Beijing 2008 The Official Game of the 2008 Olympic Games

Press conference on Beijing Olympics and Beijing Economy to be held on Aug. 21

2008-08-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, August 21 from 10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a. m. there will be a news conference highlighting Beijing Olympic and Beijing Economy. This press conference will be held in Conference Room 1. Experts from Beijing Olympic Economy Research Association will brief you at this press conference and take your questions.

Bolt toys with 200m heat

2008-08-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Jamaican Usain Bolt ran the fastest time of the Men's 200m semifinals at the National Stadium tonight, August 19, pushing him into the final as the man to beat.

His relaxed stride carried him across the line in 20.09 seconds as he watched himself on the giant TV screen in the National Stadium. His dash and pose puts him just ahead of the 100m fourth place getter Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles who won the first semifinal heat in 20.11s. The United States' Shawn Crawford ran just behind Bolt in the second heat in 20.12s.

Jamaican giant Bolt goes into the final of the Men's 200m as favorite after leaving the world in awe after his phenomenal 9.69s world record triumph in the Men's 100m on Saturday,.

Predominantly renowned for his 200m talent, Bolt made headlines earlier this year when he stormed into the 100m scene, clocking 9.72s to break the world record in New York in May. Initially, Bolt was using the 100m for "speed work" to improve on his more favored 200m.

Bolt has run the three fastest 200m times in the world this year - 19.67s (Athens), 19.76s (London) and 19.83s (Ostrava). His winning 19.67s at the Athens Grand Prix in July was the fifth-fastest ever.

The US trio of Walter Dix, Shawn Crawford and Wallace Spearmon will all be breathing down Bolt's neck. The three sprinters proved at the 2008 USA Olympic Trials that they are capable of producing a sub-20 second time in the 200m. Both registering 19.86s, Dix just pipped Crawford, the finish line camera separating the two on the line by 0.005s. Spearmon was not far behind in 19.90s.

Crawford is the reigning Olympic champion, and despite a couple of quiet years, remerged in 2008 as a contender for a medal. The 2001 World Championships bronze medalist has a personal best of 19.79s.

At the 2008 USA Olympic Trials, reigning 200m world champion Tyson Gay of the United States broke down mid-race with a hamstring strain, and was not selected to compete in the Men's 200m in Beijing.

Carl Lewis was the last man to complete the 100m-200m sprint double at the Olympic Games, in Los Angeles in 1984. Usain Bolt will have something to say about that.

Kanter lands Men's Discus gold

2008-08-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Gerd Kanter of Estonia threw 68.82 to claim Olympic gold in the Men's Discus Throw Tuesday, August 19. Taking the silver medal was Piotr Malachowski of Poland with a throw of 67.82. Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania took bronze at 67.79.

Ohuruogu wins Women's 400m title

2008-08-19T08:31:00.001-07:00

Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain won the gold medal in the Women's 400m on August 19, at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Ohuruogu recorded a season's best of 49.62 seconds to add the Olympic gold medal to the World Championships title she won in Osaka in 2007.

"I am just so proud of myself," Ohuruogu said.

"You always have all these dreams about winning, but you never think your dreams will be reality. I just ran across the line, thinking, 'I won!'," she added.

Silver medalist Shericka Williams of Jamaica ran 49.69s for a personal best, ahead of Sanya Richards of the United States who settled for bronze with a time of 49.93s.

China has new Diving He-man

2008-08-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

China's dominance in Diving continued at the Water Cube on Tuesday, August 19, with He Chong winning the Men's 3m Springboard with 572.90 points. The host nation has won all six Diving competitions contested in Beijing thus far and has won the Men's Springboard in three consecutive Olympic Games.

Alexandre Despatie of Canada continued a streak of his own, winning silver in the event for the second straight Olympic Games. He Chong's compatriot, Qin Kai, won bronze.

