 48kg at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Source: Xinhua

China wins synchronized swimming team bronze

2008-08-24T07:53:00.001-07:00

China win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.

China win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.

China win bronze in the team event free routine 97.334 points at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games synchronized swimming event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Spain took its second silver following Russia with 98.251 points.

Roundup: A British cycling empire rises in Beijing

2008-08-24T07:52:00.004-07:00

Riders pass the Tian'an Men Square during women's road race of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 10, 2008.

As the Beijing Olympic Games cycling dropped its curtain on Saturday, a new empire has been established by the Britons, who will host the next Olympics in London in 2012.

British cycling team only won two golds in Athens four years ago, which disappointed their people back home. In order to get a good result in Beijing and pave the way for London, the British government funded the team with 3.5 million pounds of lottery money during the past four years.

And, their investment got paid well.

A total of 54 medals had been awarded from the 18 finals in cycling's four disciplines of road cycling, track, BMX and mountain bike at Beijjing Games. Britain finally topped the medal table with eight golds, four silvers and two bronzes, leaving their arch rival France far back with two golds, three silvers and one bronze.

Nicole Cooke stunned the world to claim Britain's first gold in Beijing by wining the women's road race on the first day of the cycling event, while Emma Polley aggrandized British ecstasy in cycling by winning a silver in the women's individual time trial later on.

Britain's Nicole Cooke is excited after passing the finish line during women’s cycling road race of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, August 10, 2008. Nicole Cooke won gold in the event.

Britain demonstrated their overwhelming domination on the track, medalling in eight of the 10 events, only failing to claim a medal in the mass-start events, the men's and women's points races and the Madison, while traditional track rivals Australians, who collected a total of six golds on the track in Athens, only saved face at last day by winning a silver in women's sprint.

The British men's team made a clean sweep of the sprint events, even going one-two in the men's sprint and keirin. In fact, the Brits never lost a single heat in any of the sprint events.

Flying Scotsman Chris Hoy equalled a 100-year-old British Olympic record on his way to winning his third gold medal of the Games in the coveted sprint event, ahead of England's Jason Kenny.

Cyclists of the British team compete at the men's team sprint qualifying of the Beijing 2008 Olympic cycling-track event at the Laoshan Velodrome in Beijing, China, Aug. 15, 2008. The British team ranked 1th with a total time of 42.950 seconds in the qualification and was qualified for the first round.

"It's pretty special," said Hoy, who becomes the first Briton to win three Olympic golds in a single Games since swimmer Henry Cotton in 1908.

"When I think multiple medals I think about Steve Redgrave and Michael Phelps," he added.

The 32-year-old Hoy has collected a total of five Olympic medals, four of them gold. In Athens he won the time trial crown on its last Olympic appearance and in Sydney four years earlier he claimed silver in the team sprint behind France.

Britain's record tally of medals was completed by Victoria Pendleton, who maintained her unbeaten momentum throughout the tough three-day sprint tournament to claim her first Olympic crown.

If it was no crash accident in the final of Olympic's newcomer BMX women's race, Shara Reade would add another gold to British lion's share on cycling.

The defending world champion was regarded as the best female BMX rider, and has dominated the race in last year's world championship and this year's world cup in Taiyuan, China.

Two French women Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia Le Corguille were lucky enough to finish one-two on the podium, while Jill Kintner of the United States took the bronze.

Maris Strombergs, reigning world champion from Latvia clinched the gold in men's edition, dashing the hope of the United States to pocket all medals in the event. Mike Day and Donny Robinson has to be placed second and third, swallowing the bitter, even they kept their lead in from the first run.

As for the mountain bike, the only field that Britons has lagged behind, German's Sabine Spitz met no Briton-challenge to take the gold of women's cross country. Maja Wloszczowska of Poland took the silver, while the bronze medal went to Irina Kalentyeva of Russia.

French due Julien Absalon and Jean Christophe Peraud finished 1-2 in the men's edition, and Nino Schurter of Switzerland took the silver. The bronze went to Nino Schurter of Switzerland, and British Liam Killeen only finished eighth.

Chinese cyclists did not live up their promise to make a gold break through on home soil, finishing with one bronze medal took by Guo Shuang in women's sprint on the track.

Four year from now, Britain will hold the Olympics back home. Will British cycling armada keep on sailing far? We will wait and see.

Source: Xinhua

Kenya's Wilfred Bungei wins Olympic men's 800m gold

2008-08-24T07:52:00.003-07:00

Wilfred Bungei of Kenya celebrates after the men's 800m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Wilfred Bungei won the title with 1:44.65.

Wilfred Bungei of Kenya crosses the finish line during the men's 800m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Wilfred Bungei won the title with 1:44.65.
Kenyan Wilfred Bungei stormed to the men's 800 meters title to win his country's third gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Bungei won the gold in one minute 44.65 seconds after a brilliant surge of speed in the final laps. He was followed by Ismail Ahmed Ismail of Sudan, who finished the race at 1:44.70. The bronze medal went to another Kenyan Alfred Kirwa Yego with 1:44.82.

Bungei, who only finished fifth in Athens Games four years ago, had been in the leading pack for the whole race, he met a strong challenge from Ismail but managed his leading position.

Ismail and Yego broke clear in the closing stages but Wilfred ensured himself of the gold medal when he sprinted away in the final straight.

Kenya had won two gold at the Games as Pamela Jelimo was crowned in women's 800 meters and Brimin Kiprop Kipruto took the men's 3,000 meters steeplechase title.

Source: Xinhua

Kenya's Langat wins women's 1500m gold at Olympic Games

2008-08-24T07:52:00.001-07:00

Kenya's Nancy Jebet Langat won the women's 1,500 meters gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games on Saturday.

Nancy Jebet Langat of Kenya reacts after the women's 1,500m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Nancy jebet Langat won the title with 4:00.23.
The 27-year-old clocked her personal best of four minutes and 0.23 seconds for the gold. Ukraine's Iryna Lishchynska took the silver in 4:01.63 and her compatriot Nataliya Tobias won the bronze in 4:01.78.

In the first 400 meters, the race was led by Russia's Anna Alminova and Iryna Lishchynska of Ukraines, the bronze medalist of the 2007 world championship.

Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, the world champion soon caught up with the top echelon and overtook them to spearhead. Langat was trailing them behind.

When Jamal seemed to be assured of the gold as 1,200 meters had been covered, Langat dramatically kicked and widened the gap with the world champion.

Jamal, exhausted as she was, was overtaken by Lishchynska and her fellow Tobias, and lost her chance to win a medal.

Source: Xinhua

Bekele completes gold double by winning men's 5000m

2008-08-24T07:51:00.006-07:00

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia set a new Olympic record in men's 5,000-meter race to win the gold medal on Saturday at the Beijing Olympic Games.

The 26-year-old Ethiopian distance runner finished in 12 minutes and 57.82 seconds to refresh the 24-year-old Olympic record created by Morocco's Said Aouita at Los Angeles Games.

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia competes during the men's 5,000m final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Kenenisa Bekele won the title and set a new Olympic record.
The new record also gave him the second gold medal in the Beijing Olympic Games after winning the men's 10,000m.

Bekele, the silver medalist at Athens Games in 5,000m, also became the second Ethiopian after Miruts Yifter to achieve the 5,000m and 10,000m double. Yifter made the feat at Moscow Games, 1980.

Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge, bronze medalist at Athens Games, finished in 13:02.80 to win the silver medal.

Kipchoge's fellowman Edwin Cheruiyot Soi gained his seasonal best result of 13:06.22 to win the bronze medal.

Bernard Lagat of the United States, the world champion last year, finished ninth.

Source: Xinhua

Richards leads U.S. to women's 4x400m relay win

2008-08-24T07:51:00.005-07:00

Monique Henderson of the United States competes during the women's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the USA won the title.

Runners of the United States celebrate after the women's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title with 3:18.54.
Sanya Richards made a thrilling comeback from behind to anchor the win for the United States in the women's 4x400 meters relay at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on Saturday.

Richards, who finished a disappointing third place in the 400m event, overtook Russia's Anastasia Kapachinskaya at the last moment, to help the U.S. quartet retain the champion won in Athens four years ago.

The U.S. team, also including Mary Wineberg, Allyson Felix and Monique Henderson, clocked three minutes 18.54 seconds.

Russia took the silver in 3:18.82 and Jamaica won the bronze in 3:20.40.

Source: Xinhua

U.S. storms to 4x400m relay win with new Olympic record

2008-08-24T07:51:00.003-07:00

Jeremy Wariner of the United States competes during the men's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title and set a new Olympic record.

David Neville of the United States competes during the men's 4x400m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. The team of the United States won the title and set a new Olympic record.
The U.S. quartet won the men's 4x400 meters relay gold medal with a new Olympic record at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on Saturday.

It is not a surprise for the U.S. team to win the race comfortably because the four athletes are all dominant figures in the Games.

Newly-crowned 400m champion LaShawn Merritt ran the first leg. The second was Angelo Taylor, twice Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008 in the 400m hurdles, and the third was David Neville, the 400m bronze winner and the anchor leg was run by Jeremy Wariner, the Athens champion and silver winner behind Merritt.

The U.S. finally won the race in two minutes 55.39 seconds, beating the previous Olympic record of 2:55.74, set by the U.S. team in the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Bahamas took the silver in 2:58.03 and Russia finished third in 2:58.06.

Source: Xinhua

Aussie black horse spoils China's dream of diving gold sweep

2008-08-24T07:51:00.001-07:00

Matthew Mitcham of Australia performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Matthew Mitcham claimed the gold of the event.

Matthew Mitcham of Australia performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Matthew Mitcham claimed the gold of the event.
Aussie Matthew Mitcham outscored top favorite Zhou Luxin at the last second in the men's platform final of the Beijing Olympics, spoiling China's dream of a clean sweep of all Olympic diving golds for the first time in over 50 years.

Mitcham trailed Zhou in the first five dives, but still over 30 points behind before the last attempt.

However, he nailed an unbelievable back two-and-a-half somersault and two-and-a-half twists, with a 3.8 degree of difficulty, achieving four perfect 10s to outscore Zhou who made a glitch in his last attempt.

Zhou Lvxin of China performs a dive during Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Zhou claimed the silver of the event.
The World No. 3 compiled a total of 537.95 points to bag the gold.

Zhou, winner of the 2006 World Cup and second of the 2007 World Championships, was left a silver medal with 533.15 points.

World champion Gleb Galperin of Russia settled for the bronze with 525.80.

Source: Xinhua

Meng/Yang of China retain men's canoe double (C2) 500m gold

2008-08-24T07:50:00.001-07:00

Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun of China compete in the men’s canoe double 500m final at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. They won the gold medal.

Meng Guanliang/Yang Wenjun from China retained their men's canoe double 500m title in one minute and 41.025 seconds at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.

Russia took the silver in 1:41.282, and Germany got the bronze in 1:41.964.

Source: Xinhua

American Clay wins men's decathlon gold at Olympics

2008-08-24T07:49:00.002-07:00

American Clay wins men's decathlon gold
Bryan Clay of the United States, silver medalist four years ago in Athens, finally won the men's decathlon gold at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing on Friday.

The 28-year-old collected 8,791 points, a new Olympic record. Belarus' Andrei Krauchanka won the silver with 8,551 points and Cuba's Leonel Suarez took the bronze with 8,527.

Clay, also the 2005 world champion, took the lead from the start, and he was never threatened for first place. He topped disciplines including 100 meters, long jump and discus throw. He lied on the track after finishing the 1,500 meters race, the last event, exhausted.

Gold medalilst Bryan Clay of the United States, silver medalist Andrei Krauchanka of Belarussia and bronze medalist Cuba's Leonel Suarez show their medals during the awarding ceremony for the men's decathlon at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Bryan Clay won the title with 8791 points.
"It was a long one. It was brutal, it was just brutal. It probably was the hardest decathlon I've ever done in my life through all the extremes and weather conditions." said the champion.

"I'm very, very tired, but I'm also very happy. Yesterday is a little bad but it's generally OK." he said.

On racing just to finish the 1,500 meters, he said: "I guess I knew that if I finished the race I was going to win, but I was still nervous. I still get nervous about whether I am going to be able to finish the race."

"I was exhausted. I had nothing in my legs but my main goal was to come out and compete and win a gold medal."

Krauchanka was ninth after completing shot put. However, his excellent performance in 400 meters, pole vault and javelin throw helped him catch up to snatch the silver in the end.

Cuba's Suarez was third in the 1,500 meters, taking his score to a national record of 8,527 points and allowing him to move past Alexander Pogorelov of Russia for the bronze medal.

"It's a great result for me. I prepared well, but I didn't actually think about winning a medal before the competition. It was only on the first day when I started the competition, that I realized I had a chance to win a medal. I prepared well for the world championships last year and that followed through to the Olympics."

"Before the competition my goal was to score 8,500 points and I did that so I'm very happy. Obviously I'm very happy with my performance in the running events but I think the event that made the difference was the Javelin because I threw a personal best. I also had very good results in the hurdles."

Talking about how to handle the pressure as a 20-year-old athlete, he said: "I haven't been in a competition like this in the past. My coach told me that I was only competing against myself and not the other competitors and I never felt a lot of pressure. I was very relaxed throughout the competition."

"Of course I want to go to London because I'm only young. I want to get a better result there but what happens, happens," he said.

Source: Xinhua

Bolt: great to hang out as a team

2008-08-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

"Jamaican sprinters are taking over the world. We've always been the sprinters, but we're going to tell the world we're taking over forever, forever," said Usain Bolt of Jamaica on Friday.

Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Usain Bolt of Jamaica pose for photos by the results board with their new world record after the men's 4x100m relay final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. The Jamaican team won the title with 37.10 seconds and set a new world record.
The two Olympic sprint gold medals winner led Jamaica to the men's 4x100 meters win with a new world record at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Bolt, who broke both the 100m and 200m world records en route to the gold medals, ran the third leg and gave the Jamaicans a big lead before handing the baton to Asafa Powell, the former world 100m record holder.

Powell easily anchored the race in 37.10 seconds, breaking the previous mark of 37.40 set by the United States in the 1992 Olympic Games. All of the Jamaican quartet could run 100m within 10 seconds.

Trinidad and Tobago, led by 100m silver medalist Richard Thompson, took the silver in 38.06 seconds and Japan won the bronze in 38.15.

Jamaican, also including Nesta Carter and Michael Frater, had not been really challenged in the final since the most favorite teams of the United States, Britain and Nigeria had been either disqualified or failed to finish the qualifying round.

"It's a team effort. We're good friends so it's great to hang out as a team," said Bolt.

