London Summer Olympics 2012
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
- Status
Rising China
Junior Member
London Olympic Opening Ceremony lacks the WOW factors. It was so boring that even the Queen was caught picking her nails while watching...
antiterror13
Brigadier
I just re-watched Beijing 2008 opening Ceremony Video with my son, .... unfortunately the London 2012 is nothing compared to Beijing 2008. Beijing 2008 was simply stunning and spectacular. I would rank
1. Beijing 2008
2. Athens 2004
3. London 2012
4. Sydney 2000
Who do you think would get the most GOLD ... I would predict the USA team, followed closely by Chinese team. The British team may get lucky (very unlikely) in the top 5
Last edited:
bladerunner
Banned Idiot
Both swimming golds were fantastic performances, however I think Ye Shewin come from behind in the last leg of the 400medley and being a world record, got the place rocking.
Its a great looking acquatic centre I must say.
Its a great looking acquatic centre I must say.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Medal hopes for rivals of table tennis powerhouse China
By John Weaver | AFP – 22 hrs ago.. .
World number one Zhang Jike leads China's table tennis juggernaut at the London Olympics but a medals clean sweep is out of reach due to new rules that give rivals a share of the glory.
The Chinese achieved table tennis perfection at the 2008 Games in Beijing, sweeping both singles podiums and winning the team titles -- fuelling fears that their iron grip was damaging interest in the sport.
Since table tennis joined the Olympic programme in 1988, China have taken 20 of the 24 available golds, including all four at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
And the sport's top administrator said this week in London that the "devastating" Chinese had widened the gap still further since Beijing.
"The current situation is actually worse than in Beijing -- worse in the sense that the difference in technical level between the Chinese and the rest of the world has grown even further," said International Table Tennis Federation president Adham Sharara.
"This is good for the Chinese, but devastating for the rest," he added. "The Chinese are expected to win everything, so even within China the public is crying for a meaningful foreign challenge. This is not on the immediate horizon."
His comments follow a warning from veteran Hungarian player Krisztina Toth that the Olympic tournament risked being a "boring" spectacle because of Asian dominance.
China's power -- demonstrated yet again by their men's and women's titles at the world team championships in Germany this year -- has long led to concerns over the sport's public appeal.
But in London there will be at least two non-Chinese paddlers on the singles podiums, after each country was limited to just two entrants. There are also men's and women's team events at the ExCel venue in London's Docklands.
China boasts the world's top four men and top four women. Aside from Zhang, Wang Hao took silver in the men's singles in 2008 and in Athens in 2004 and gold in the Beijing team event.
China's strength in depth is so impressive that three-time Olympic gold medallist Ma Lin, the reigning singles champion, misses out.
Zhang is chasing his own milestone -- a "grand slam" of titles after winning the world cup and world championship crowns last year -- with team-mate Wang his main rival.
Among the players most likely to challenge the Chinese men are Japan's Jun Mizutani, Germany's Timo Boll and Michael Maze of Denmark. Mizutani, seeded third, has risen to a career high of number five in the world rankings.
European champion Boll, 31, has competed at every Olympics since Sydney 2000 and is the only non-Asian in the men's or women's world top 10s.
In the women's tournament, Ding Ning, who like Zhang won last year's world championships and world cup, almost missed out on the Games when she failed to gain one of two automatic qualification places available.
But the withdrawal of Guo Yan through injury opened the door to London.
The main challengers to Ding and her team-mate Li Xiaoxia will be South Korea's Kim Kyung-Ah and Kazumi Ishikawa of Japan.
In the team competition, Singapore and Japan will be eyeing an upset.
Since 1988 there have been only four non-Chinese golds -- three for South Korea and one for Sweden's Jan-Ove Waldner, who won the men's singles in 1992 and remains the only non-Asian gold medallist.
There will be other nations on the podium in the the singles competitions in London -- but red will be the dominant colour.
I was reading British diver Tom Daley is hoping the Chinese are not at their best. And you're hearing how the Chinese don't have heart when playing sports...
By John Weaver | AFP – 22 hrs ago.. .
World number one Zhang Jike leads China's table tennis juggernaut at the London Olympics but a medals clean sweep is out of reach due to new rules that give rivals a share of the glory.
The Chinese achieved table tennis perfection at the 2008 Games in Beijing, sweeping both singles podiums and winning the team titles -- fuelling fears that their iron grip was damaging interest in the sport.
Since table tennis joined the Olympic programme in 1988, China have taken 20 of the 24 available golds, including all four at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000.
And the sport's top administrator said this week in London that the "devastating" Chinese had widened the gap still further since Beijing.
"The current situation is actually worse than in Beijing -- worse in the sense that the difference in technical level between the Chinese and the rest of the world has grown even further," said International Table Tennis Federation president Adham Sharara.
"This is good for the Chinese, but devastating for the rest," he added. "The Chinese are expected to win everything, so even within China the public is crying for a meaningful foreign challenge. This is not on the immediate horizon."
His comments follow a warning from veteran Hungarian player Krisztina Toth that the Olympic tournament risked being a "boring" spectacle because of Asian dominance.
China's power -- demonstrated yet again by their men's and women's titles at the world team championships in Germany this year -- has long led to concerns over the sport's public appeal.
But in London there will be at least two non-Chinese paddlers on the singles podiums, after each country was limited to just two entrants. There are also men's and women's team events at the ExCel venue in London's Docklands.
China boasts the world's top four men and top four women. Aside from Zhang, Wang Hao took silver in the men's singles in 2008 and in Athens in 2004 and gold in the Beijing team event.
China's strength in depth is so impressive that three-time Olympic gold medallist Ma Lin, the reigning singles champion, misses out.
Zhang is chasing his own milestone -- a "grand slam" of titles after winning the world cup and world championship crowns last year -- with team-mate Wang his main rival.
Among the players most likely to challenge the Chinese men are Japan's Jun Mizutani, Germany's Timo Boll and Michael Maze of Denmark. Mizutani, seeded third, has risen to a career high of number five in the world rankings.
European champion Boll, 31, has competed at every Olympics since Sydney 2000 and is the only non-Asian in the men's or women's world top 10s.
In the women's tournament, Ding Ning, who like Zhang won last year's world championships and world cup, almost missed out on the Games when she failed to gain one of two automatic qualification places available.
But the withdrawal of Guo Yan through injury opened the door to London.
The main challengers to Ding and her team-mate Li Xiaoxia will be South Korea's Kim Kyung-Ah and Kazumi Ishikawa of Japan.
In the team competition, Singapore and Japan will be eyeing an upset.
Since 1988 there have been only four non-Chinese golds -- three for South Korea and one for Sweden's Jan-Ove Waldner, who won the men's singles in 1992 and remains the only non-Asian gold medallist.
There will be other nations on the podium in the the singles competitions in London -- but red will be the dominant colour.
I was reading British diver Tom Daley is hoping the Chinese are not at their best. And you're hearing how the Chinese don't have heart when playing sports...
bladerunner
Banned Idiot
They could always let their third ranked players migrate and compete for Hong Kong. (wink wink)
I notice the gymnastics have become a more open competition in recent years. Meanwhile Chinas opening qualifying performance has been disappointing to say the least.
I notice the gymnastics have become a more open competition in recent years. Meanwhile Chinas opening qualifying performance has been disappointing to say the least.
AssassinsMace
Lieutenant General
Well it is spin because the downsizing of athletes from China is only because the host country for the Olympics has a spot reserved for them in every sport event not because of some paranoid conspiracy they're trying to read into. I guess because China has struck ahead in the first day, some are trying salvage something from their own failure.
Last edited:
- Status