I'll go for the gold: Vijender Kumar

A slice of history and an Olympic bronze already in his pocket, Vijender will show up in Friday's semifinal with nothing to lose and only newer heights to gain.

Though the strapping six-footer from Haryana has achieved his primary goal and cannot wait to stand atop the podium with the medal dangling from his neck, success has only whetted his appetite and Vijender says he is hungry for more.

"I've achieved what I came here for and none can take it away. That surely takes the pressure off my shoulders and I'll be in a free state of mind tomorrow," said Vijender, ahead of his 75kg semifinal bout against formidable Cuban Emilio Correa Bayeaux at the Worker's Stadium.

"But that does not mean I'll just go through the motions tomorrow. It will be the same vigour and the intensity too would remain same. I'm going for the gold," Vijender said.

The two-time Pan-American champion Cuban would not be an easy meat but if Vijender's recent form is to go by, the Indian who would enjoy a slight height advantage has it in him to punch the Cuban's light out.

"I don't think personal reputation would count. So many world champions and Olympic medallists have bowed out, losing to unheralded opponents," added Vijender, who beat Athens gold medallist Bakhtiyar Atrayev in a recent competition.

Son of Emilio Correa Vailant, one of the best boxers in the 1970s who won the welterweight gold in the 1972 Munich Olympics, Bayeaux hopes to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious father and Vijender would need to do something special to halt the Cuban in his strides.

"I have not played him earlier but watching recordings of his bout to get a fair idea about him. He is a tough customer but I'm no novice either and you can be sure that we would not be treating each other with kid gloves," Vijender predicted.

"Winning a medal has been a dream-come-true and I'm not in a hurry to return," quipped the Indian. Coach G S Sandhu refused to predict the outcome of tomorrow's bout and said anything can happen.

"All we can say is that we have done our home work well. We have studied the Cuban and formulated a strategy. But plans alone won't win you bouts, it all depends on how you react in the rings.

"No doubt Vijender has got a tough opponent to tackle but then he is also in good form. We're keeping our fingers crossed," Sandhu said.


Courtesy:ndtv.com
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Erratic Anju disappoints with three foul jumps

Breaking a million Indian hearts, Anju Bobby George on Tuesday failed to qualify for the finals of women's long jump event of the Beijing Olympics after three consecutive foul jumps.

It was a big disappoint not only for Indian fans but also for Anju herself as she failed to put up even single clean jump, squandering all three chances.

It required an out of the skin show to make the finals grade, as the qualifying mark was as high as 6.75 metres or the 12 best jumps.

Anju was in not her best form when she landed in Beijing to present Indian challenge as the Indian had continuously struggled to cross her best mark of 6.83m, which she achieved in the last Olympics at Athens.

Now the Indian medal hopes from the track and field remains on the 4X400 relay team comprising Mandeep Kaur, Chitra Soman, S Geetha, Sini Jose, M R Povamma and K Mridula.


Courtesy:hindustantimes.com
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Phelps breaks 200m free world record for third gold

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Beijing: American swimming marvel Michael Phelps won his third gold medal at the Beijing Olympics with another world record swim in the 200 metres freestyle final on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old world champion smashed his own world record by 0.90sec in a time of one minute 42.96 seconds.

It was his ninth Olympic gold medal overall after he won six at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Phelps is bidding to win eight golds at a single Games and beat the 1972 record of seven set by American Mark Spitz.

Phelps won the 200m freestyle event which eluded him in Athens when he was a bronze medallist behind Australian Ian Thorpe.

He won his other two gold medals in the Beijing pool in the 400m medley and 4x100m freestyle relay.


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Why does world hate us: Chinese media

A day after, China basked in the glow of all-round praise for a visually enchanting opening ceremony show of the 29th Olympics that left over 100,000 spectators and participants breathless for its technological wizardry as well as for the sophisticated organisational execution.

Even its worst critics conceded that the country had indeed put up a dazzling performance that showcased its ancient 5,000-year culturally rich history while projecting a super-modern face that few had associated with it previously.

The occasion provided an unprecedented surge of nationalism in a people who for years had seen themselves being at the receiving end of Western, and free world, criticism for their repression of political dissidents, for stifling of personal and religious freedom and for its support to heretical nations like Sudan, Myanmar, Iran and North Korea.

Tian'anmen Square, the city's most prominent public square, was a sea of people till midnight, when the opening ceremony ended, who had their faces painted with colours of China and the Olympic Games, waved their flags and screamed and chanted "Go China" while watching the nearly four-hour ceremony that turned the 'Bird's Nest' National Stadium into a cauldron of Chinese civilisation and patriotic fervour.