"It's something that I'm used to, you know? But, being with a team, it's different," former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell said when referring to breaking the relay record.

Source: Xinhua

Brazilian Maurren Maggi crowned in women's long jump

2008-08-24T07:48:00.004-07:00

Maurren Maggi of Brazil claimed gold medal in women's long jump by bettering Russian elite Tatyana Lebedeva over one centimeter at the Beijing Olympics in Beijing on Friday.

Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil, silver medalist Tatyana Lebedeva of Russia and bronze medalist Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria show their medals during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.
The champion secured her gold in the first attempt with 7.04 meters, her best performance this season. Lebedeva who took the silver in women's triple jump on Aug. 17, was narrowly behind with 7.03 meters. Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria took the bronze with 6.91 meters.

With the 7.04 meters mark, Maggi dominated the first place from the start to the end, despite Lebedeva's remarkable 7.03 meters in her last trials.

"I'm really happy to win the gold. This is the first gold medal won by a Brazilian woman from a field event," she said.

Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil waves during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.

"I was so moved to hear the music of the Brazilian national anthem on the podium," said the champion who broke into tears at the medal ceremony.

"It's not an ending. I'll keep training in the future. I'm 32 years old, but I still can compete, and I'll go to London," she said.

Maggi's role, in fact, is far beyond a long jumper. She is also the South American record holder at 100 meters hurdles and at long jump, with 12.71 seconds and 7.26 meters respectively. She also has 14.53 meters in the triple jump.

Gold medalist Maurren Higa Maggi of Brazil cries during the awarding ceremony for the women's long jump final at the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. Maurren Higa Maggi won the title with 7.04 metres.
In 2003, Maurren got tangled in a doping scandal after clostebol was found on her organism, an anti-scarring gel sheet that she used contained the anabolic steroid in its composition. Maurren was suspended for two years, leaving her out of the 2003 Pan American Games, and she gave up the 2004 Olympic Games due to a pregnancy.

"You know what, doping happens. It was a bad accident for me, since I was only able to compete for two years. I knew I still have things to do. I want to come back and compete in track and field. This is my last chance. I reach the gold gradually. At the very beginning it was difficult and I was scared. However, things gradually changed. Today I come back with gold. It's unbelievable," she told a news conference held after the match.

For Lebedeva, the Athens champion and winner of the three of the last four world championships, a silver is far from satisfaction after she tried her luck and failed in the critical last jump.

But later, the elite jumper peacefully accepted her fifth Olympic medal, a silver as she put it: "Life will continue."

"Of course I didn't want to be in this place. But sport is beautiful. Sport is fighting. Here in the Olympics, it's not the strongest who wins. It's coincidence of luck. Maggi got all the luck, all the strengths today. I was fighting. I was struggling until the very end."

Athens 2004 heptathlon champion Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who had decided to concentrate on the long and triple Jumps in Beijing 2008, finished ninth with 6.49 meters. "Today I didn't jump too good. I didn't take my speed with me to the board," she admitted.

"We'll see. Hopefully, I can do both the heptathlon and the long jump," she said.

Source: Xinhua

Usain Bolt donates to quake-hit area of China

2008-08-24T07:48:00.003-07:00

Liu Xuanguo, vice general secretary of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation , presents a T-shirt with the logo of CRCF to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the CRCF to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica.

Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt addresses a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the Chinese Red Cross Foundation to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica.

Liu Xuanguo , vice general secretary of the Chinese Red Cross Foundation , presents the certificate of donation to Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt during a donation ceremony in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2008. Usain Bolt, who won three gold medals in the men's 100m, men's 200m, and men's 4x100m relay competitions of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, donates 50,000 U.S. dollars through the CRCF to the children in the earthquake-hit areas of China on Saturday, and invites six earthquake-affected children to travel to Jamaica.

Bolt wins gold in men's 200m final with world record

U.S. beats Japan 8-4 to pocket Olympic baseball bronze medal

2008-08-24T07:48:00.001-07:00

The United States beat Japan 8-4 here Saturday to take home bronze medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games baseball tournament.

Japan's Araki Masahiro opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning, while Matt Laporta of the United States levelled it by the end of the second inning. Japan reclaimed the lead in the third inning when Aoki Norichika hit a three-run homer over the leftfield fence.

The United States retaliated shortly as Matt Brown hit the team's first three-run homer. The U.S. team then pulled in front 6-4 in the fifth inning and extended the lead to 8-4 to secure the medal.

"It feels really good. We are fortunate to get it, it's a blessing. We finally started hitting the ball and I thought we pitched well the whole game," U.S. player Matt Brown said after the match.

U.S. team manager Davey Johnson said that baseball is a big business in the United States and many good players from the Major League have club matches to play during the Olympic Games time.

On the Japanese side, team manager Senichi Hoshino said he was disappointed with the result.

"I'm sorry we didn't get the gold. Japanese fans were looking forward to the gold medal but we didn't bring it back. I feel sorry about this. We have never experienced such a tough time before," he said.

The gold medal match is slated for Saturday evening between Cuba and South Korea.

Source: Xinhua

Netherlands claims gold in Olympic women's hockey

2008-08-24T07:47:00.002-07:00

World champion the Netherlands snatched the Olympic women's hockey gold with a 2-0 win over China in Beijing on Friday.

The team of the Netherlands pose for a group photo after the awarding ceremony of the women's hockey match at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 22, 2008. The Netherlands won the gold of the event while China got silver and Argentina ranked the third.
It is their first Olympic hockey title since the Los Angeles Games 24 years ago.

Hosts China also picked up their first ever hockey medal at the Olympic Games.

The first half saw a 0-0 tie, in which the Dutch's four penalty corners were all saved by Chinese goalie Zhang Yimeng.

A penalty corner converted by Van As Naomj in the 51st minute broke the tie and gave the Netherlands 1-0 lead. Maartje Goderie added another in the 62nd minute and sealed their 2-0 win.

"It is amazing that we can finally get the Gold medal. You can see, almost the whole stadium is orange. China was really tough but in the last 25 minutes we managed to score," said Dutch defender Maartje Paumen.

The Dutch coach Marc Lammers said he always had respect for Chinese coach and Chinese team. "They don't have many hockey players, but still they are the No. 2 in the world," he said.

He noted that lots of hockey players in his country started to train at the 14 or 15 years old and laid a very good foundation. So, he suggested China cultivate their hockey players from a young age.

"Every player wants to stand at the top podium, but the silver is still a breakthrough," said Huang Junxia, who played in three Olympic Games since 2000.

"We confronted the world No. 1 today, and my players went all out," said China's coach Kim Chang-back. "Dutch players are excellent, but our players are not inferior since they did their best."

World No. 2 Argentina took the bronze with a 3-1 win over defending champion Germany.

Source: Xinhua

Norway wins Olympic women's handball gold

2008-08-24T07:47:00.001-07:00

Gro Hammerseng of Norway shoots during the women's gold medal match of handball event between Norway and Russia at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Norway beat Russia and claimed the title in this event.

Norway reaped its first Olympic gold in women's handball on Saturday in Beijing, downing world champion Russia 34-27.

Before the victory, the best result of the Scandinavian country in the event had been its two Olympic silvers, respectively in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics.

"Today's fast attack in the first half worked very well. That is the key to our victory. It is the happiest moment and it is the greatest win, "Norwegian left back Katja Nyberg said.

Her teammate Goeril Snorroeggen told reporters,"I am so delighted and will go to a bar to celebrate."

Goalkeeper Katrine Lunde Haraldsen made brilliant saves to secure the victory. She said after the match,"I am tired. I was very nervous at the beginning of the match but I found later our rivals were more nervous than us. We had a good start and stunned Russia."

"It is the biggest moment in my career. I am satisfied with my performance throughout the Olympics," added Haraldsen.

The Norwegian girls dominated the first half with sweeping attacks. With diversified transferring and high speed, they took advantage of Russia's porous defense and scored continuously with fast breaks.

Nyberg and pivot Marit Malm Frafjord came into limelight at about the 26th minute with their marvelous blitz when Russian players made an error in attacking. Norway led by 18-13 before the halftime.

Russia mounted a counterattack after the interval, but the assaults were too weak to penetrate the strengthened defense of Norway. It only garnered six scores midway throughout the second half while Norwegian girls have extended their lead to nine points.

With three minutes before the buzzer, the lead of Norway was increased further to 11 points.

One high-profile scorer of the Norwegian squad was right back Linn-Kristin Riegelhuth who accumulated nine goals throughout the match, followed by pivot Else Marthe Soerlie Lybekk who brought seven points for her team.

Norwegian goalkeepers also enjoyed high efficiency in savings, one with 29 percent and the other with 39 percent, standing in a sharp contrast to their Russian counterparts of which the rates were all 19 percent.

Russia won the title in the World Championships last year.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese Premier meets Latvian Prime Minister

2008-08-24T07:46:00.002-07:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Prime Minister of Latvia Ivars Godmanis during their meeting in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Ivars Godmanis is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, scheduled for Sunday night, and other relevant activities.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met Saturday morning with Prime Minister of Latvia Ivars Godmanis who is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, scheduled for Sunday night, and other relevant activities.

Wen said China is glad to see that the Beijing Games has contributed to promoting unity, friendship and exchanges between people of different countries in the world.

He said that though the Beijing Olympic Games is going to close soon, the Olympic spirit will stay forever.

Godmanis said it is not his first time to attend Olympic Games, but "I have to say the organization and everything that has been done are on the highest level,"

He said he once visited China in 1995 with then Latvian president and he found that amazing change has taken place in Beijing since then.

Source: Xinhua

Messi and Argentian, King and storm

2008-08-24T07:46:00.001-07:00

Gold medalists of Argentina, silver medalists of Nigeria and bronze medalists of Brazil stand on the podium at the awarding ceremony of the men's football event of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008.
"King" Lionel Messi guided the Argentina storm to final glory at Beijing Olympic men's soccer tournament. It's a fairy tale ending -- the best team took the gold medal and other respectable teams like Nigeria and Cote d'Iovire got their rewards.

The blue and white storm nearly dominated the Olympic tournament, they clinched two consecutive Olympic titles by twelve straight wins. It's more shocking that Argentina had only two goals against in the past two Olympic games, and they even kept a clean sheet at Athens four years ago.

Messi and Co have lived up to the high expectations, beating other teams in convincing and artistic style to make the Olympic soccer games more attractive. Messi struck twice and made several crucial assists, including the Angel Di Maria winner in the final, to become the super hero of Argentina. The 21-year-old Barcelona prodigy was a constant menace to the opposite team with his fantastic dribbles, lightning pace and unparalleled imagination. Whenever the game came to a stalemate, he could always break it single-handedly.

It's a Messi's tournament, just like the FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005, as all the fans, media, coaches spared no efforts in praising the young talent, picking him as the difference of Argentina. To illustrate this, some Nigerian players even rushed to take a picture with him by turns after the final, and NBA star Kobe Bryant showed his admiration for Messi and came in person to watch his match.

Lionel Messi of Argentina vies for the ball during the men's gold match of football event between Nigeria and Argentina at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 and claimed the title in this event.
However, Messi was tangled in a tug-of-war between his country and Barcelona club before the tournament, and was criticized by Diego Maradona for not showing any character in expressing his willing to play for Argentina. Fortunately a favourable FIFA decision and the compromise by the Argentine Football Association and Barca salvaged the player, despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Messi should stay with his club. The twisty plot made Messi's shinning performance more amazing.

Other Argentine magicians also had excellent shows, Juan Riquelme, Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano Angel Di Maria contributed much to their 3-0 victory over archrival Brazil in the semifinal, 2-1 win over Holland, and also in the final.

The African teams displayed their strength and gifts in the tournament. Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire had two great games against Argentina, in which the final champions met big trouble with the other side's strong individual quality, and fought out narrow victories. Nigeria's greatest play was their 4-1 demolition against Belgium, who beat Italy 3-2 to reach the semis.

Nigeria and the Ivorians' open, dauntless and technical play have impressed the fans greatly and they could fly home with pride. Cameroon did well in the Group stage, but was frustrated by Brazil in the quarterfinal.

Ronaldinho's Brazil is very disappointing, as one of the favorites for the title, the Auriverde eased to the semifinal, where they were humiliated by a more attracting Argentina and had only nine men at the end of the game. Dunga's side was blamed by Maradona as too conservative and stingy. They have to wait for another four years to fight for their first Olympic soccer gold.

The European teams had mediocre performance. Belgium is a surprise with some potential stars. Italy reached the last eight in a comfortable way before eliminated by Belgium. The Netherlands proved their class by holding Argentina to the playoff in the quarter-final, but was helpless in front of Mess's clinical through pass. Serbia was the worst as they failed in the first round.

The Asian teams had some awkward results. Except South Korea's win over Honduras, Australia, Japan and China were without a single victory and all the four teams went out of competition before the knockout stage.

The United States and Honduras also failed to book a ticket to the quarterfinals.

A dozen of gifted young players have emerged from the tournament. Argentina's Di Maria, Nigeria's Peter Odemwingie, Emmanuel Ekpo and Victor Obinna, Cote d'Ivoire's Salomon Kalou, Gervinho and Sekou Cisse, Holland's Gerald Sibon, Brazil's Jo, Belgium's Tom De Mul, Italy's Giuseppe Rossi are the names to mention. They are likely to be future stars.

The men's tournament has produced a total of 74 goals with an average of about 2.31 per match.

Source: Xinhua

Dominican Diaz dominates Thai boxer claims men's light welter title

2008-08-24T07:44:00.004-07:00

Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic show few signs of vulnerability as he overcame defending champion Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand to win the men's light welter boxing title at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.

After a square first two bouts, the Domonican had complete control over the match in the remaining time to win it at 12-4 for the first gold medal of the Dominican Republic at the Beijing Games.

"It feels great to claim the first gold medal for my country, and I just play what I want but I have prepared well for the match," said the 24-year-old Dominican at the press conference. "I have a great coach and for a whole day yesterday we watched the video of my opponent, how he fights and moves and then I won."

"I breezed through the match in a way I like, and I do think my coach plays a part in the victory, who taught me a lot about the strategies. I had changed a lot of coaches before.

"I don't have a coach in my corner. I have a magician.

"I want to dedicate my victory to my parents, my two little kids and to all the people in Dominican Republic who have been watching my bouts at 3 o'clock in the morning every day just to support me."

Both athletes pulled off a careful game in the first bout as Diaz took a slight upper hand to lead at 2-1. Manus recovered a little then and his hard work got paid when he scored one point with 38 seconds left in the second bout to level things at 2-all.