He Chong finished on top of the field in the preliminary round and semifinal, showing from start to finish why he is ranked No. 1 in the world. He punctuated his performances with a final dive -- a 5156B -- that earned him a 100.70, the highest individual score of the final.

Three-time Olympian Alexandre Despatie won his second Olympic silver with a consistent performance in the final, following closely behind He Chong from the second dive to the end.

Qin Kai, who, like He, was also making his Olympic debut, won his second medal of the Games. He won gold with partner Wang Feng in the Synchronized Springboard event.

Legendary diver Dmitry Sautin of Russia, an eight time Olympic medalist, finished in fourth -- falling short of the podium despite a spectacular 99.75-point final dive. Sautin won silver in the Synchronized Springboard last week.

Men's 3m Springboard, final standings:

1. China -- He Chong, 572.90 points

2. Canada -- Alexandre Despatie, 536.65

3. China – Qin Kai, 530.10

4. Russia -- Dmitry Sautin, 512.65

5. Germany -- Pavlo Rozenberg, 485.60

6. United States -- Troy Dumais, 472.50

7. Mexico – Yahel Castillo, 462.10

8. Germany -- Patrick Hausding, 462.05

9. Australia – Robert Newberry , 461.05

10. Columbia -- Juan Guillermo Uran, 454.50

11. Japan -- Ken Terauchi, 442.50

12. US -– Chris Colwill, 425.90

Vijender warms up for Thai revenge

2008-08-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Worker’s Stadium is an imposing arena. It’s just the perfect stage for a brutal contact sport like boxing, an open house where spectators give vent to their emotions and bare their passion in an uninhibited manner. If you want to hold back, walk away. This is not the place for you.
Vijender Kumar, the tall, goodlooking middleweight (75kg) boxer from Bhiwani walked into this
set-up at 8.30 pm to the soothing voice of Harry Belafonte. Strange music for a sport like boxing; you would rather expect Survivor’s ‘Eye of Tiger’ to be blaring from the speakers. The music stopped and then came the dramatic introduction, almost in WWF style.
Vijender got down to business after and walked away from the ring after 10 minutes, raising his right arm in salute and tapping his chest twice __ the magical right that pulverized his first round opponent from Gambia, Jack Badou.Vijender flowed in the fight, dancing, ducking and punching with ferocity.
He took time to warm up, which made the Gambian look good for a while. After that the 23-year-old Indian took control. He raced to a 6-1 lead in the second round, went ahead 9-2 in the third and wrapped it up at 13-2.
‘‘Mazaa aaya (I enjoyed the fight),’’ he said later. ‘‘It’s always good to get going in the first round. I had never played him before. It felt good out there. Yes, the right worked well. I’m ready for a tougher bout,’’ he added.
Well, that’s just coming up. Vijender now runs into Thai boxer Chompuphuang Angkha, an outright showman who outclassed his Korean opponent. ‘‘Yes, I know him. I have boxed with him earlier in the President’s Cup. He beat me by four points then. Abhi badle ka time hai (it’s time for revenge now),’’ Vijender said, clenching his fist.
The other bout featuring an Indian was an anti-climax. Light heavyweight (81kg) boxer Dinesh Kumar was put through the wringer by Algerian boxer Benchabla Abdulhafid.
After the first 30 seconds, with Dinesh keeping it level at 2-2, the Algerian southpaw opened up. Dinesh, an aggressive boxer who plays with an open style, soon walked into trouble and took a severe beating before referee stopped contest in the third round with the score at 23-3. Three other boxers are yet to feature here at the Games Akhil Kumar, Jitender and AL Lakra.

beijing 2008 opening ceremony

2008-08-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

China Beijing Olympic National Stadium - Bird's Nest

2008-08-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

Guo claims Olympic record and gold in Women's 10m Air Pistol

2008-08-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

China's Guo Wenjun won the gold medal in the Women's 10m Air Pistol in Beijing on August 10. Guo, 24, was outstanding in the final, shooting a score of 102.3 which took her total score to 492.3 -- an Olympic record for the final score.

