The Olympic Legacy in China

Congratulations to China hosting the Olympics and good luck to the participants.

I was just witnessing a historic moment when Taiwan was leading 7-3 against China in Baseball. However something happened when we changed pitcher, home run after home run. China turned the tide in the 12th sector, and Taiwan lost 8-7. How could we lose? The question is not of political reasoning, but rather sportsman skill. Naturally we have been a top competitior in baseball for years, and then to lose against our arch-rival in China. There must be something wrong with the coaching.

Yesterday I also witnessed the loss of the Softball match against Australia. Table tennis too against Hong Kong. Apparently this week is a bad week for Taiwan (Chinese Taipei).

Any opinions on whats going wrong with Taiwan's sports?

I have to agree this week is not a good one for Taiwan. Both in sports and in politics.

But, in general, this Olympic was good for most of the Asian countries. MONGOLIA just won its first gold in many years. Too bad east Asian countries often compete against each other, or else we'd have more metals.

I was pretty surprised when the Chinese woman's volleyball team lost to the Cuba and the US after surrendering a 2-1 lead both times. I guess upsets do happen a lot in Olympics.

I watched the Women's Football Quarter Final between China and Japan. I had predicted that China would lose. However I couldn't help myself feeling disappointed against the Chinese team. I've also found out a few weak point in the Chinese team such as the players run slowly which is a deadliest weak point in football game.

And baseball is really not that big in mainland china too, few even understand the rule;p

The Chinese did quite well in water polo, both men and womens, considering they are not really a traditional water polo power at all. The Chinese lost to the US Men's team something like 7-10 I believe, and were right with the US until about half way through the 3rd quarter, where the US's superior conditioning took hold (the US men's team can swim better than even the traditional powerhouses like Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Greece, they just have better skills). The Chinese women's team also lost to the US but only by 1. I didn't see that one. The Chinese women beat Russia which was a major upset. So all in all, in water polo, the Chinese did quite well considering they are the newest country on the international water polo scene and do not enjoy the advantage of having players who have played their whole lives like the other countries.

Thats what really struck me, there are many sports that China has never won gold medals or any medals for that matter and are naturally not strong in. However in this olympic games they've won in many of those sports. Which is really weird.

BTW anyone catch the Colombian weightlifter? He was so unlucky.....I feel sorry for him.

http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/...lay_id=9290740

Originally Posted by yehe

And baseball is really not that big in mainland china too, few even understand the rule;p

I'm one of those who do not know the rule of baseball, even though I don't live in China. Can you tell me the rule?

Ive never watched one competitive game of baseball or softball in my life. I picked up the basic rules as i go...but they are:
- 1 point for each player that makes it "home"
- 3 strikes and youre out
- catch on the full and youre out
- get ball to the base before the runner does and theyre out
- 3 outs and its switchover
- unlimited number of fouls allowed

ad on too the list...
4 "balls" (bad pitch by the pitcher, the batter takes a walk)
ball hits batter its a walk

when the batter takes a walk its a walk to first base, not a home run

what's wrong with Russia's performance in this time?they should not that bad.

Their performance in gymanasium was less than expected.

The russian still got their chance in track and field. But yes their performance is dysappointing in many categories not just gymnastic.

Anyway...the olympic is a blast. I have the lucky chance of attending the Olympics match and my parents got to see the Opening ceremony.

Just return from the Olympic party in Beijing...What a great party!!! Beijing has really changed alot. The medal count and winning gets me really high and numb from realities.

Now that the excitement is winding down, I was thinking what next? How can the Olympic improve China as a whole? First I would like to point out a few observation I made when I was in Beijing:

1) Smiles - There are more smile everywhere in Beijing. From Olympic volunteers to shopkeepers to policemen. The atmosphere is better than i thought despite the high security and constant threat of terrorism.

2) Pride - Never have China been so proud of their country and no, not just from the medal count. I see other country's spectators cheer for China and vise versa. For that brief moment, i felt that china can feel for others. Hearing crowd cheered for the iraq or taiwan team is really emotional especially when you can feel the atmosphere.

3) Sports awareness and interest - Many chinese i met viewed all the sporting events that the chinese team competes in. Most chinese do not watch fencing or wrestling, but with chinese team competing in them they are willing to watch and at the same time learned the rules and history of the sport. If the chinese team won in that particular sports that that sport will get a boost in interest. Liu xiang may not be able to run in beijing olympics but his legacy has put hurdles and track and field sports in the "interest radar" for many chinese. For the first time chinese realize that asian can be as fast as africans that ussualy dominates the sports category. Same goes for swimming after china won several medals in the category for the first time.

4) Infrastructure and economy - If seeing the bird nest and watercube is impressive on television, wait till you get to see the real thing. And that is just the sporting venues... Enough said for infrastructure. The lasting effect of the olympic to the chinese economy is less obvious and this is what I want to tdiscuss in this thread.

There are also a few negative things i observe which needs improvements:

1) booing - I do not think any athelete in the olympic deserved to be booed (except for those drug takers). They trained hard and made many sacrifices to get where they are.

2) Overly fixated on gold medal count - A hong kong commentator said that for many chinese atheletes wining a bronze medal is like losing loved ones. When liu xiang failed to run in today many chinese felt overly dissapointed to the point of blaming Liu xiang for being a fraud and chickens out during race. despite CCTV's attempt to only interviewed those that are sympathetic for liu xiang, many people here know that some chinese are angry at him. Tjhose dissapointed at liu xiang should learn that sports is about the human spirit not just gold medal to satisfy their nationalistic pride. I rather see liu get the rest he deserved and compete again. Having said that I am also guilty of over fixating on gold count to satisfy nationalistic pride, but at least I am trying to convert it positively as a chance for me to learn about new sports that i ussualy ignores.

Has any forum member been in Beijing for the Olympics? I would love to know your observation and opinion about what the game can give china other than gold medals?