But it turned out to be a flash in the pan as Diaz used a 9-1 run to take comfortable lead at 11-3.

The Dominican never looked back en route to the 12-4 victory.

However, the Thai seemed to be satisfied with the silver medal.

"I do the best I can, I know my men want me to bring a gold medal home but I am doing just fine with the silver," said Manus, three years Diaz's senior.

"I am not surprised with the result although I did not expect an easy loss like this, my opponent just did a good job."

In an earlier final, Manus' compatriot Somjit Jongjohor did not seem to be firing on all cylinders to beat Cuban Andris Laffita Hernandez in the men's fly final.

"I felt proud of us as we have notched up medals in consecutive Games," added Manus.

Source: Xinhua

Feature: Thai boxer ends career with gold medal in Beijing Games

2008-08-24T07:44:00.003-07:00

"Finally, he got it, for which he has waited for 12 years," said excited Sasithorn Jongjohor, wife of Thai Olympics gold winner Somjit Jongjohor, after her husband beat Cuba's Andris Laffita Hernandez in Beijing late Saturday.

In the last match of Somjit, the 33-year-old boxing star showed a class of his own in the flyweight division.

On Saturday, he continued his overwhelming advantage on the boxing stage. He trounced the 30-year-old Pan American champion 8-2.

In earlier matches, he beat Eddie Valenzuela from Guatemala 6-1, Mammadov Samir from Azerbaijan 10-2, Anvar Yunusov from Tajikistan 8-1, Vincenzo Picardi from Italy 7-1.

"In his 12 years of boxing career, he has got many medals from various games. However, he was dreaming an Olympic medal all the time, although he lost the match four years ago in Athens, he never gave up. That's the reason why he kept fighting until now," said Sasithorn. "His dream now comes true."

At Somjit's hometown, Thai northeastern Korat Province's Bakchong district, thousands of local officials, villages, fans and media crews bombarded his house to watch live coverage and lend supports. They burst into cheers after Somjit's win.

His only son turns seven on Saturday. The boy got the best birthday gift from his father as Somjit earlier said that he will win an Olympic gold medal for his son. "My father is so cool. I want to be like him," the boy said on a TV live coverage.

Somjit will retire from the national boxing team after he returns from Beijing on Monday. However, he earlier said he wanted to be a youth boxing coach to stay in the sport he loves.

The win produced the second gold medal for Thailand in Beijing after Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won the women's 53kg weightlifting event last week.

He is scheduled to return to Thailand on Monday with more than 15 million baht incentive money from the government and private sectors waiting.

In another match, the light welter final bout, Thailand's Manus Boonjumnong lost to Dominican's Felix Diaz, won a silver medal for Thailand. However, the Athens gold winner is also praised by Thais since he is the first Thai athletes who won medals in two Olympic Games.

Thailand so far got two golds and two silvers at the Beijing Games.

Source: Xinhua

Degale of Britain wins men's 75kg boxing gold

2008-08-24T07:44:00.001-07:00

British middleweight boxer James Degale won the title at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday, beating Emilio Correa Bayeaux from Cuba 16-14 in the final.

Degale made it at 10-4 at the end of the second round. In the next two rounds, he managed to get points back whenever Bayeaux succeeded in landing punches on him.

It is kind of wresting as both boxers hugged closely with each other. The two fell to the ground together for at least three times, not to mention the falls of one of them.

"I don't think Cubans are the best on the ring," said Degale after the match. He said he would definitely stay until the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and hoped to win the gold in his own city.

Degale, 22, began boxing at the age of 10, when his dad and granddad took him to a gym in north-west London, as they thought he had more than energy to release and a natural fighting flair.

Meanwhile, silver medalist Bayeaux said he could have done better as it was not his best fight, "I was desperate sometimes on the ring and could not control my temper. It was not a pretty fight at all."

Bayeaux said he changed tactics and kept on punching on the ring, but did not get due scores.

He fought Degale earlier this year and won.

The Cuban boxer failed to emulate his father, the champion of welterweight at the 1972 Olympic Games, to win an Olympic gold.

Bayeaux said earlier he received a message from his father, "he told me that I should take care of myself and that I have nothing to be worried about, because he is convinced that I'm going to make all the people in Cuba happy with my medal."

"There is no pressure from my dad, but from myself. The Cuban team is a young team," Bayeaux said on Saturday.

"Of course I want to get the gold medal, but I couldn't make it today, so I am pretty sad," he added.

The bronze medals went to Darren John Sutherland from Ireland and Vijender Kumar from India.

Source: Xinhua

Dominican Diaz dominates Thailand's defending champ to claim men's light welter at Beijing

2008-08-24T07:43:00.002-07:00

Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic showed few signs of vulnerability before overcoming defending champion Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand to win the men's light welter title at the Beijing Olympic boxing tournament on Saturday.

After a square first two bouts, the Domonican had total control of the match in the remaining time to win it at 12-4 for the first gold medal of the Dominican Republic at the Beijing Games.

Both athletes pulled off a careful game in the first bout as Diaz took a slight upper hand to lead at 2-1. Manus recovered a little then and his hard work got paid when he scored one point with 38 seconds left in the second bout to level things at 2-all.

But it turned out to be a flash in the pan as Diaz used a 9-1 run to take comfortable lead at 11-3.

The Dominican never looked back en route to the 12-4 victory.

"I am very happy with the gold medal and it is the first gold medal of my country in 24 years," said Diaz. "I breezed through the match in a way I like, and I think it is because of my coach, who taught me a lot about the game. I had changed a lot of coaches before."

Source: Xinhua

Chakhkiev of Russia wins men's 91kg boxing gold

2008-08-24T07:43:00.001-07:00

Rakhim Chakhkiev from Russia claimed the men's 91kg boxing title at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, beating Clemente Russo from Italy 4-2 in the final.

Chakhkiev, a silver medalist at the 2007 World Championships, said the key for his victory was the huge desire to win.

He also paid tributes to his opponent, saying Russo and himself were the best amateur boxers in their category.

Chakhkiev lost to Russo months ago in Chicago with a one-point gap.

Silver medalist Russo said it was a highly even match and his tactic was to wait and to let Chakhkiev attack.

"What happened, happened. You cannot bring back the past. If I could, yes, then I would change my strategy," the Italian said.

"I cannot say that I feel unhappy with Silver but I wanted the Gold," he added.

Russo said he would decide if to turn professional or remain an amateur boxer after the Beijing Olympic Games.

The bronze medals went to Osmai Acosta Duarte from Cuba and Deontay Wilder from the United States.

Source: Xinhua

Mongolian Enkhbat wins Olympic bantam weight gold

2008-08-24T07:42:00.004-07:00

Cuba's hopes of boxing gold medals were dented again as their boxer Yankiel Leon Alarcon was outclassed by Badar-Uugan Enkhbat from Mongolia in the men's bantam final of the Beijing Games boxing event on Sunday.

Enkhbat, 23, was in a class of his own and withstood a comeback from the Cuban en route to the 16-5 victory, which brought the first gold medal of the event and the second overall for Mongolia.

The Mongolian made a solid start by leading 4-2 in the first round and stretched the lead to a comfortable 8-5 in the second.

Enkhbat, the reigning Asian champion, then reeled off the next eight points to close out the match at 16-5.

Source: Xinhua

Russian Tishchenko wins Olympic light boxing gold

2008-08-24T07:42:00.003-07:00

Alexey Tishchenko of Russia edged past Frenchman Daouda Sow to win the men's light title at the Beijing Olympic boxing tournament on Sunday.

Tishchenko, who won the men's feather title at the Athens 2004, met serious challenge from the Frenchman and led at 3-2 after the first bout.

It was very close in the second and third bouts which saw Sow pull within 10-8.

The Frenchman once cut the cushion to just one point, but Tishchenko stayed cool to notch up one more point with only 12 seconds left for the match. The Russian won the match at 11-9.

Source: Xinhua

Enkhbat of Mongolia wins men's bantam at Olympic boxing

2008-08-24T07:42:00.001-07:00

Cuba's hope of boxing gold medals was dented again as its boxer Yankiel Leon Alarcon was outclassed by Badar-Uugan Enkhbat from Mongolia in the men's bantam final of the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday.

Enkhbat, 23, was in a class of his own and withstood a comeback from the Cuban en route to the 16-5 victory, which brought the first gold medal of the event and the second overall for Mongolia.

Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia competes against Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba during Men's Bantam Final Bout of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Badar-Uugan Enkhbat won the gold medal of the event.
"I'm very happy. Tomorrow I'll go back home and tell my family all my stories from the competition," Enkhbat, the Best Athlete of 2007 in Mongolia, said in the mixed zone.

The Caribbean country, known for its boxing skills, has to concede with three straight silver medals in the Beijing Olympics.

Its last hope of claiming gold in boxing is youngster Banteaux Suarez who is to compete in the men's welter event.

"He fought his way and I couldn't fight mine. Not with my left swing or my right swing, nothing. He was always far from me. I couldn't narrow the distance between us," the 26-year-old Alarcon said.

"I will dedicate my next four years to training because I want to be ready to be an Olympic champion in 2012 . I'm really happy with the silver. I know that is very important and I was so close to the gold this time. I know I'm almost there, so 2012 will be my year."

The Mongolian made a solid start by leading 4-2 in the first round. Alarcon, bronze medalist of the Pan American Championships 2008, hit some fine sizzlers, but it was the Mongolian that impressed, stretching the lead to a comfortable 8-5 in the second bout.

Enkhbat, the world championships silver medalist and reigning Asian champion, then reeled off the next eight points to close out the match at 16-5.

Source: Xinhua

Kazakhstan's Sarsekbayev wins Olympic boxing welter (69kg) gold

2008-08-24T07:41:00.004-07:00

Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan reacts during men's welter final bout at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Bakhyt Sarsekbayev won the match over Carlos Banteaux Suarez of Cuba and got the gold medal in the event.
Bakhyt Sarsekbayev of Kazakhstan beat Carlos Banteaux Suarez of Cuba to win the welterweight title of the Beijing Games boxing tournament on Sunday.

Sarsekbayev, who finished fifth in World Championships 2007, fought from 1-0 down to lead at 7-2 at the end of the second bout.

Sarsekbayev never looked back in the remaining match, winning at 18-9 for the first gold in the event and the second overall for Kazakhstan.

While Cuba, known for its boxing skills, had to settle for four straight silver medals in boxing.

Source: Xinhua

German Spitz wins women's cross country mountain bike gold

2008-08-24T07:41:00.003-07:00

Sabine Spitz of Germany competes during the women's cross country of the Beijing Olymic Games cycling-mountain bike event at Laoshan Mountain Bike Course in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Sabine Spitz of Germany claimed the title in this event with a time of 1:45.11.

Sabine Spitz of Germany won the women's cross country mountain bike gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games on Saturday.

Spitz clocked in 1:45.11 to win the title, Maja Wloszczowska of Poland got the silver by 0.41 seconds and Russian Irina Kalentyeva finished third by 1:17.

Sabine Spitz of Germany competes during the women's cross country of the Beijing Olymic Games cycling-mountain bike event at Laoshan Mountain Bike Course in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Sabine Spitz of Germany claimed the title in this event with a time of 1:45.11.

Source: Xinhua

Hockey Roundup: Chinese women's hockey earns breakthrough in Olympics

2008-08-24T07:41:00.001-07:00

The Chinese women's hockey made a breakthrough in the Olympics by clinching a historic silver medal.

It's their best ever result in world arena and the first-ever hockey medal in Olympics.

The Chinese team was virtually unknown until it won the titles of both the Champions Trophy and the Asian Games in 2002 and finished fifth in its debut at the Sydney Olympics. They made one step ahead in Athens, yet denied a medal by Argentina.

Grouped in the so-called "death pool" facing the world champions the Netherlands, 2000 Olympic titlists Australia and Asian powerhouse South Korea, the sixth-ranked China fought all their way to the semifinals with 1-0 defeat to the Netherlands and 3-3 draw with Australia.

Facing Germany again in the semifinal, China upset the defending champions 3-2, roaring into the final, which was a sweet revenge on their 4-3 loss to Germany four years ago.

Meeting current world No. 1 the Netherlands in the final on Friday night, the Chinese girls suffered a 2-0 loss, but they still managed to keep a clean sheet in 51 minutes. Except the two goals which were somewhat favored by luck, it was a balanced game with both sides having chances to win.

Even the Dutch coach Marc Lammers said he always had respect for the Chinese team. "They don't have many hockey players, but still they are the No. 2 in the Olympics," he said.

"Every player wants to stand at the top podium, but the silver is still a breakthrough," said Huang Junxia, a veteran who played in three Olympic Games since 2000.

"We confront the world No. 1 today, and my players went all out," said China's coach Kim Chang-back, "Dutch players are excellent, but our players are not inferior since they did their best."

The Netherlands, who haven't won the Olympic title for 24 years, finally ended the gold drought.

"It is amazing that we can finally get the gold medal. You can see, almost the whole stadium is orange. China were really tough but in the last 25 minutes we managed to score," said Dutch defender Maartje Paumen.

They were silver medallists at the Athens Games, and got bronze twice in 1996 and 2000.

World No. 2 Argentina took the bronze with a 3-1 win over Germany, following a silver in 2000 and a bronze in 2004.

"Hockey is important and popular in Argentina. I hope the medal will encourage more boys and girls to play hockey," Argentine coach Gabriel Minadeo noted, adding that of course a gold medal was the best way to finish the tournament.

The third-ranked Germany, the surprise winner of Athens Games, failed to make their second appearance on the Olympic podium.

The fourth-ranked Australia downed Great Britain 2-0 to get the fifth position. The Atlanta Games titlists South Korea defeated their Asian counterparts Japan 2-1 in the 9th-10th playoff. Spain beat United States 3-2 for the seventh place. The bottom-ranked South Africa finished 11th beating New Zealand 4-1.

In the men's field, Olympic debutants China made their maiden 4-3 win over South Africa in the final day and finished 11th. Failing to achieve their top-eight target, head coach Kim Sang-ryul was very disappointed and gave only 60 scores to their performance.

During all the six matches they played, the bottom-ranked team claimed their maiden 4-3 win in the 11th-12th playoff over South Africa.

"We had many strong teams as our opponents. This is our first Olympic Games and we lack lots of things," said Captain Song Yi, "some players are too young to follow the pace, and they need more experience."

World No. 2 Germany won the gold, defeating Spain 1-0 on Saturday. It was the Germans' first gold since the Barcelona Games in 1992. They got silver four years ago.

German coach Markus Weise said it's a great pleasure to win gold in such a big tournament. "A great country like Spain with lots of good players did not score, but we did it," he noted.