The silver medal was won by Natalia Paderina of Russia (489.1 points) and the bronze medal was won by Nino Salukvadze of Georgia (487.4 points).

To win the gold medal, World No. 1 Guo needed to beat Paderina, who shot an Olympic record 391 in the qualification round. The previous qualification Olympic record was 390, set by Russian Marina Logvinenko at Atlanta 1996.

However, Guo, who equaled the previous Olympic record with 390 in the qualification round, shot incredibly well in the final. Paderina gave her Chinese opponent a helping hand by shooting poorly on her second shot, scoring 8.5.

Eight of Guo's ten shots were above 10 points, with the highest score, 10.8, coming on her ninth shot. Paderina's performance flailed and she shot below 10 points on her last three shots.

Salukvadze comfortably won the bronze over Belarusian Viktoria Chaika, who shot a total of 482.0 points.

With 387 in the qualification round, Mongolia's Munkzul Tsogbadrah had a great opportunity to win the bronze medal. However, the 27-year-old Mongolian's game fell apart in the final with a series of poor shots.

Republic of Korea wins Archery Women's Team gold medal match

2008-08-10T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Republic of Korea women's team of Park Sung-Hyun, Yun Ok-Hee and Joo Hyun-Jung out shot China for the gold in the Archery Women's Team gold medal match Sunday.

The ROK team scored 224 out of a possible 240 points. The Chinese team of Zhang Juanjuan, Chen Ling and Guo Dan took the silver medal with 215 points.

The French team of Virginie Arnold, Sophie Dodemont and Berengere Schuh took third place after a close 202-201 victory over Britain in the bronze medal match.

Earlier in the quarterfinal round, the ROK women's team set a 24-arrow world record with a combined score of 231 out of a possible 240 points.

The team's score of 231 also establishes the Olympic record as the 24-arrow format is being featured for the first time in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Flash: Xian Dongmei thrills crowd with second Judo gold

2008-08-10T05:42:00.000-07:00

Chinese judoka Xian Dongmei defended her Athen's gold medal by defeating An Kum-ae of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with a yuko in the final of Judo Women's -52kg. Soraya Haddad of Algeria and Nakamura Misato of Japan won bronze.

Overall Medal Standings

2008-08-10T05:38:00.000-07:00

Rank	NOC Name	Men				Women				Open/Mixed				Total				Rank by Total
Rank	NOC Name	G	S	B	T	G	S	B	T	G	S	B	T	G	S	B	T	Rank by Total
1	CHN - China	1	1		2	4	1		5					5	2		7	2
2	KOR - Korea	2	1		3	1	1		2					3	2		5	3
3	USA - United States	1		2	3	1	2	2	5					2	2	4	8	1
4	CZE - Czech Republic	1			1	1			1					2			2	=8
5	JPN - Japan	1			1			2	2					1		2	3	=5
6	AUS - Australia					1		1	2					1		1	2	=8
6	NED - Netherlands			1	1	1			1					1		1	2	=8
8	ESP - Spain	1			1									1			1	=13
8	GBR - Great Britain					1			1					1			1	=13
8	ROU - Romania					1			1					1			1	=13
8	THA - Thailand					1			1					1			1	=13
12	RUS - Russian Fed.			1	1		3		3						3	1	4	4
13	ITA - Italy		2		2			1	1						2	1	3	=5
14	PRK - DPR Korea			2	2		1		1						1	2	3	=5
15	CUB - Cuba			1	1		1		1						1	1	2	=8
15	FRA - France		1		1			1	1						1	1	2	=8
17	AUT - Austria		1		1										1		1	=13
17	HUN - Hungary		1		1										1		1	=13
17	SWE - Sweden						1		1						1		1	=13
17	TUR - Turkey						1		1						1		1	=13
17	ZIM - Zimbabwe						1		1						1		1	=13
22	ALG - Algeria							1	1							1	1	=13
22	ARG - Argentina							1	1							1	1	=13
22	BLR - Belarus							1	1							1	1	=13
22	CRO - Croatia							1	1							1	1	=13
22	GEO - Georgia							1	1							1	1	=13
22	GER - Germany							1	1							1	1	=13
22	SUI - Switzerland			1	1											1	1	=13
22	TPE - Chinese Taipei							1	1							1	1	=13
22	UZB - Uzbekistan			1	1											1	1	=13
Total:		7	7	9	23	12	12	14	38					19	19	23	61