The sky-streaking fireworks, numbering over 30,000 that set the Beijing firmament aglow, brought roars from wildly cheering spectators as well as the largest 639-member home contingent that brought up the rear of the 208 participating Olympic committees and delegations at the Games whose actual competition begin on Saturday.

However, the loudest roar of admiration and wonder no doubt came when Li Ning, winner of three gymnastic gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, almost flew around the rim of the Bird's Nest, albeit with the help of a little visible taut wire, to light the sacred flame in the cauldron at the top in a flashing bit of acrobatic and technical daredevilry.


Courtesy:ndtv.com
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Olympics: Chen Xiexia wins first gold medal for hosts

BEIJING (Xinhua): Chen Xiexia won the women's 48kg weightlifting title, the first gold medal for the host at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.

Chen totaled a winning mark of 212 kg, also a new Olympic record to take the gold. The silver was taken by Sibel Ozkan of Turkey at 199. Chen Wei-Ling of Chinese Taipei settled for the bronze at 196 kg.

Courtesy:thehindu.com
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Olympic torch lands in Delhi

New Delhi, April 17: The Olympic torch arrived at the New Delhi airport early Thursday amid heavy security because of fears that members of the world's largest community of exiled Tibetans might disrupt its passage through the capital.

The torch, which is en route to China for the Summer Games in Beijing, was carried off a plane by Suresh Kalmadi, the chief of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

It was then taken along a route lined with hundreds of police to spend the rest of the night in a luxury hotel.

Police detained about two dozen Tibetan protesters along the route and in front of the hotel. Many were dragged into police vans as they shouted anti-China slogans.

The torch has been beset by protests through Europe and the Americas, mostly over a Chinese crackdown in Tibet. In some places, protesters tried to snuff out the flame and organisers extinguished or hid the torch to keep it safe.

Fearing similar protests, India trimmed the route to a third of the original nine-km distance, restricting it to a high-security stretch used for the annual Republic Day parade in the capital.

Organisers have so far not even said what time Thursday the New Delhi leg of the relay would begin.

Thousands of police and paramilitary officers will line the route, which passes close to the nation's parliament and the offices of federal ministers.

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Olympic run will continue: IOC chief

The Olympic flame arrived here on Tuesday under heavy security as games officials dismissed suggestions that the global relay could be abandoned amid protests over China's human rights record. ( Watch: ‘Olympic run will continue’ )

The symbolic flame arrived at San Francisco International Airport around 4:00 am (1100 GMT) for its only stop in the United States, a day after angry protests forced officials to snuff out the Olympic torch five times in Paris.

Police guarded every entrance to the airport's international terminal and officers in riot gear patrolled outside the building, before the flame was whisked to a secret location ahead of Wednesday's torch relay.

Pro-Tibet activists were holding events in San Francisco on Tuesday which will culminate in a rally and candlelight vigil attended by Tibetan leaders, actor Richard Gere and archbishop Desmond Tutu at around 6:00 pm (0100 GMT).

Around 800 protesters carrying Tibetan flags attended a rally at the city's United Nations Plaza early Tuesday before marching to the Chinese consulate, flanked by police officers.

Protesters chanted "Shame on China" and "Free Tibet Now" as they demonstrated outside the consulate buildings.

San Francisco organizers have already trimmed the route of the torch relay to six miles, and mayor Gavin Newsom said Monday further changes could be made even after the event gets underway.

Meanwhile in Beijing on Tuesday, Olympic chief Jacques Rogge raised the prospect of a possible abandonment of the relay's ensuing legs after confirming that the flame's odyssey would be reviewed at a meeting this week.

But he later moved to dampen speculation of the relay being stopped. "It's a false rumour," Rogge told France 3 television. "There is no discussion underway on the matter and we do not envisage such a scenario.

"We will of course analyze the route of the torch since the beginning, from Olympia to Paris although the next stage is San Francisco. That's what we are doing and we will make regular evaluations."

However, Rogge emphasised: "We are not in the dynamic of stopping."

Pro-Tibet campaigners have shadowed the flame from the moment it was lit in Greece on March 24, as demonstrators accuse China of violating human rights and protest a crackdown in Tibet that they say has left 150 people dead. China says "rioters" killed 20 people.

International leaders have also come under pressure to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing on August 8.

Although US President George W. Bush has consistently said he plans to attend, arguing that the Olympics is about sport not politics, the White House on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility of Bush missing the event.

Courtesy:timesofindia.com
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