Ranked fourth in the world, Spain came in the final as a miracle, ousting world champions Australia 3-2 in the semifinals Thursday. The silver medallists at Atlanta Games in 1996 repeated their bronze medal in Beijing.

Australia, now top-ranked in the world, only harvested a bronze with a 6-2 win over the Netherlands. Australian coach Barry Dancer, who would retire after the Games, was satisfied with their performance today, yet he felt disappointed that they did not win the gold.

The Netherlands, silver medallists at Athens Games, finally failed to go back to the podium. They were the most consistent team in the pool stage with the most points.

South Korea powered past Britain 5-2 for the fifth position. In the 7th-8th classification round, New Zealand routed Pakistan 4-2 to take the seventh. Belgium finished ninth by blanking Canada 3-0.

Source:Xinhua

Host China makes breakthrough with first Olympic rhythmic gymnastics medal

2008-08-24T07:40:00.008-07:00

As rhythmic gymnastics powerhouse Russia claimed its third consecutive Olympic rhythmic group tittle, host China also celebrated its breakthrough in the sport after its quintet snatched a surprise silver medal, the country's first Olympic rhythmic medal on Sunday.

Russia, after its ace gymnast Evgeniya Kanaeva won the individual gold a day ago, added to Russia's medal tally with the rhythmic gymnastics team title with a total of 35.550 points.

China won the silver 35.225 points, followed by Belarus, in 34.900.

In a largely flawless competition, the Russians underlined their superiority with high difficulty and quality execution.

But the biggest winner might be the Chinese, who were 6th-placer in Athens and had been seeking a breakthrough in the sport on home turf, hopefully in group event.

The Chinese girls, believed to be the best rhythmic team in Asia, have been making steady progress in recent years. A rhythmic group bronze medal was the country's goal for the Games.

However, in the group final, the Chinese quintet did bring surprise to the cheering home fans when they staged charming routines with strong Chinese characteristics, accompanied by Peking Opera music.

"The silver medal is unexpected. We are so happy that we made the breakthrough for Chinese rhythmic gymnastics. It's the most glorious moment for Chinese rhythmic gymnastics," said Zhang Shuo of China.

"It's not easy because we have come a long way to be here. We will make efforts for better results in the future," she said.

"We cried a lot today because it's not easy for us to get the silver. Most of us have injuries and we just held on. We hope today's win will bring more Chinese girls to the sport," said Zhang's teammate Sun Dan.

Sun said she and her teammates did not set the goal for a medal.

"We just wanted to do our best. We were not the pre-game favourite and so we placed ourselves in a lower position. We were fighting for better results, not the medal," she said.

The Chinese girls also said their improved artistry helped them a lot.

"Our strong point is the difficulty of our routines, and the weak point is artistry. We trained a lot in the past two months to improve artistry and the efforts paid off," said Zhang Shuo.

The Russians were also overwhelmed by their impressive victory.

Elena Posevina of Russia said: "We are overwhelmed with emotion. It took a lot of training and it's been a long road. We are yet to fully comprehend this victory."

She said the competition is generally improving. "On the one hand our group is developing and on the other hand more and more countries are joining the Olympic movement, so the competition is improving."

Italy, the silver medallist four years ago, was fourth. "I really, really feel upset. We did not live up to our expectations," said Italian Elisa Santoni.

Each group, consisting of five gymnasts, performed two routines, the first with five ropes and the second with three hoops and two clubs.

The top eight groups from qualifications competed in the final on Sunday.

Source:Xinhua

United States wins men's volleyball Olympic gold

2008-08-24T07:40:00.007-07:00

The United States defeated Brazil 3-1 to take the men's volleyball gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday.

The Americans won the final 20-25, 25-22, 25-21 and 25-23.

Russia got the bronze medal, beating Italy 25-22, 25-29 and 25-23.

Players of the United States celebrate after men's volleyball gold medal match against Brazil at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. The United States beat Brazil 3-1 and won the gold.

Ryan Millar of the United States spikes the ball during men's volleyball gold medal match against Brazil at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. The United States beat Brazil 3-1 and won the gold.

Players of Brazil react during men's volleyball gold medal match against the United States at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. The United States beat Brazil 3-1 and won the gold.

The multiple exposure photo shows that William Priddy of the United States serves the ball during men's volleyball gold medal match against Brazil at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. The United States beat Brazil and won the gold.

Rogge: go or stay, wait to see in October

2008-08-24T07:40:00.005-07:00

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said on Sunday that he would make known in October whether he will stand for re-election next year at the IOC session in Copenhagen.

"I will announce my decision in October," Rogge told a press conference hours before the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. "It will be announced first to IOC members, and then to the media."

Rogge took over from long-time IOC chief Juan Antonio Samaranch in July 2001 and his first eight-year mandate ends in 2009.

The 66-year-old Belgian has led the organization through a period of change, advocating a much tougher stance on doping. He has faced criticism from time to time over a wide range of issues.

"If you are president of the IOC, you are bound to be criticized," said the IOC chief.

"I don't take this personal. I'm criticized because I'm heading an organization.

"It's true that the media criticize organizations, and it's not a problem," he added.

Source:Xinhua

Diving roundup: China dominates, challenge emerges

2008-08-24T07:40:00.003-07:00

When 140 divers from 29 Beijing Olympic delegations ended their competitions in eight categories on Saturday, Chinese divers stunned the world by snatching seven of all the eight gold medals on offer.

China topped the medal tally with an extraordinary achievement of seven golds, one silver and three bronzes, while Australia finished second with one gold and one silver, followed by Russia with three silvers and two bronzes, Canada two silvers, Germany one silver and one bronze, Mexico and Ukraine one bronze each.

Although it is the best diving result China has made in Olympic Games, there are still regrets. The host nation was only one step away from making a clean sweep, as the United Stated did in the 1952 Helsinki Games.

　　CHINA'S DOMINANCE

By bagging seven of all the eight diving golds on offer, China has once again proved its undisputed domination. The Chinese diving team claimed five golds at 2000 Sydeny Olympics and further took a record six at 2004 Athens Olympics.

With "diving queen" Guo Jingjing and fellow Wu Minxia, the gold of the women's 3m springboard and synchro 3m springboard seemed quite certain. The 26-year-old Guo defended her two titles with breeze, becoming the first diver who collected four golds and two silvers in the Games.

Young diver He Chong continued China's winning stretch in 3m springboard, while veteran Wang Feng and world champion Qin Kai claimed the title of synchro 3m springboard, which was lost in 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

Teenager Chen Ruolin made perfect Olympic debut in the Water Cube by winning the women's 10m platform gold, which had been lost in the previous two Games. Chen also crowned the synchro platform title with partner Wang Xin.

Though people worried a lot about the men's 10m platform synchro, since the bad form of Lin Yue recently, the gold was still claimed by the host, as Lin and Huo Liang performed fantastically in the final.

THE REGRET OF THE HOST NATION

In 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games, the United States had dominated the diving event, as American divers swept all the gold medals.

In 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, China has had great hope to snatch it all as Chinese divers swept the first seven successfully, however making a clean sweep is still too good to be true.

The men's high dive has been a problem for China since the retirement of Sydney Olympic gold medalist Tian Liang. Meanwhile, Hu Jia, the individual gold medalist in Athens, was kept out of the squad by injuries.

China lost the gold in the event at the 2007 Melbourne worlds as Russian Gleb Galperin beat the Chinese favourite Zhou Luxin and Lin Yue for the victory. It was also the only gold China lost in the 2008 FINA Diving World Cup as Germany's Klein Sascha was crowned.

Now in the Beijing Games, it is again the only regret for the Chinese diving team.

On Saturday's 10m platform final, Chinese favourite Zhou Luxin was too nervous to dive well in the last round that he only scored 74.80 points, while Australian Matthew Mitcham made an almost perfect dive scoring 112.10 to win the last gold.

Zhou Jihong, team leader of the Chinese diving team, seemed heartbreaking and left the venue quickly without a word.

EMERGING CHALLENGE IN THE WORLD

Although China claimed seven of the eight gold medals on offer in the diving events at the Beijing Games, it doesn't mean the gap of the capability between the Chinese divers and their foreign counterparts expands. Actually, it reduces.

Years ago when triple Olympic champion Fu Mingxia ruled the women's diving, the mark margin was always as many as 40 to 50 points. Compared with that time, now the advantage of the Chinese divers has reduced a lot and even a small mistake would made them loss the gold.

Australia, Russia, Canada, and Germany is still quite strong in the Beijing Games, especially Australia, which seized a gold medal. Australia will still be an important force in diving, as it has a team composed of top young divers, including 20-year-old gold medalist Matthew Mitcham and 16-year-old synchro silver medalist Melissa Wu.

The United States and Britain got nothing in diving at the Beijing Games, but they are hoped to be luckier in 2012 London Olympics, as they also have some good young divers.

Amerian 18-year-old Thomas Finchum and 19-year-old David Boudia are both very talented, they finished fifth in men's synchro springboard. Thomas Daley of Britain, only 14, the youngest among all the divers in the Beijing Olympics, is also a promising star.

Source: Xinhua

Argentina end up with bronze medal in Olympic men's basketball

2008-08-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Carlos Delfino played his best all-round game, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, to lead Argentina to an 87-75 win over Lithuania to win the bronze medal of the men's basketball competitions at the Beijing Olympic Games on Sunday.

Argentina's pivot Manu Ginobili didn't play due to left-ankle injury sustained in the semi-finals against the United States, and the whole team wanted to contribute the victory to the San Antonio Spurs guard.

"I think inspired us. We wanted to win the game for him. Manu worked really hard to help us onto this stage, and he wanted to play if he could. We had a different attituded into the game, compared to those in the debut," Argentina's coach Sergio Hernandez said.

The defending champions lost 79-75 in the first game of the preliminary round to Lithuania.

"It's an amazing game. My teammates performed so well that I'm so pround of them," Ginobili said. "I would have played if my injury is not that bad."

Luis Scola had 16 points and Andres Nucioni added 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals for Argentina.

Lithuania were led by Ramunas Siskauskas' 15 points and six rebounds play, while Rimantas Kaukenas chipped in 14 points.

The first quarter was quite an even matchup. Alfredo Quinteros buried three and Leonardo Gutierrez two when Argentina drilled in six 3-pointers to lead 46-34 in the second quarter.

Nucioni stole twice and Pablo Prigioni once to storm to three consecutive fastbreaks, which ended with a 68-44 lead in favor of Argentina with 1:38 minutes left in the third quarter.

Kaukenas' layup cut the lead off to 71-59 before Prigioni and Delfino eased Argentines' nerves with two baskets in row.

Ksistof Lavrinovic produced another chance for Lithuania's comeback as he made a tough jumper and forced the fifth foul from Scola, closing it on 75-64 with 5:07 minutes to go.

Lithuania then missed a couple of 3-pointer attempts while Delfino buried another long-ranged one on the other end with 3:38 minutes left on the clock on 78-64. The match was virtually ended after that.

Source: Xinhua

Rogge: Olympics enhances mutual understanding between China and rest of world

2008-08-24T07:39:00.006-07:00

International Olympic Commitee president Jacques Rogge said on Sunday that the Beijing Olympics has helped enhance mutual understanding between China and the rest of the world.

"The most intangible legacy, but also very important one, is that through the Games, China has been scrutinized by the world, has opened up to the world," Rogge told a press conference before the closing ceremony of the Aug. 8-24 Games.

"The world has learned China and China has learned about the world. I believe, this is something that will have positive effects in the long term," he added.

The IOC chief also noted that a strengthened awareness about environmental protection, enthusiasm for sport among Chinese youth as well as the state-of-the-art venues as the legacy.

Rogge said he believes, as he was told by Achim Steiner, executive director of United Nations Environment Program, that China's environmental improvement spurred on by the staging of the Games are not short term.

"The country of 1.3 billion people will continue to positively influence the climate and the environment in all of China," he said.

Source: Xinhua

FACTBOX: China's national treasures complement Olympics

2008-08-24T07:39:00.005-07:00

The Capital Museum in Beijing is showcasing 169 collections of national treasures from around the nation during the "Chinese Memory" exhibition to complement the Olympics and Paralympics.

Here are facts about the assembled treasures, among others.

BONE FLUTE: Dating back to the Peiligang Culture Period in the Neolithic Age, this is the earliest musical organ found in China. It is made from red-crowned crane wing bones, and can still be played.

SANXINGDUI BRONZE MASK: Sanxingdui is reputed for amazing masks made of bronze. The one displayed here features eyes that stick out 9 cm with unusually large eyeballs. The mask dates back to the early and late Shang Dynasty .

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS AND HORSES: Four lifelike and life-sized terracotta figures, crafted during the Qin Dynasty , are presented, the highest rank being a general. The warriors are 1.8 meters high on average. A terracotta horse is also displayed among them.

JADE BURIAL SUIT: This suit is made of 4,248 fine rectangular jade tablets sewn together with gold thread. It dates back to the Western Han Dynasty .

CERAMIC FIGURINE DEPICTING A STORYTELLER: This 55 cm-high figure has a lively body form as well as a vivid, exaggerated facial expression with a drum hanging from his waist. It belongs to the Eastern Han Dynasty .

BRONZE CASH TREE: From Mianyang City in southwest Sichuan Province, this survivor of the May 12 earthquake is 198 cm in height. It consists of 29 components with copper coins hanging from the branches as leaves. It dates to the Eastern Han Dynasty.

NYMPH OF THE LUOHE RIVER: This hand-scroll painting drew its inspiration from the essay "Ode to The Nymph of the Luohe River" written by Cao Zhi . He was the third son of Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms period . The painting itself was done on silk in the Song Dynasty . It captures the imaginary meeting between Cao Zhi and Luoshen, or the Nymph of the Luohe River, a daughter of the mythical ruler Fuxi.

Source: Xinhua

IOC chief says "no problem" with China's sports system

2008-08-24T07:39:00.003-07:00

Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee , defended China's sports system which led to its medal haul at the Beijing Games, saying all systems are legitimate as long as they respect ethical values and the athletes.

The host nation has topped the gold medal table at the Games for the first time with 50 golds, leaving the United States well in its wake.

Chinese sports officials attributed the success to a nationwide system of selecting and training talent, and some questioned if such a system goes against the Olympic spirit.

"I think it's absolutely legitimate to have an ethical detection system. There's no problem with that," Rogge told a press conference.

"And by the way, most countries do that on different measures. Some do it in a very scientific way, others do it by bringing athletes together and organizing competitions and seeing who naturally emerges.

"If you look around the world, all the successful countries have national training centers in all the sports. All the countries in the world bring together the best athletes and get the scientific training. The bottom line is the respect the ethical values and the respect of the athletes," he added.