Beijing Olympics tickets almost 'sold out'

2008-08-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

A man shows his Olympic tickets just bought at the main box office on Beitucheng Road near the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, early July 26, 2008. The Olympic tickets at the main box office were sold out by 3:00 A.M. on Saturday. The fourth and final phase of Olympic ticket sales to the domestic public began at 9:00 A.M. on Friday with 820,000 tickets on offer. Beijing citizens could only buy 250,000 tickets for competitions in the capital area. More than 30,000 people queued for their final chance to buy Olympic tickets near the National Stadium.

A foreign lady shows her Olympic ticket just bought at the main box office on Beitucheng Road near the National Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, July 25, 2008.

Olympic Medal Count

2008-08-08T20:56:00.001-07:00

		Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	Czech Republic	1	0	0	1
2.	Russian Fed	0	1	0	1
3.	Croatia	0	0	1	1

Emmons wins first gold medal of the Games

2008-08-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Katerina Emmons of the Czech Republic won the first gold of the Beijing Olympic Games today when she won the Women's 10m Air Rifle.

Emmons, 24, was in scintillating form, breaking Olympic records in both the qualification and final rounds.

In the qualification round, Emmons shot a perfect 400, which equaled the World Record and set a new Olympic Record. The previous Olympic Record was 399.

In the final round, Emmons shot 103.5, giving her a final score of 503.5, which eclipsed the previous record of 502.0 set by China's Du Li at Athens 2004.

Katerina Emmons wins the first gold of the Beijing Olympics .

The gold medal is Emmons' second Olympic medal, following her bronze at Athens 2004 in the same event.

Emmons never looked threatened throughout the event, despite solid shooting performances by silver medalist Lioubov Galkina of Russia and bronze medalist Snjezana Pejcic of Croatia, who shot final scores of 502.1 and 500.9 respectively.

The day was full of disappointment for Athens 2004 gold medalist Du Li of China and World No. 1 Sonja Pfeilschifter of Germany. Du finished fifth after shooting poorly in the final, finishing with a total score of 499.6. Pfeilschifter just missed out on making the final round.

The United States' Jamie Beyerle finished fourth after performing well in the final, shooting a total score of 499.8.

National Stadium

2008-08-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Bird's Nest

National Stadium welcomes guests
On the morning of June 28, China's National Stadium resonated with cheers. After years of hard work, the "Bird's Nest" is now completed.

BEIJING 2008: BUSH OPENS U. S. EMBASSY, SPEAKS FRANKLY

2008-08-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Arrived yesterday in Beijing, after irritating the Chinese by his statements on the human right situation in China, a few hours before the opening ceremony of the Olympics George W. Bush has defended freedom of expression and individual rights regarding religion. The American president spoke during the opening of the new U.S. embassy in China, a majestic construction in glass and cement. Bush said: "We continue to be convinced that all people should have the freedom to say what they think, and to practice a religion of their choice. I strongly believe that societies in which ideas are allowed to be expressed freely are the most prosperous and peaceful. I will continue to be frank regarding our mutual responsibilities" Bush stressed to the present press and VIPs, among whom his father George H. W. Bush Senior and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of State of the USA who 30 years ago, under Richard Nixon, started the normalisation of relations with Maoist China. Bush added that he can be so "frank" thanks to his contribution to a solid relation with the regime of Beijing, based on "respect and trust". However his words were welcomed with an icy silence from the side of the Chinese officials present at the opening of the embassy.