The IOC chief said China's advantage is its large population which makes it far easier to select best potential athletes.

"It's of course far easier to select 20 very tall athletes from China. It's population difference," he said.

Regarding the latest tally, Rogge rated more the evolution from Athens to Beijing, other than merely the number of medals won by delegations here.

"I think the evolutions better show the influence of countries and regions," he said. "In Athens the United States had 102 medals and in Beijing they have 107. Russia won 92 in Athens, and here 69. China had 63 in Athens and 96 in Beijing with 49 gold...Briton is the most improved nation they have 30 with 9 golds in Athens and 47 with 19 golds in Beijing."

The total number of countries and regions that have won medals has increased from 74 in Athens to 96 in Beijing, to which the IOC chief was very pleased but declined to comment on the performance of each one.

"I doubted I have to give comment on the different levels of countries , this is for experts to decide, especially by the team leaders and experts themselves," he said.

"The result of another issue is that China won the most gold medal as a whole of 49, and the United States with the most medals as the total tally counts. I think each country has the highlights as the athletes give the best of high level performance," added Rogge.

Source: Xinhua

Diaz of Dominican Republic wins men's 64kg boxing gold

2008-08-24T07:39:00.001-07:00

Felix Diaz of Dominican Rep. competes during Men's Light Welter Final Bout between Felix Diaz of Dominican Rep. and Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Felix Diaz defeated Manus Boonjumnong, and won the gold medal of the event.
Felix Diaz of the Dominican Republic show few signs of vulnerability as he overcame defending champion Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand to win the men's light welter boxing title at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.

After a square first two bouts, the Domonican had complete control over the match in the remaining time to win it at 12-4 for the first gold medal of the Dominican Republic at the Beijing Games.

"It feels great to claim the first gold medal for my country, and I just play what I want but I have prepared well for the match," said the 24-year-old Dominican at the press conference. "I have a great coach and for a whole day yesterday we watched the video of my opponent, how he fights and moves and then I won."

"I breezed through the match in a way I like, and I do think my coach plays a part in the victory, who taught me a lot about the strategies. I had changed a lot of coaches before.

"I don't have a coach in my corner. I have a magician.

"I want to dedicate my victory to my parents, my two little kids and to all the people in Dominican Republic who have been watching my bouts at 3 o'clock in the morning every day just to support me."

Both athletes pulled off a careful game in the first bout as Diaz took a slight upper hand to lead at 2-1. Manus recovered a little then and his hard work got paid when he scored one point with 38 seconds left in the second bout to level things at 2-all.

But it turned out to be a flash in the pan as Diaz used a 9-1 run to take comfortable lead at 11-3.

The Dominican never looked back en route to the 12-4 victory.

However, the Thai seemed to be satisfied with the silver medal.

"I do the best I can, I know my men want me to bring a gold medal home but I am doing just fine with the silver," said Manus, three years Diaz's senior.

"I am not surprised with the result although I did not expect an easy loss like this, my opponent just did a good job."

In an earlier final, Manus' compatriot Somjit Jongjohor did not seem to be firing on all cylinders to beat Cuban Andris Laffita Hernandez in the men's fly final.

"I felt proud of us as we have notched up medals in consecutive Games," added Manus.

Source: Xinhua

Feature: Aussie Mitcham overjoyed with last-minute overturn

2008-08-24T07:38:00.006-07:00

Australian 21-year-old Matthew Mitcham could not help jumping up and down Saturday night when he defeated his strong Chinese rival in the very last minute to taste a memorable win.

"It's going to take a while to sink in. My cheeks hurt from smiling, and my face hurts from the chlorine," said the exited guy from Sydney after the games.

The world No. 3 had never expected a gold medal fell on his lap, especially when he was over 30 points behind top Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin before the last attempt.

However, he overturned his destiny by nailing a near flawless last dive, a back two-and-a-half somersault and two-and-a-half twists, with a 3.8 degree of difficulty, achieving as high as 112.10 points.

Chinese Zhou Luxin, winner of the 2006 World Cup and second in the 2007 world championships, executed an unsatisfactory last show and claimed only the eighth highest score of 74.80.

The unbelievable turnover stunned both the ecstatic capacity of fans and competitors. The diver coming from behind toppled defending world champion Zhou and shattered diving powerhouse China's dream of a clean gold sweep on home soil.

Mitcham squatted on the ground and burst into tears. "In my wildest dreams I got the gold medal. I thought maybe I could have gotten the bronze or silver medal," he said with surprising expressions.

He gave big hugs to his coach and teammates, cheering with Australian fans the incredible victory.

In the dramatic platform final, Zhou seized the lead from the very beginning. He nailed a beautiful forward three-and-a-half somersault in pike position to top the 12-man field.

After earning three perfect 10s for his fifth dive, a difficult inward three-and-a-half somersaults in tuck position, he seemed untouchable in the first place, well ahead of second-placed Mitcham with over 30 points.

"I couldn't hear the crowd. I didn't feel any pressure at that moment, and nobody gives me pressure," said Mitcham. "I collected lots of experience from the springboard event, so I just wanted to enjoy the games."

The relaxed mood helped him stage a near perfect last dive, over after which the gold was no more a pie in the sky.

"I'm so happy. I enjoyed the games a lot," said the Aussie, who is the first Australian male to win an Olympic diving gold since 1924.

Born in March of 1988 in Queensland of Australia, he took up diving training at 11 under the guidance of then Australian coach Wang Tongxiang.

Before mounting to the top of the Olympic podium, his best score is champion in the 2008 FINA Grand Prix USA leg.

Source:Xinhua

S. African silver medalist receives hero-like welcome

2008-08-24T07:38:00.005-07:00

South African Olympic silver medallist Khotso Mokoena came back home and received a hero-like welcome on Saturday, the SABC reported .

The former world junior long jump champion recorded a distance of 8.24m to win the silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Hundreds of fans, family and friends were on hand to welcome Mokoena at the O.R. Tambo International airport on Saturday morning.

He said he was humbled by the support he had received from the country. He said this inspired him during the Beijing Olympic Games.

Mokoena has been hailed as a true hero and a shining example to the youth of the country.

Mokoena's parents said he made them more than proud by bringing back a silver medal to South Africa.

Source:Xinhua

Final standings of Olympic baseball tournament

2008-08-24T07:38:00.003-07:00

Following are the final standings of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games baseball tournament :

1. South Korea 9 9 0

2. Cuba 9 7 2

3. United States 9 6 3

4. Japan 9 4 5

5. Chinese Taipei 7 2 5

6. Canada 7 2 5

7. Netherlands 7 1 6

8. China 7 1 6

Source:Xinhua

Collated results of five boxing finals at Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 23

2008-08-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

Following are collated results of five boxing finals at the Beijing Olympic Games on Saturday:

Flyweight :

Somjit Jongjohor, Thailand, bt Andris Laffita Hernandez, Cuba, 8-2

Featherweight :

Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukraine, bt Khedafi Djelkhir, France, 9-1, Referee Stop Contest at round 1

Light Welterweight :

Felix Diaz, Dominica, bt Manus Boonjumnong, Thailand, 12-4

Middleweight :

James Degale, Britain, bt Emilio Correa Bayeaux, Cuba, 16-14

Heavyweight :

Rakhim Chakhkiev, Russia, bt Clemente Russo, Italy, 4-2

Source:Xinhua

Feature: Thai boxer finishes career with 4 perfect golden bouts at Beijing Games

2008-08-24T07:37:00.008-07:00

"Finally, he got it, for which he has waited for 12 years," said excited Sasithorn Jongjohor, wife of Thai Olympics gold winner Somjit Jongjohor, after her husband beat Cuba's Andris Laffita Hernandez in Beijing late Saturday.

　　Since it was the last match of Somjit, a 33-year-old boxing star of Thailand, the four bouts, or eight minutes, in Beijing has laid out his ability in the flyweight level across the world.

On Saturday, he continued his overthrowing advantage on the boxing stage. He trounced the 30-year-old Pan American Champion with 8-2.

In earlier games, he beat Eddie Valenzuela from Guatemala with 6-1, Mammadov Samir from Azerbaijan with 10-2, Anvar Yunusov from Tajikistan with 8-1, Vincenzo Picardi from Italy with 7-1.

"In his 12 years of boxing career, he has got many medals from various games. However, he was dreaming an Olympic medal all the time, although he lost the match early four years ago in Athens, he never gave up. That's the reason why he insisted boxing until now," said Sasithorn. "His dream now becomes true."

At Somjit's hometown, Thai northeastern Korat Province's Bakchong district, thousands of local officials, villages, fans and media crews bombarded his house to watch live coverage and lend supports. They burst into cheers after Somjit's win.

Somjit's only son turns seven on Saturday. The boy got the best birthday gift from his father as Somjit earlier said that he will win an Olympics gold medal for his son. "My father is so cool. I want to be like him," the boy said on a TV live coverage.

Somjit will retire from the national boxing team after return from Beijing on Monday. However, he earlier said he want to be a youth boxers' coach to continue his loving game.

The win produces the second gold medal for Thailand in Beijing after Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarakoon won the women's 53kg weightlifting event last week.

He is scheduled to return to Thailand on Monday with more than 15 million baht incentive money from the government and private sectors waiting on home soil.

In another match, the Light Welter final bout, Thailand' s Manus Boonjumnong lost to Dominican's Felix Diaz, won a silver medal for Thailand. However, the Athens Gold winner is also praised by Thais since he is the first Thai athletes who won medals in two Olympic Games.

Thailand so far got two golds and two silvers at Beijing Games.

Source:Xinhua

Taekwondo roundup: Last day Olympic taekwondo events full of chaos

2008-08-24T07:37:00.007-07:00

Chaos caused by dispute over judges' decisions dominated the last day of the Olympic taekwondo events at the University of Science and Technology Beijing on Saturday.

The semifinals for women's +67kg class were delayed for half an hour due to a disagreement on the result of the quarterfinal match between Chinese star player Chen Zhong and Sarah Stevenson.

Chen, who was formerly ruled as winner in the quarterfinal, had her victory overruled as the British team appealed against the judgement.

It's the first time in the Olympic taekwondo history that a result was reversed since the South Korea-born martial art was included in the Olympic programs at Sydney Games.

Chen took the lead in the second round with one point, however, Stevenson, Chen's long-time rival, successfully nailed a headshot just one second to go in the third round. The kick wasn't scored after the judge and four corner referees' discussion and they decided Chen as the winner.

However, at around 17:15, it was announced through the loudspeaker that the result was reversed.

"After reviewing the match footage, the Competition Supervisory Board decided to reverse the match result due to an error in judgement. GRB advances to the semifinal," read the official communication issued by the technical delegation at 17:40. It didn't reveal any details about how and why the original results were changed.

Home fans couldn't accept the fact and some of them began to leave and some others cheered Mexican player Maria del Rosario Espinoza during her match with Stevenson, who lost the game 1-4 to Espinoza. However, actually Stevenson's defeat cost Chen's last chance to fight for a bronze.

The World Taekwondo Federation later arranged a press conference.

Yang Jin-suk, secretary-general of the World Taekwondo Federation , said that after a review of the protest application and the video, it was very clear that the British player was the winner.

He said China didn't file a reprotest although they had the right to.

"They were so graceful and as host country, with their sportsmanship, they accepted the decision," he said.

He said the human errors cannot be eliminated in current scoring system although the WTF has paid a lot attention to train the judges and referees. He promised the WTF will "maximize our efforts, trying to minimize the errors".

However, the situation just turned worse when less than one hour later, Angel Valodia Matos of Cuba and his coach attacked the judge, who disqualified Matos, 32, from the bronze playoff at the men's +80kg class.

Matos, gold medalist in the men's 80kg class in Sydney, took a lead of 3-2 in the second round when he got injured.

He then sat on the mat to receive medical treatment, which should be limited within one minute according to the competition rules.

The Swedish judge Chakir Chelbat believed that time was up and hence decided that Matos' opponent, Arman Chilmanov from Kazakhstan, won.

Matos' coach rushed onto the mat to argue with the judge and then hit Chelbat with his fist, while the rash athlete attacked the Swede with an axe kick on the head.

The chaos lasted for a few seconds until other referees went over to separate the trio. People watching the match stood up in astonishment.

Half an hour later, the announcement came that both of the two received a permanent exclusion from international competitions organized by the World Taekwondo Federation .

Chen Zhong and another Chinese player Liu Xiaobo failed to get a medal.

Source:Xinhua

Taekwondo medal table at Beijing Olympics

2008-08-24T07:37:00.005-07:00

Following is the medal table of the taekwondo event at the Beijing Olympic Games after the competitions on Friday :

1. South Korea 4 0 0 4

2. Mexico 2 0 0 2

3. China 1 0 1 2

4. Iran 1 0 0 1

5. United States 0 1 2 3

6. Turkey 0 1 1 2

7. Canada 0 1 0 1

7. Dominica 0 1 0 1

7. Greece 0 1 0 1

7. Italy 0 1 0 1

7. Norway 0 1 0 1

7. Thailand 0 1 0 1

13. Croatia 0 0 2 2

13. Chinese Taipei 0 0 2 2

15. Afghanistan 0 0 1 1

15. Brazil 0 0 1 1

15. Cuba 0 0 1 1

15. France 0 0 1 1

15. Britain 0 0 1 1

15. Kazakhstan 0 0 1 1

15. Nigeria 0 0 1 1

15. Venezuela 0 0 1 1

Source:Xinhua

Time to celebrate spirit of Beijing

2008-08-24T07:37:00.003-07:00

It is almost as hard for friends to meet, As for the morning and evening stars. Tonight then is a rare event.

But meet they did for the Olympic Games as Beijing kept its date with history on August 8, 2008. The lines by Du Fu, composed centuries ago, are truer than ever in this materialistic world where it has become so difficult for true friends to meet.

Tonight, friends will gather at the National Stadium and those across this wide expanse of planet we call our home will get a second glimpse of what China, its people, history and culture are all about.

Some medals are still to be won and the celebrations are still on. And no matter what Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and Chinese soprano Song Zuying sing tonight, the words will mean Amigos para siempre or We'll be one.

But the parting has to wait. Not so soon. China had to wait more than a century since first expressing its desire to host the world Games. It had to prepare for seven long years for 17 days of joy, with its 1.3 billion people rising as one to turn that dream into sweet reality. So when the dark cloud ultimately shrouds Beijing tonight it will not be without the proverbial silver lining.

There will always be a London 2012 after a Beijing 2008 - that is what the slogan One World, One Dream is all about. That is what China means by peace and harmony.

Tales of heroism, valor and strength, of failures and heartbreaks, of overcoming odds are what make the Olympics what it is. For every Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt there is a Natalie du Toit and Natalia Partyka. Liu Xiang can take heart, for the Games is not about medals alone.

It's also about the Matthew Emmonses, who throw his gold medal at successive Games, and still get a warm hug from their dear ones. It's about the Russian and Georgian shooters hugging each other even as their countries are drawn into a conflict.

And it's about Bolt again - for his $50,000 donation for the Sichuan earthquake victims. Not for nothing is he a great sports ambassador.

And of course, it's about Oksana Chusovitina, who at 33 competed with the world's top gymnasts and still won the silver to support her son in his fight against leukemia.

Beijing's hottest days are over. The much-anticipated coming-out party for the world's most populous country began with a dazzling display of its culture and message of global harmony. This evening, it will end with genuine revelry after all the incredible dramas on and off the fields, leaving a legacy for China and the world.

"We are dedicated to creating a happy atmosphere at the closing ceremony," Zhang Yimou, chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies, has said. "The message is to say goodbye, and to promise to meet again in four years."

London, the Games host, will get eight minutes at tonight's show when the Olympic torch will be formally handed over to the London mayor.

There will be David Beckham, expected to arrive atop a red double-decker bus and kick a football into the crowd. There will be former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page performing a duet with pop star Leona Lewis. But their message will be one.

As Greek Foreign Minister and former Athens mayor Dora Bakoyannis said earlier, the message of the "Olympic Games is one, and has withstood the test of time: Excellence in sport is all about hard work, determination and faith ... these very same qualities can today serve as a vehicle for social change and development of humankind."

That is what China has dreamt of, and that what it wants Beijing 2008's legacy to be.

Source:China Daily

Beautiful, memorable Beijing Olympic Games

2008-08-24T07:37:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day of the Olympic Games and we will be bidding farewell to the athletes from around the world.

We barely came to know some of them, and may not even remember most of the others.

But we are grateful to all of them for the wonderful sports gala.

By wonderful I do not only mean the stars like American swimmer Michael Phelps who won eight gold medals and the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt who won three gold medals with three world records.

By wonderful I mean those moments that revealed something that transcended the gold tally and world records. That noble sportsmanship the athletes from various countries demonstrated. What impressed me most was the Olympic spirit they displayed.

As a sports layman, I remember the name of Paula Radcliffe from Britain. She finished 23rd in the women's marathon, a result probably disappointing to many and to herself.

Yet in my mind, she is a true heroine.

On the day of her race, I watched her on TV. She was clearly ill at ease which caused her to gradually slip back in the field. I saw her twisted face and thought she would drop out.

To my astonishment and admiration, she soldiered on, even without any hope of grabbing a medal. I was greatly touched.

Then there was Lee Bae-young, the Korean weightlifter and a gold medal hope. He injured his right foot as he attempted to lift 183 kg. But he limped onto the stage and tried again. Again he failed. Again he returned and tried once more.

Even though Lee failed, his courage to challenge the impossible outweighed that of winning a medal. His performance well interpreted Pierre de Coubertin's Olympic ideal.

Also touching was the story of Oksana Chusovitina, representing Germany. She was really outstanding among the women gymnasts and yet old enough to be the mother of some of her competitors.

At first I felt it strange for a 33-year-old to compete with teenagers. But Chusovitina's performances were so convincing, and her determination so resolute, she soon won me over.

Then I learned that she was competing to earn money to pay for the medical treatment of her 9-year-old son diagnosed with leukemia. This selfless mother's love gave this woman unusual courage and strength to fulfill a "mission impossible". She won silver in the women's vault.

I am sure when spectators at the National Gymnasium saluted her with a thundering ovation, Chusovitina had won something beyond an Olympic silver. She won our heart-felt respect.

Equally impressive was the always smiling Shawn Johnson, a gymnast from the United States. I could sense the frustration of the 16-year-old as she kept losing by a slim margin to her Chinese opponents and teammate Nastia Liukin. Nevertheless, she wore that disarming smile all the time, for the spectators, her opponents, her coaches, and herself.

When she finally got a gold in the balance beam, observed Yahoo sports columnist Dan Wetzei, "the mostly Chinese crowd roared like one of their own had prevailed". I could not agree with him more. That girl was a ray of sunshine at this quadrennial sports festival.

Many athletes never entered the limelight, yet they made no less remarkable contributions to the Olympic legacy.

I will not forget Dana Hussein, the women's 100m sprinter from Iraq who failed to qualify after her first run. I view her as a winner no less, as she had come in defiance of death threats.

My respect also goes to Asenate Manoa, another 16-year-old, from Tuvalu. I learned that she had never seen a starting block until she went for training to another country in preparation for the Beijing Games.

Like Dana Hussein, Manoa failed to qualify in the women's 100m sprint at 14.05 seconds. But she set a national record. And she managed to draw many of us to her Pacific island country.

These athletes showed us that in the Olympic Games, you do not necessarily have to win honor for your country only with medals. Two sharpshooters added grace to the Olympic spirit with their actions.

When Russia and Georgia got into a bloody conflict shortly after the Games opened, two of their competitors shared the medal platform in the women's 10m air pistol. Hardly was the medal awarding ceremony over, when silver medalist Natalia Paderina of Russia embraced the bronze winner, Georgia's Nino Salukvadze.

No message could be stronger than this emotional hug to tell the world that in the Olympic spirit, sport is beyond politics, and even though fiercely competitive, peace reigns.

These were the scenes that made the Beijing Games - the most watched in its 112-year Olympic history - beautiful and memorable. They represented the honorable Olympic spirit.

The author served as a chief editor of Official News Service with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games

Source:China Daily

Russia claims group title, China wins silver at Beijing Olympic rhythmic gymnastics

2008-08-24T07:36:00.001-07:00

Defending Olympic champion Russia claimed the rhythmic gymnastics group title at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday.

Russia won the title, its third consecutive Olympic rhythmic group title, with a total of 35.550 points.

Host China won the silver, its first Olympic rhythmic gymnastics medal, in 35.225.

Belarus settled for bronze in 34.900.

Italy, the silver medallist in Athens in 2004, was fourth.

In a largely flawless competition, all eight teams presented superb work, but the Russians underlined their super with higher difficulty value and execution.

"The silver medal is unexpected. We are so happy that we made the breakthrough for Chinese rhythmic gymnastics," said Zhang Shuo of the Chinese team.

"It's not easy because we have come a long way to be here. We will make efforts for better results," said Zhang.

"I really, really feel upset. We didn't live up to our expectations," said Elisa Santoni of Italy.

"My teammates and I are very satisfied with our performance today. After the inquiry in our first routine, we felt even more confident for our second routine," she said.

Each group, consisting of five gymnasts, performed two routines, the first with five ropes and the second with three hoops and two clubs.

The scores of both routines are combined to determine the group total.

The top eight groups from qualifications competed in the final on Sunday.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese vice president pledges to enhance relations with Burundi

2008-08-24T07:35:00.005-07:00

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Sunday met with Burundian Second Vice President Gabriel Ntisezerana, pledging to push forward the bilateral relations.

China and Burundi enjoy traditional friendship, Xi said, noting that the two nations in recent years have witnessed close exchanges, increasing mutual trust, and fruitful cooperation in economy, trade and other areas.

Xi said China values the relations with Burundi, and would work with the country to enhance the development of bilateral ties.

As for the Beijing Olympic Games, Xi expressed appreciation of Burundi's support to the Games.

Ntisezerana, who came to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics and other related activities, congratulated China on the Games' success.

Ntisezerana applauded China's help in the past long time. He said Burundi values the relations with China, and would increase friendly cooperation with China in various fields.

Source: Xinhua

China imports nearly 50% more motor vehicles in first 7 months

2008-08-24T07:35:00.003-07:00

China's auto import grew faster in the first seven months of this year, as world auto giants turned to the Chinese market after the U.S. economic slump and rocketing oil prices drove sales down on U.S. and European markets, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday.

Domestic demand for large-engine vehicles also strengthened as many people bought in advance of a consumption tax hike that is due to take effective on September 1, the administration added.

Between January and July, China imported 247,000 motor vehicles, a growth of some 48 percent on the same period of last year. The growth rate was 14.6 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level.

The arrivals were valued at 9.17 billion U.S. dollars, up 66.3 percent.

Most of the imports were luxury cars.

Earlier report said 92,000 vehicles each with an engine displacement of at least 3 liters were imported, up 86.9 percent. The growth rate was 33.7 percentage points higher than the average for the total. Their proportion was up to 43.9 percent from 35.9 percent a year ago.

Japan, the European Union, the Republic of Korea and the United States were the top four sources for China's auto imports.

Source:Xinhua

China's cell phone sales predicted to grow 17.6% for whole 2008

2008-08-24T07:35:00.001-07:00

China, the world's largest cell phone exporter, is expected to maintain momentum in both production and marketing of mobile phones in the remaining of this year, CCIDConsulting, a major IT industry consulting company, said on Sunday.

The company predicted that China would produce 605 million cell phones for the whole of 2008, a growth of 16.9 percent over last year, and sell 205 million at home, up 17.55 percent. The foreign sales would amount to 400 million units, up 16.79 percent.

From January and June, according to CCIDConsulting, 279 million cell phones were produced nationwide, up 21.2 percent on the same period of last year, and 96.403 million were sold, up 17.52 percent. Exports totaled 182 million units, up 22.74 percent.

Nokia, Samsung and Motorola claimed nearly two thirds of the Chinese cell phone market, with the Finnish company Nokia taking a41.02 percent share.

Source:Xinhua

More than 24% of Chinese chemical fiber producers suffer losses

2008-08-24T07:34:00.006-07:00

China's chemical fiber sector saw a drastic slowdown in production and export in the first half of this year, with its economic returns declining substantially, the China Chemical Fibers Association said on Sunday.

The association ascribed the weak performance largely to lower demand resulting from slowing textiles export and to mounting costs caused by price rises for raw materials, coal, power supply and transport services.

Between January and May, 10.04 million tons of chemical fibers were produced nationwide, a growth of 7.4 percent on the same period of last year, and 753,000 tons were exported, up 27.98 percent. The growth rates were 10.49 percentage points and 20.72 percentage points, respectively, lower than the year-earlier level.

Over the five months, the sector garnered 3.72 billion yuan in profits, down 1.36 billion yuan, or 26.77 percent, from the same period of last year.

Approximately 24.13 percent of chemical fibers enterprises nationwide suffered losses, 3.48 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level.

The enterprises in red recorded 2.02 billion yuan in losses, doubling the year-ago level, according to the industry association.

Source:Xinhua

China imports less LPG in first half year

2008-08-24T07:34:00.005-07:00

China's liquefied petroleum gas import declined by a double-digit rate in the first six months of this year, as importers' enthusiasm was dampened by price gap between domestic and overseas markets, the General Administration of Customs said on Sunday.

From January to June, China imported 2.8 million tons of LPG and other hydrocarbon gases, a decline of 13.4 percent from the same period of last year.

But owing to oil price hikes on international markets, the arrivals were valued 5.1 percent higher at 1.48 billion U.S. dollars, the administration added.

LPG was priced at 7,600 yuan per ton abroad on average, 800 yuan higher than the domestic price.

Given the government efforts to cap LPG price at home to safeguard interests of consumers, the price gap would continue in a certain period of time to come, market observers said.

Of the total imports in the first half year, 1.288 million tons, or 46 percent, came from Australia, and 781,000 tons, or 27.8 percent, from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The southern province of Guangdong was the leading importer, claiming a 80 percent share of the total LPG arrivals, according to the administration.

Source:Xinhua

Beijing offers free health checks for Olympians' families

2008-08-24T07:34:00.003-07:00

The Beijing Health Safeguard Association is to offer free physical examinations for two immediate relatives of each Chinese Olympic athlete until the end of September.

Association head Han Xiaohong said all athletes from the 2008 Olympic team could apply for the service with their identification certificates.

The relatives could receive physical examinations at any of the 30 designated hospitals across the country.

The services include cancer prevention and bone density checks, costing about 1,400 yuan , and the total value could amount to more than 1 million yuan.

Han said the association would contact hospitals to double check abnormal results and offer follow-up expert consultations.

Source: Xinhua

China's sporting public still faces hurdles after Olympics

2008-08-24T07:34:00.001-07:00

China's Olympians have racked up a record gold medal haul, but many Chinese find it difficult to transfer their pride in the nation's achievements to their own personal sporting fields.

For 29 year-old Bai Yang, going to the Beijing Workers' Stadium for an Olympic football semifinal was one of his few sporting pleasures.

"I have little time to do sports on weekdays. At weekends, I'm just too tired to get out of bed," said Bai, who lives and works in Beijing.

"Sports is not popular in China," he said. "You can see the elderly doing morning routines in the park, but young people, who need exercise just as much, have no time or energy."

Having roared ahead of every other country with 48 gold medals, China showcased its sporting prowess at the Games, but many still ask whether it has achieved the status of a great power in terms of sport for all.

For many Chinese interested in certain sports or living in less-developed areas, economic challenges and a lack of venues prove to be their biggest hurdles.

"There are only six standard softball courts in a city as large as Beijing," says Sun Bojie, technical operations manager at the Fengtai Olympic softball field and a veteran umpire, complaining the game was failing to catch the public imagination.

Moreover, fees for the available venues are "strikingly high", further dampening interest, says China's softball coach, Wang Lihong. "Even if the Chinese team had won gold this time, softball would still lack attention a month later."

Sports resources are more scarce in the vast rural area and small cities of China.

Just over 8 percent of sports venues are in villages and towns, according to the last national survey conducted by China's General Administration of Sport in 2004.

"China's public sport development is unbalanced generally, especially between rural, underdeveloped areas and urban, prospering regions," Liu Guoyong, deputy head of the GAS sport-for-all department, told a press conference in July.

He acknowledged government-backed resources still fell far short of public demand for sports and that conflict would continue for "quite a long period."

Meanwhile, many note that Chinese gold medallists came from the countryside, a contrast highlighting the disparity between the rapid development in international competition and slow advance in sport for all.

Often cited is Chen Yanqing, the first ever woman to successfully defend an Olympic weightlifting title, whose parents are both fruit growers in a village in east China's Jiangsu Province. Usually, the only sports facility in Chinese villages is the playground or basketball court of a local school.

"An advantage of the Chinese weightlifting team is our system, in which we identify, select and train athletic talents from primary to middle schools and from county level all the way to state level," weightlifting team leader Ma Wenguang said after his team took eight golds in the first seven days of the Games.