2008 Beijing Olympics: Let the Games begin

2008-08-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night, in Shenyang, an hour's flight north of Beijing, the women's football competition kicked off. An undistinguished goalless draw between Brazil and Germany was watched by a crowd of 20,000. Meanwhile more than 23,000 people turned out to watch Argentina lose to Canada in Tianjin. These, remember, were women's football matches, events that normally stir the public interest about as much as pro-celebrity paint drying. Yet they drew crowds unprecedented in Olympic history.

We should not be surprised. In 112 years no Games have been so eagerly anticipated by the hosts, no tickets so voraciously snapped up. For the past seven years, ever since it was revealed that Beijing were to take charge of 2008, the Chinese have been told that this would be the most important moment in their history – far more significant to a modern, commercial country than revolutions both proletarian and cultural.

Through tableaux, firecrackers and human pyramids of spangly clad acrobats, tonight's opening ceremony will make enormous play of the nation's past. But there will be no mention of anything from the last 100 years; no hint of a five-year plan or little red book. The name Mao will be conspicuous by its absence, a haunting gap at the heart of the proceedings. It is as if none of that ever happened. For the consumption of a global television audience of billions, the Games are to be presented as the apex of 4,000 years of civilisation. Nothing else now matters.

Whipped up for nearly a decade by such insistence, the locals here are, in the words of Liam Gallagher, mad for it. A nation that less than 20 years ago was gripped by post-Tiananmen paranoia, treating foreigners with suspicion and scowls, has been sent to collective charm school. Smiles swathe the place. No one can do enough for the visiting thousands.

I have been asked about 40 times by volunteers working at the Olympic Park if I have a ticket for the opening ceremony, an event generally regarded in the west as a comical, yawn-inducing adjunct to the real thing. When I say that I have, I am treated as if I am in possession of tablets of stone.

All this week, at every press conference involving athletes and coaches, amid the usual queries about hamstrings and training preparation, a local journalist is guaranteed to pipe up: "What do you think of our Beijing Olympics?" So far, the answer has been the one they want to hear.

"You go to most venues and you usually find something wrong," said Dave Brailsford, the performance director for British cycling. "But there is nothing wrong here. It makes you want to race. It is very, very exciting."

Michael Phelps, the swimmer who will probably be the star of the Games, was equally effusive. "These are the best facilities I've competed in and the nicest dorms, definitely," he said. "The [athletes] village is cool. There's grass and sculptures everywhere. It's a really nice environment."

The veteran American swimmer Dara Torres made the local smile stretch so far it was in danger of requiring surgery. "I've been going to the Olympics for 24 years," she said, "and I think China's done an awesome job – the best. I brought my own sheets and towels and stuff because I've been in villages before. But they went straight in the closet. It's like you're in a Marriott. The facilities are fantastic. I'm really excited to be part of it."

Not even the most determined professional grouch (and there are plenty of them in the press corps) can find cause for complaint. Everything from the condition of the velodrome floor to the landscaping beside the white-water canoeing course has been designed to thrill. And there is a purpose behind this perfection. This is sport as a commercial statement. The message is, 'If you want the best place to do business, come to China, after all, look at how we staged our Games.'

For those watching on television around the globe, the happy consequence will be that, over the next 16 days, in wonderful venues, before huge crowds, relaxed and content athletes will perform as never before. From first gun to last ring of the bell we are in for a treat. That, at least, is the plan. Nothing can go wrong now. Can it?