This system has helped athletes in sports such as weightlifting, diving, table tennis and shooting, and enabled Chinese athletes to earn 17more golds than their closest followers, the United States, just a day before the Games end.

The gold haul showed the current state-backed athletic sports system was effective to a certain degree, said Wei Jizhong, former Chinese Olympic Committee general-secretary, on Thursday.

The system was not unique to China, but common practice in different forms, citing the U.S. government's taxing of Olympic sponsors to fund the Olympic training center.

The Chinese government invested 270 million yuan in public sports in 2005, while 480 million yuan went to elite sports, the latest available official figures show.

Such a proportion was based on China's reality and path of development, according to GAS deputy head Feng Jianzhong.

In the past 30 years, the authorities have focused on building the economy and lifting millions out of poverty. The economic conditions made a difference to public attitudes to sports, says Jiang Chongmin, chief of the GAS sport-for-all research center.

"How can you expect someone to be in the mood for sports when he can't even feed himself?" asks Jiang.

The flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, the People's Daily, on Friday called on the country to be "clear-minded" with its dominance of the gold medal stakes.

"Our sports facilities are still far from meeting the growing needs of the public, while physical education tends to be neglected in schooling," said a commentary in the paper.

Every 10,000 Chinese have access to 6.58 sports venues, with a per capita venue area of 1.03 square meters, far below the levels of more than 200 venues per 10,000 people and about 20 square meters per capita in countries like Japan, according to the GAS survey.

Things will hopefully pick up as the leadership shifts its focus to providing for rural populations and developing public facilities, one of the benefits of the Olympics, officials say.

The government plans to invest more than 2.6 billion yuan in 87,000 sport and fitness programs for its 800 million farmers by the end of this year, says Feng.

"One of China's goals in the Games is to use the athletes' inspiring performances as models for the public pursuit of sports and to promote sport for all," he says.

For Zheng Lingyun, all the golds played a role in this aim.

"I'm delighted to see China get so many gold medals," says Zheng, who works at a software company in Shanghai and swims regularly at a local club, which has about 300 members, the largest in the city of 16 million people.

"There has been an obvious jump in the club's business after Michael Phelps' miraculous eight wins," says Zheng. "I heard swimsuit sellers had a gold rush, too."

Source: Xinhua

Brazil wins Olympic women's volleyball gold

2008-08-24T07:33:00.007-07:00

Sheilla Castro of Brazil spikes the ball during the women's volleyball gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Brazil beat the United States 3-1 and won the gold.

Fabiana Claudino of Brazil spikes the ball during the women's volleyball gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Brazil beat the United States and won the gold.

Brazil beat the United States 3-1 to win the Olympic women's volleyball gold medal on Saturday.

Earlier China beat Cuba for the bronze.

Source: Xinhua

Violence put Sydney Olympic champion under life sanction

2008-08-24T07:33:00.005-07:00

Angel Valodia Matos from Cuba, gold medalist of the Sydney Olympics, is to face life ban from international competitions by the World Taekwondo Federation , according to an announcement by WTF on Saturday.

Matos, 32, is punished for attacking the judge. His coach was sanctioned due to the same reason.

The announcement came half an hour after the incident during the bronze-competing match in heavy weight level, when Matos, with a lead of 3-2, got injured in the second round and received medical treatment.

Taekwondo competition rules stipulate that medical treatment of an athlete should be limited to within one minute, otherwise the opponent would be announced as winner.

The Swedish judge Chakir Chelbat believed that time was up and hence decided that his opponent, Arman Chilmanov from Kazakstan, succeed.

Matos' coach rushed onto the mat to argue with the judge, and the sturdy athlete shook his finger at the latter in dissatisfaction.

The something rendered spectators gapemouthed.

The coach hit Chelbat with his fist, while the rash athlete attacked the Swedish with an axe kick on the head.

The chaos lasted for a few seconds until other referees went over to seperate the trio. People watching the match stood up astonishment.

Fairness in judgement has become a problem at the Olympic arena of taekwondo.

Earlier in the afternoon, British athlete Sarah Stevenson filed a protest against the ruling of Chinese Chen Zhong's victory, which caused no small a fuss among people. Finally the judgement was reversed.

Source: Xinhua

Meng/Yang: return of king

2008-08-24T07:33:00.003-07:00

Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun retained their Olympic title in men's Canoe Double 500m for China on Saturday, marking the return of the king.

The duo crossed the finish line in one minute and 41.025 seconds. A strong charge made them fall into the water, making a big splash not only for them but for their victory.

Meng, 32, was extremely excited over the victory, choking when receiving interviews. "I have been dreaming of retaining the title. If I do it, I will be the first ever defending champion in the event. I feel deep gratitude for my family members. Without their years' support, I can not make to the top podium."

Meng, a Zhejiang native, felt deep sorry for his wife as when their son was born in 2007, Meng was out in competitions preparing for the Olympics.

Meng's 15-month-old son, Meng Yuhang, showed up in the venue, making No.1 or victory gestures, seemingly tasting his father's joy.

Meng held his son in his arm on the podium, joined by his wife Xu Fengyue. The whole family became the limelight of the venue.

Meng retired after the Tenth National Games in 2005.

One year later, Meng went back to the national team, hoping for a title defence with partner Yang Wenjun.

Training was then too hard for Meng since he was over 105 kg. That's why Meng spent months on fitness training and failed to participate in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

"I know my task then was to reduce my weight and get my shape back,"said Meng.

Meng used to be the best canoeist in China. Experience and solid techniques helped him bounce back. In April 2008, Meng has recovered 80 percent of his strength and his weight has went down to 86 kg.

During Meng's absence, Yang took up C1 and made to the top three in the world. In 2006 and 2007 world championships, he ranked third, marking a surge in his overall strength, which made him initially think of entering both C1 and C2 in the Beijing Olympics.

However, the 25-year-old didn't do that because his best chance to win a gold medal is in men's C2. As for C1, Yang, native of Jiangxi Province, south of China, is unsure of topping the podium even grabbing a medal. Apart from that, Yang might be affected by the wind in the course of Shunyi if he took the C1.

"I know where my advantage is and I know if I pair up with Meng, I can become stronger,"said Yang,"So I gave up C1 and focus on C2. Moreover, since 2004, Meng and I have built up good relations. I'd like to cooperate with him."

The experience of winning gold medal showed the duo's capability of charging for a second glory. And another good news made them more sure of defending the title.

In February 2008, Polish Canadian coach Marek Ploch, came back to the Chinese team, beefing up their confidence.

"We were exhilarated with his comeback because we know it was him who steered us to the champion in Athens,"said Meng.

Ploch coached Australia and Iran respectively in 2004 and 2006, but he finally found it an honour to coach China, hosts of Beijing Games.

Under Ploch's coaching, Meng and Yang have gradually pickup their power. In a team test in April, they even raced into 1 minute and 38 seconds, a result good enough to bolster a gold in the Beijing Games.

Ploch gave Meng a big hug after the race, saying No.2 more than once, which meant a second gold for the duo.

"Meng sustained a back injury about two weeks ago, or else he might race better," Ploch said.

Source:Xinhua

China to scrap administrative fees for individual-owned businesses

2008-08-24T07:33:00.001-07:00

China is to cancel the decade-old administrative fees for individual-owned businesses and market vendors from Sept. 1.

The cancellation was announced by the Ministry of Finance , National Development and Reform Commission and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce in a joint circular on the MOF webite, www.mof.gov.cn.

The move is aimed at cutting costs of individual business owners and encouraging more people to start businesses in a bid to create jobs.

The government vowed in February to help 10 million urban dwellers find jobs this year.

The administrative fees had been collected by local SAIC agencies for approximately two decades and were criticized by individual business owners as being too burdensome, almost twice as much as business taxes.

The administrative fees were previously targeted at establishing local markets, covering small business owners and vendors' service charges from local market watchdogs and recovering some of the operational costs of local SAIC authorities.

The charges vary from region to region, but constitute an important revenue source for local authorities.

A few areas including Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang had already abolished the fees.

The administrative fee has been blamed for the reduction in the number of individual business owners from 31.6 million in 1999 to less than 26 million in 2006.

Source:Xinhua

Clean-air measures to remain after Games

2008-08-24T07:32:00.007-07:00

Some temporary measures brought in to tackle pollution in Beijing during the Olympic Games are set to become permanent, in a bid to address continuing environmental challenges, despite the recent improvement in air quality, an official said yesterday.

The removal and treatment of heavy-polluting vehicles will be accelerated and plans to reduce construction site dust will be stepped up, Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing environmental protection bureau, told a news conference.

The city will also require heavily-polluting companies to address their pollution problems as a prerequisite to resuming operations after the Games, he said.

"If they can't resolve the pollution problems, they must stop or limit their production," he said.

But Wang Li, deputy director of the city's traffic administrative bureau, told the conference that as of yet there are no plans to continue with the odd-even license plate restriction once the Olympics has finished, despite its success in cutting pollution and calls for the continuation of the measure.

"The rule is closely related to everyone's daily life. We want to hear more public opinion on the whether, or how, to keep the rule," she said.

Bureau figures released yesterday showed that since the opening of the Games on Aug 8, the city's air quality has ranged from between excellent and fairly good on the pollution index, the cleanest for any summer period in the past 10 years.

The average daily air pollution index so far this month was 56, far below 81 reported last year. Major air pollutants on average dropped 40 percent over the same period last year, with nitrogen oxide emissions directly related to vehicles down by 61 percent, according to the bureau.

Foreign experts have also spoken highly of Beijing's improvement in air quality, such as Ivo Allegrini, head of the air pollution department at the Italian National Research Center, and a member of the Beijing environment protection bureau's 12-member expert panel on air quality assessment during the Games.

"The city's air quality was highly satisfactory during the Games in the past two weeks. Pollutant data were no higher than that in most developed Western urban cites," Allegrini said in an interview yesterday.

Beijing's efforts to tackle air pollution is one of the best examples of how to reduce pollution in a city for important events such as an Olympics, he said.

Another expert, Andreas Wahner, director of the Institutes for Chemistry of Germany, said: "Beijing's air quality control measures have received a remarkable improvement as major pollutant concentration has declined to reach WHO guidance."

However, Du was also realistic about the challenges in the future.

"Although the Olympic Games will end soon, the environmental challenges we face are by no means over."

He has also called for public involvement in pollution control. He said the city would draw experience from the Olympics to organize volunteers to get involved in the daily environment protection administration, and continue to reward those who report illegal pollution activities.

Source:China Daily

Chinese president: Beijing Games promote Olympic spirit

2008-08-24T07:32:00.005-07:00

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing on Sunday that the Beijing Olympic Games have promoted the Olympic spirit of solidarity, friendship and peace.

"The success of the Beijing Olympic Games is attributable to the concerted efforts of the Chinese people and people from the rest of the world," said Hu at a banquet for foreign leaders and international dignitaries who will attend the Games' closing ceremony on Sunday night.

"The glory goes to the Olympic Family, to athletes who have competed hard, to volunteers from different parts of the world and to friends the world over who have been involved in the Beijing Olympic Games in various ways," Hu said in a toast at the banquet, held in the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in west Beijing.

Calling the past 16 days "a wonderful and exciting time together," the Chinese leader said that the hosting of the Beijing Olympics will give a boost to the further development of sports in China, promote more extensive exchanges and cooperation between China and the International Olympic Family, and further enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and people of all other countries.

The Beijing Olympic Games have become "a grand event of international sports competition and cultural exchanges" witnessed and joined by people of the whole world, said Hu.

Since the opening of the Beijing Games, friends from all parts of the world have come together in the Chinese capital to experience the charm of the International Olympic Movement, said the president.

"The Chinese people have greeted all the guests with great enthusiasm and shared with people from across the world the joy and happiness," he added.

He expressed sincere thanks to the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Family for their support and assistance, and extended heartfelt congratulations to the athletes from various countries and regions on their outstanding performances at the Beijing Games.

The president also pledged that China would work hard to guarantee the success of the Paralympic Games, scheduled to open in Beijing in early September.

"With the goal of 'Two Games, Equal Splendor," we will deliver a high-standard Paralympic Games with distinctive features and continue to contribute our part to the development of the International Olympic Movement," he said.

He expressed the confidence that through the concerted efforts of people all over the world, the Olympic spirit will be carried forward and mankind will enjoy an even better future.

"We all look forward to the reunion in London in four years' time!" he told the guests.

Among the guests were IOC President Jacques Rogge and Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch, heads of state and government, and representatives of royal families.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese president enters Banquet hall with foreign leaders

2008-08-24T07:32:00.003-07:00

Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing, together with foreign leaders, entered the banquet hall of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Sunday noon for a grand banquet.

The banquet is being held for the VIPs from all over the world, who have come to the Chinese capital to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, scheduled for Sunday night in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in north Beijing.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese premier meets Dominican PM

2008-08-24T07:32:00.001-07:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met here Sunday with Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who will attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games Sunday evening.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Sunday evening.
Wen said the Olympic Games is a grand gathering of the international community, and every country is a member of the big community and should be equally treated no matter it is big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak.

Wen said the bilateral relations between China and Dominica have developed smoothly since the establishment of diplomatic ties four years ago.

China values the relations with Caribbean countries including Dominica, and is willing to strengthen the friendship and cooperation with them on the basis of mutual respect, equality and reciprocity, Wen said.

Skerrit congratulated China on hosting a very successful Olympic Games, and thanked China for its support to Dominica's economic and social development.

Dominica will firmly abide by the one-China policy, supports China's peaceful reunification course and will further expand its friendship and cooperation with China, Skerrit said.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese premier meets Mongolian PM

2008-08-24T07:31:00.008-07:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met here Sunday with Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar, who is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"The attendance of Mongolian president to the opening ceremony and your attendance to the closing ceremony showed the importance Mongolia attached to the Beijing Olympic Games, as well as the Mongolian people's deep affection for the Chinese people," Wen said.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar, who is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games, in Beijing on Sunday
He congratulated the Mongolian athletic team on making a historic breakthrough at the Games.

Mongolia's Tuvshinbayar Naidan beat Askhat Zhitkeyev, of Kazakhstan, in the men's 100kg class judo on Aug. 14, winning Mongolia's first Olympic gold medal in 44 years.

Bayar highly praised the organization of the Games, noting it showed China's progress in social and economic development in recent years.

Speaking positively of the development of China-Mongolia relations, Wen said the two countries are good neighbors, and the Chinese government takes the ties with Mongolia as an important one in its relations with neighboring countries.

China is willing to take the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Mongolia as an opportunity to promote the bilateral relations, Wen said.

Bayar said Mongolia hopes to celebrate the anniversary jointly with China and further enhance the good-neighborly friendship of mutual trust between the two countries.

He also invited 60 Chinese children from earthquake-hit areas to recuperate in Mongolia next year.

Source:Xinhua

Mundell: RMB should be gradually stabilized

2008-08-24T07:31:00.007-07:00

The exchange rate of the Chinese yuan against the dollar should be stabilized gradually in period of time, said Nobel economics laureate Robert Mundell Saturday.

Mundell, who is dubbed "father of the euro" made the remarks when addressing a conference that drew 15 Nobel prize winners in economics and nearly 300 other famed economists worldwide in the German resort of Lindau from Wednesday to Saturday.

Mundell said he has learned that many businesses are on the verge of collapse during his recent tour to China's Dongguan, a major manufacturing base in southern China.

That was largely the result of RMB's dramatic appreciation against the dollar over the past year, Mundell added.

He also noted that a rising RMB has taken a toll on these Chinese manufacturers whose profit margin has virtually been very meagre in the international industrial chain.

The exchange rate of RMB should be stabilized gradually, he emphasized.

On the current inflation in China, which has been higher than previous years, Mundell said it is a normal result of years of two-digit economic growth.

Born in 1932, Mundell is called the "father of the euro." He developed a pioneering theory of optimum currency areas even before the idea of the single European currency was hatched in the 1970s.

Winning the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1999, he is known as an authority on international monetary systems, macroeconomics policy management, exchange rate systems, supply-side economics, transition economics and monetary history.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese premier meets new Nepali PM

2008-08-24T07:31:00.005-07:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met here on Sunday with new Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, discussing bilateral relations and the Beijing Olympic Games.

Congratulating Prachanda on his swearing in as prime minister, Wen said China respected the social system and way of development Nepal had chosen according to its situation.

He believed it would realize political stability and economic development through joint efforts of all political parties and under the leadership of Prachanda, who was here to attend the Games closing ceremony on Sunday evening.

China and Nepal were good neighbors and China was satisfied with the current development of bilateral relations, Wen said. He noted China would work with Nepal to further the reciprocal cooperation in various fields and benefit the two peoples.

Prachanda said the friendship between China and Nepal had endured the test of time. Historic changes were taking place in Nepal's domestic situation. The Nepali government and people were striving for national stability and economic development, and hoped to get support and cooperation from China.

Nepal would, as always, supports China's efforts to maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Prachanda said.

Source:Xinhua

Chinese vice president meets Indonesian counterpart

2008-08-24T07:31:00.003-07:00

China is ready to work with Indonesia to promote bilateral strategic cooperation, said Vice President Xi Jinping on Sunday.

Xi told his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla during their meeting that China values the relations with Indonesia, which is a strategic partner of China.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla during their meeting in Beijing, China, Aug. 24, 2008. Jusuf Kalla is here to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and other related activities.
China will make joint efforts with Indonesia to increase bilateral cooperation, so as to benefit the two peoples and contribute to regional and world peace and development, Xi said.

Kalla, who came to attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and other related activities, congratulated China on the Games' success and on Chinese athletes' outstanding performance.

"This is the pride of the Asian people," he said.

Kalla said Indonesia attaches great importance to the relations with China, and will make efforts to enhance bilateral strategic partnership.

Source: Xinhua

Senior Chinese leader meets Canadian official on sidelines of Beijing Games

2008-08-24T07:31:00.001-07:00

Senior Communist Party of China official Zhou Yongkang on Saturday met with Jay Hill, a senior member of the Conservative Party of Canada, on the sidelines of the Beijing Olympics.

Zhou, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, welcomed Hill, who is the highest-ranking Canadian official set to attend the closing ceremony of the Games on Sunday.

Canada was represented at the Aug. 8 opening ceremony by Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson, with Secretary of State for Sport Helena Guergis leading a sports delegation.

Zhou hailed the Canadian athletes' excellent performances at the Games, citing Canada's 18 medal wins by Saturday.

"I am sure your athletes will do a better job at winter Olympics," Zhou said, hinting at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

In response, Hill said, "I apologize for not knowing the total medal count of China, but I know you have won a lot of gold."

Hill also congratulated Zhou on the security of the Games as Zhou served the secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the CPC Central Committee and oversaw the security.

Source: Xinhua

Two Russian tourists killed in bus accident in NE China identified

2008-08-24T07:30:00.007-07:00

Two Russian tourists killed in a bus accident in northeast China on Friday were identified as 40-year-old Anokhin Dmitry and 13-year-old Tarasenko Anastasia, according to the border inspection station in Suifenhe.

They were among 22 Russian tourists on board the bus that overturned at a crossroad of Tielinghe Town of Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, at about 4:40 a.m. en route to Suifenhe, China's border city with Russia.

Two of the tourists remained in hospital in Mudanjiang on Saturday morning after 18 other members of the tour group were told they could return home.

Driver fatigue was believed to have been cause of the crash, said police after they interrogated the bus driver, who allegedly admitted that he was sleepy while driving. Police have detained him.

The accident occurred after he had been driving alone in the dark for five hours. The long-distance trip was supposed to have two drivers rotating. However, there was only one driver on the tourist bus, said the police.

Police are still investigating the accident.

Source: Xinhua

Beijing to adopt stricter environment measures after Olympics: official

2008-08-24T07:30:00.005-07:00

Beijing will continue to face tough environmental challenges after the Olympics and will adopt stricter measures to cope with pollution, an environment official said on Saturday.

Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, told a press conference that some of the temporary pollution-curbing measures would become permanent after the Games.

"For example, we will accelerate the removal and treatment of heavily-polluting vehicles, and step up construction site dust reduction," he said. "Project builders in Beijing must increase their input in environment protection."

Pollution had been a major concern in the run-up to the Games. To improve the air quality, the capital pulled half of its 3.3 million vehicles off the road with even-odd licence plate number restrictions as one of the temporary measures, which included closing polluting factories in Beijing and neighboring provinces, the suspension of most urban construction projects, and the removal of vehicles failing to meet emission standards.

Du said that since the Games opened on Aug. 8, the city's air quality ranged between excellent and fairly good on the pollution index, the cleanest for any summer period in the last 10 years.

However, "our happiness and easiness are limited", he said. "Although the Olympic Games will end soon, the environmental challenges we face are by no means over."

The city authorities will requires heavily-polluting enterprises to resolve their pollution problems as a prerequisite to resuming operations after the Games, Du said.

"If they can't resolve the pollution problems, they should stop or limit their production," he said.

The official called for public involvement in pollution control. "We'll draw experience from the Olympics to organize volunteers to get involved in the daily environment protection administration, and continue to reward those who report illegal pollution activities."

Source: Xinhua

"Lightning" Bolt donates for children in China's quake zone

2008-08-24T07:30:00.003-07:00

Triple Olympic sprint gold medalist Jamaican Usain Bolt on Saturday made a personal donation of 50,000 U.S. dollars to children in the earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province, and wished people there to "get through from the tragedy" and move forward with the inspiration of the Olympic Games.

"We came here, tried to perform well," said the Jamaican, who claimed the gold medals in men's 100m and 200m sprint as well as the 4x100m relay at the Beijing Olympic Games. "I hope people enjoy the games, forget the past and move on."

"You have to move forward after the disaster. And also, the Olympics ask people to move forward," he added.

An 8.0-magnitude tremor hit the southwestern Chinese province and its neighboring regions on May 12, killing nearly 70,000 people and leaving some 18,000 others missing. At least 10 million people lost their homes to the disaster.

Bolt said that he had seen reports of the earthquake on TV for a long time. "It makes me feel sorry for the victims, so I ask my management team to do something," said Bolt in an exclusive interview with Xinhua, after delivering the cheque to Liu Xuanguo, secretary-general of the Red Cross Foundation of China.

Two children from Sichuan, confined to wheelchairs due to quake-inflicted injuries, presented their paintings to Bolt as gifts.

"They are kids. They deserve a better future," Bolt said, crouching between the wheelchairs. "I hope they can still enjoy themselves, because they are still kids. And, it's great for kids to live in joys. I just want to help them."

"I'm looking forward more people coming out and helping them." Bolt said.

Weeks before the opening of the Beijing Games, Bolt had trained in Tianjin, a north China port city some 120 km from Beijing. He was given a painting there, which depicted Chinese soldiers rescuing kids from under the rubble.

"I still keep the painting, and will definitely bring it home," Bolt told Xinhua. "I really appreciate it."

Talking about the Olympic Games, Bolt said that he was welcome in China, and was moved by the Chinese people. He said he was moved to tears on the night of winning the 200m race, when more than 90,000 spectators in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, sang "happy birthday" for him.

The Jamaican sprinter just turned 22 two days ago.

Source: Xinhua

China starts adoption process for 88 earthquake orphans

2008-08-24T07:30:00.001-07:00

Civil affairs authorities in China's quake-hit Sichuan Province on Saturday issued the first list of 88 children orphaned in the May 12 earthquake for adoption.

The process is restricted to qualified Chinese mainland families in line with guidelines jointly instituted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the provincial government of Sichuan after the earthquake.

"Of 532 children who lost both parents in the earthquake, 240 were under the age of 14. Most of them had their grandparents or other relatives as guardians. Only 88 orphans currently need care," said Chen Kefu, deputy head of the provincial Civil Affairs Department.

He said families that met the regulations for adoption could apply through civil affairs departments in the children's birthplaces from Saturday.

According to the guidelines, only childless Chinese aged over 30 would be considered as adoptive parents.

The ministry also stipulated that only children under the age of 14 could be adopted, and those older than 10 should be consulted on their preferences.

Tens of thousands of families across China overwhelmed civil affairs departments in Sichuan with telephone calls asking to adopt orphans for a week after the magnitude-8 earthquake on May 12.

"The status of orphan can only be determined with death certificates of both parents, which should be given by police or hospital departments. Those whose parents are missing must wait for a court to declare their parents dead after two years," said Jiang Tao, a Sichuan adoption official.

He said his colleagues were still working to find relatives of orphans.

Sichuan's civil affairs departments gave custody priority to the children's relatives.

The provincial government has found temporary foster homes or school boardings and provided an allowance of 600 yuan per month for each orphan.

The tremor claimed nearly 70,000 lives, left thousands of others missing and millions homeless in Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

Source: Xinhua

CREA: China unlikely to boost housing market in short term

2008-08-24T07:29:00.005-07:00

The China Real Estate Association has denied claims that the government will act to bolster the housing market by freeing up financing.

A report in the China Business Journal on Saturday quoted an unnamed CREA official as saying the government would let market forces determine the course of the housing sector.

The CREA official rejected a report in the Shanghai-based Oriental Post earlier in the week that Wang Yiming, a researcher with the National Development and Reform Commission, had said the government might work out policies to boost the real estate market.

The CREA official reportedly said this "is impossible" as land agents had sent submissions to the government, seeking looser credit regulation and lower taxes, but no positive response had been received.

Experts attributed the unfavorable response to the sound business conditions of banks, indicating that the real estate sector's fall was not serious enough for the government to take action.

The leading commercial banks still posted solid earnings in the first half. The largest lender, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , said on Thursday its first half after-tax profits totaled 64.88 billion yuan , which made it the world's most profitable bank.

An imbalance in supply and demand had led to falling housing prices. Many homebuyers were reportedly in negative equity with their mortgages and were abandoning their homes to banks.

Many developers had to lend large amounts from banks, and the overstock of houses would force them to default. All of these would lead to a possible credit crisis for banks.

The country's real estate developers sold about 260 million sq m houses in the first six months, representing a decrease of 7.2 percent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, vacant houses totaled 129 mln sq m by the end of July, up 6.1 percent on year.

Source: Xinhua

China's VP, senior CPC official meet Mongolian PM on sidelines of Beijing Games

2008-08-24T07:29:00.003-07:00

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Saturday met with Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar to discuss bilateral ties and the Beijing Olympics.

Xi welcomed Bayar, who came to attend the closing ceremony of the Olympics and congratulated the Mongolian athletic team on making a historic breakthrough at the Games.

Mongolia's Tuvshinbayar Naidan beat Askhat Zhitkeyev of Kazakhstan in the men's 100kg class judo on Aug. 14, winning Mongolia's first gold medal in 44 years.

Xi said China valued the ties with Mongolia and would like to deepen cooperation.

Bayar congratulated China on hosting a successful Olympics.

"The development of ties with China is the top priority of Mongolia's foreign policy," Bayar said. "Mongolia would like to work more closely with China to further advance bilateral ties."

On the same day, Bayar, also head of the ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party , met with Wang Jiarui, a senior official of the Communist Party of China .

Wang, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, said the CPC stressed friendly cooperative relations with the MPRP, and wished a stable Mongolian political situation, economic growth and happy lives of people.

Bayar said a successful Beijing Olympics depicted the great achievements China had made in its economic and social development, which the Mongolian people were happy to see.

Exchanges between ruling parties of Mongolia and China were an important motivation for partnership with mutual trust, and the MPRP would like to continue to deepen friendly contacts and cooperation, said Bayar.

Source: Xinhua

Nepali PM Prachanda arrives in Beijing for Olympics

2008-08-24T07:29:00.001-07:00

Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", prime minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal , arrived in Beijing Saturday evening.

He will attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, according to sources with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Besides the Nepali Prime Minister, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Burundian Second Vice President Gabriel Ntisezerana, and Mongolian Prime Minister Sanj Bayar arrived in Beijing respectively on Saturday. They will attend the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games and other relevant activities.

Source:Xinhua

Two killed, one missing in northwest China village explosion

2008-08-24T07:28:00.000-07:00

Two people died and one is missing after a stash of dynamite exploded in a village home in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Friday, according to local government.

The blast at around 8:16 p.m. was caused by around 300 kilograms of explosives used for road construction in Wangjiahe Village, Zhenba County, the Hanzhong City government said on Saturday.

Four injured people were receiving treatment in hospital.

Local police said improper management of the explosives led to the blast.

Source:Xinhua

Power resumes in quake-hit southwest China villages

2008-08-24T07:26:00.000-07:00

All 191 quake-affected villages in southwest China's Yunnan Province resumed electricity supply on Saturday, according to local authorities.

The emergency headquarters for Yingjiang County earthquake said some large temporary settlement sites also had electricity.

Yingjiang was hit by a magnitude-5.0 tremor at 5:35 a.m. on Wednesday, followed by quakes with magnitudes 4.9 and 5.9 on Thursday.

Three people were killed and 117 others injured. The tremors destroyed 11,360 houses and damaged 77,747 others, forcing 125,000 to be evacuated.

Source:Xinhua

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2008-08-03T23:38:00.000-07:00

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