Beijing Olympic Venue Distributioni

2008-08-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

New Venues in Beijing

* 1National Stadium
* 2National Aquatics Center
* 3National Indoor Stadium
* 4Beijing Shooting Range Hall
* 5Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium
* 6Laoshan Velodrome
* 7Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park
* 8China Agricultural University Gymnasium
* 9Peking University Gymnasium
* 10Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium
* 11Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium
* 26Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court

Existing Venues in Beijing

* 12Olympic Sports Center Stadium
* 13Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium
* 14Beijing Workers' Stadium
* 15Beijing Workers' Gymnasium
* 16Capital Indoor Stadium
* 17Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field
* 18Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympic Sports Center
* 19Laoshan Mountain Bike Course
* 20Beijing Shooting Range CTF
* 21Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium
* 22Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium

Temporary Venues in Beijing

* 23Fencing Hall of National Convention Center
* 24Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium
* 25Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field
* 27Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field
* 28Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground
* 29Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue
* 30Triathlon Venue
* 31Road Cycling Course

Argentina opens Olympic campaign with a win

2008-08-07T09:17:00.001-07:00

Lionel Messi's goal and assist helped Argentina become the only winner in the second set of four first round matches in the Olympic Men's Football competition. The reigning Olympic gold medalist beat Cote d'Ivoire 2-1.

The first goal came late in the first half when Juan Riquelme's pass penetrated to find Messi in a position that looked close to being off-side, but the flag was not raised and Messi coolly slotted past the Ivoirian goalkeeper Vincent Angban to score.

Though Sekou Cisse's goal in the 52nd minute helped Cote d'Ivoire level the score, Argentina grabbed a chance in the 86th minute to score the winning goal. Argentina took a quick free kick and Riquelme fed the ball to Messi, whose shot was pushed out by Angban but the ball was then tapped into the net by Laurato Acosta.

The other three group matches ended in draws. China drew with ten-man New Zealand 1-1, the Republic of Korea drew 1-1 with Cameroon, and the match between the Netherlands and Nigeria resulted in a goalless draw.

In the match between New Zealand and China, New Zealand's Jeremy Brockie scored a goal in the 53rd minute, while Dong Fangzhuo's long-range header in the 88th minute saved China from an embarrassing loss.

A goal in the 68th minute by Park Chu-young of the Republic of Korea broke the deadlock between his team and Cameroon, but Cameroon fought back with an equalizer from Georges Mandjeck in the 81st minute.

Women's Tennis draw released

2008-08-07T09:15:00.002-07:00

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia was handed potentially the toughest task of the top seeds in the first round of the Women's Singles event in the draw on August 7.

The third-seeded Russian was drawn to play Li Na from China, who although currently ranked No.43 largely due to inactivity from a recent knee injury, has been ranked as high as No. 16 in the past, and will enjoy huge home support.

Top seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia and her compatriot Jelena Jankovic, who is seeded No.2, were given seemingly straightforward first-round tasks against Ukrainian Marina Korytsseva and Cara Black of Zimbabwe respectively.

No.4 seed Serena Williams from the United States will make her Olympic singles debut against Olga Govortsova from Belarus while her sister, Sydney 2000 gold medalist Venus Williams of the US, seeded No.7, faces Timea Bacszinsky of Switzerland in the singles first round, which will take place on Sunday, August 10 and Monday, August 11.

Elena Dementieva of Russia, who lost to Venus Williams in the 2000 final in Sydney is seeded No.5 currently, will begin her third Olympic campaign against Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko while the in-form Russian Dinara Safina, the No.7 seed, begins against Italian Mara Santangelo.

Two Olympic tennis medalists were drawn to face each other in the first round when Atlanta 1996 champion Lindsay Davenport of the United States takes on Athens 2004 bronze medalist Australian Alicia Molik.

Looking ahead, Ivanovic is projected to meet Olympic newcomer Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in the quarterfinals, while Serena Williams could face Dementieva in the other top half quarterfinal if they both advance that far.

In the bottom half of the draw, Venus Williams could have a quarterfinal meeting with Kuznetsova with Safina potentially playing Jankovic in the final eight.

Kuznetsova and Safina are also top seeds in the Women's Doubles event. The Russian team have a tough draw with a potential quarterfinal against the Chinese two-time Grand Slam champions Yan Zi and Zheng Jie and a projected semifinal against French Open champions Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual from Spain, or Davenport and Liezel Huber of the US.

The Williams sisters are seeded to possibly meet the Russians in the final with their toughest obstacle likely to be 2007 Australian Open champions Chan Yung-Jan and Chuang Chia-Jung of Chinese Taipei or Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko from the Ukraine, who won at the Australian Open in Melbourne this year.

Men's Tennis lot drawing released

2008-08-07T09:15:00.001-07:00

Roger Federer of Switzerland will face the big-hitting Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the first round of the 2008 Olympic Tennis event in Beijing, as the World No. 1, who turns 27 on August 8, bids for his first major title of the season.

The Swiss has said an Olympic medal is a top priority after he failed to win a Grand Slam title this year for the first time in six years.

This is Federer's last tournament before relinquishing his position at the top of the rankings to Rafael Nadal of Spain on August 18. Nadal faces Potito Starace of Italy in his opening match.

Wimbledon and 2008 Roland Garros champion Nadal, who is arguably the man of the season, makes his Olympic Men's Singles debut in Beijing, having competed in Men's Doubles at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Tursunov's fellow Russian Nikolay Davydenko, seeded No. 4 here, has an equally tough task against rising star Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.

Defending Men's Singles Olympic champion Nicolas Massu of Chile faces Belgium's Steve Darcis while Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, who partnered Massu to Olympic gold in the Doubles in Athens, takes on China's best hope in the shape of Sun Peng, ranked world No. 453.

Massu and Gonzalez will team up for the Doubles again to take on Croatia's Marin Cilic and Ivan Ljubicic. Ljubicic will be looking to improve on his bronze Men's Doubles medal win in Athens with Mario Ancic, who was forced to withdraw from the event this week with recurring illness.

Hope for China in the Men's Singles draw was strengthened after Zeng Shaoxuan stepped in as replacement for the injured Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, who withdrew from the event.

Zeng, however, has a tough task against Argentina's David Nalbandian, who tends to flourish in a team environment and leads the Argentine Davis Cup team to the World Group semifinals next month.

Last week's Cincinnati champion Andy Murray of Great Britain, playing here with a career-high ranking of No. 6, faces Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei, ranked 68 places below him. Murray is placed in the same draw with World No. 3 Novak Djokovic of Serbia who he defeated in the final at Cincinnati.

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia could meet Nadal in the second round should he defeat Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden in their opening match. Hewitt has not played in competition since Wimbledon while undergoing assessment on a hip injury.

Spain will be the biggest threat for a medal in Beijing having dominated the leader board this year with 15 titles. In addition to Nadal, the nation is also represented by No.5 seed David Ferrer and No.11 seed Nicolas Almagro, who have tough first-round encounters with Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia and Gael Monfils of France respectively.

Tommy Robredo completes Spain's line-up in Singles and will face Andreas Seppi of Italy.

Komlavi Loglo of Togo and Kevin Anderson of South Africa both received ITF placement and will meet in their first-round match. Loglo is Togo's first representative in an Olympic Tennis event.

The Men's Doubles draw has also thrown up an intriguing first-round clash between grand slam doubles champions Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra of France and Israel's Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, while US top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan have a less daunting task in the shape of Mark Knowles and Devin Mullings of Bahamas.

Preparation work for the Opening Ceremony of the Games9

2008-08-07T09:13:00.000-07:00

At the conclusion part of the performing arts. The theme song will be performed for first time during the Opening Ceremony. That is why the song not revealed during the rehearsals. The theme songs were selected by BOCOG for five years and they conducted 4 sessions of songs solicitation and from a variety of songs. The songs were approved by following the expert approval procedures. In terms of the secrecy of the song, we will not disclose anything related to the song.

Today we are privileged to tell you the singers that we have selected for the theme song. They are Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman. That is the second part of my introduction.

The 3rd part is with regards to what follows the performances. It includes things like the marching of the athletes, the address by the BOCOG Chairman and the address by the IOC Chairman and the President of China, and the entry of the Olympic flag and the playing of the Olympic Games anthem, raising of the Olympic flags, the release of the doves, the torch relay in the stadium and the final lighting of the torch as well as the fireworks.

The firework is the last one. It will last two and a half hours including the marching of the athletes which will take 2 hours. As for the order of marching of the athletes, we will do it in accordance to the order of strokes according to the simplified characteristics for the 205 countries and territories.

Preparation work for the Opening Ceremony of the Games

2008-08-07T09:09:00.000-07:00

Good to see you, friends from the press, good morning to you. In two days time, the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games will be held in the National Stadium, which is not too far away from where we are. Following the three rehearsals, we can now declare to you quite solidly, that the Opening Ceremony for the Games is ready. I will introduce you some aspects that relate to the Opening Ceremony.

The time slot of the Opening Ceremony. Before the formal launch of the Opening Ceremony, we will have performances before the Opening Ceremony which will last 1 hour and 15 minutes, that is from 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m., there are 28 performances with strong national and local characteristics.

At around 7 p.m., we will conduct an audience orientation. Afterwards, at 7:56 p.m., the countdown will start. At 8 p.m., the Opening Ceremony will be formally started. The Opening Ceremony will not end until 11:30 p.m.

Secondly, something about the main flow of the opening ceremony. The first part is before the performance including welcoming ceremony, the display of Olympic Rings, the entry of the national flag, raising of the national flag and the playing of the national anthem. This part is about 14 minutes.

The second part is the performing arts part. We name it the beautiful Olympics. And it is composed of 2 parts. First, splendid civilization; second, magnificent times.

In terms of the content for the performance, it will last for an hour. In terms of the content covered, we will showcase the ancient long history of the Chinese nation, the splendid culture as well as the achievements of the reform and what the modern Chinese people can offer to the world. In terms of the style, the summary will consist of the Chinese story or rather a story of China. It will showcase the national characteristics and the characteristics of the time. They will use something unique to China, painting scrolls. We will showcase the essence of the civilization using an antique display. We will use beautiful colors to showcase the vitality of China and make use of the creative arts to make sure that the opening ceremony is of international and contemporary nature.

Second day of relay in Beijing ends at Temple of Earth

2008-08-07T09:08:00.000-07:00

The second day of the Torch Relay in Beijing ended as the last torchbearer, singer Song Zuying, lit the cauldron before the Worship Platform at the Temple of Earth at 6:30 p.m.

Following the first day of the Torch Relay in Beijing, the Olympic torch continued on to the outskirts of Beijing today. The flame traveled 14.576 kilometers through the seven suburban county towns of Yanqing, Changping, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, Shunyi and Tongzhou.

A few well-known sport stars were among the 268 torchbearers, including Olympic champion Liu Xuan, two-time Table Tennis world champion Liu Guozheng, Olympic Flatwater Canoe champion Yang Wenjun and XXIII World Universiade champion Hu Kai from Tsinghua University.

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Beijing Olympic Venue Distributioni

1. National Stadium

2. National Aquatics Center

3. National Indoor Stadium

4. Beijing Shooting Range Hall

5. Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium

6. Laoshan Velodrome

7. Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park

8. China Agricultural University Gymnasium

9. Peking University Gymnasium

10. Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium

11. Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium

13. Olympic Sports Center Stadium

14. Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium

15. Beijing Workers' Stadium

16. Beijing Workers' Gymnasium

17. Capital Indoor Stadium

18. Fengtai Sports Center Softball Field

19. Yingdong Natatorium of National Olympic Sports Center

20. Laoshan Mountain Bike Course

21. Beijing Shooting Range CTF

22. Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium

23. Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics Gymnasium

24. Fencing Hall of National Convention Center

25. Beijing Olympic Green Hockey Stadium

26. Beijing Olympic Green Archery Field

12. Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court

27. Beijing Wukesong Sports Center Baseball Field

28. Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground

29. Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue