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Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts

Saturday 1 August 2015

Beijing wins to host Winter Olympics 2022







http://english.cntv.cn/2015/08/01/VIDE1438381810003714.shtml

Chinese captital celebrates victory

The National Stadium, or Bird Nest, is seen with giant illumination showing a message celebrating Beijing and Zhangjiakou's winning of the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.




http://english.cntv.cn/2015/08/01/VIDE1438395244275676.shtml

Beijingers celebrate Olympic victory

Beijing last night was the scene of jubilation and cheering. People celebrated the news from Kuala Lumpur.


Games offers new drive to opening-up

Beijing and Zhangjiakou have won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. It's great.

Seven years after Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, Chinese people get to embrace the Olympics again. Many still remember the passion and joy after winning the 2008 Games. Our optimism and happiness has come alive again. Chinese society is still actively seeking to host major international sports events. Such sentiment fits the country's rising momentum.

Countries in the developed world are no longer enthusiastic about holding the Olympics like they once were. They have their own calculations. But over 90 percent of people in Beijing and Zhangjiakou support their cities' hosting of the Winter Games. Such high rates of support is generally true in other parts of the country in hosting major international sports events.

Chinese people long for progress and more contact with the outside world. Many people consider the hosting of major sports events an opportunity to enhance a city's development level and help it become more international.

But there are also many who oppose hosting the Winter Games. Some of them are just following the voices of popular Western-style opponents. Others have their marginal reasons. But these opinions are not mainstream in China.

It is great that many stadiums and other pieces of infrastructure built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics can still be of use for the 2022 Games.

The 2008 Summer Games can be seen as a coming-out party for China. China has made significant progress in the seven years since it hosted the event. China's GDP leapt from the third place globally to second. Chinese people have seen more of the world.

To be frank, when Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games, many Chinese people were nervous that they might mess up the event. That is why the 2008 Games emphasized pomp and ceremony in order to demonstrate China's capabilities.

This time when we host the Winter Games, we may be able to be more relaxed, focusing on the beauty of the sports instead of laboring ourselves in ensuring a perfect event. We can try to make the 2022 Games a big party.

The 2022 Winter Games is also likely to bring concrete benefits in the coming seven years. "Olympic blue" may become a new target in dealing with air pollution. A high-speed railway between Beijing and Zhangjiakou is likely. Winter sports may become more popular.

The Winter Games will become a lasting drive for China's further opening-up. Chinese society will seek greater balance between outside criticism and China's own principles and traditions. This project will help China further integrate with the world. - Global Times

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Malaysia raising the bar on Olympic golden incentives

Article in British paper reveals Malaysia's generous rewards for athletes compared to a postage stamp' for Britons.

MALAYSIA has made it into the front page of the respectable Sunday Times newspaper here our plan to reward our badminton players with gold bars if they win the gold medal is featured in this week's edition.

Headlined “A gold can be worth £600,000 (RM2.9mil)”, the article by James Gillespie began, “If you spot a particularly steely determination among Malaysia's badminton players, or notice athletes from Chelyabinsk Oblast in Russia putting in extra effort, do not be surprised they have more reason than most to give their all.”

It added that Malaysia will pay its Olympic champions about £400,000 (RM1.96mil) but if victory comes in the country's strongest sport of badminton, they will get an additional gold bar worth £380,000 (RM1.87mil).

Citius, altius, fortius and richer: The report about Malaysia in The Sunday Times front page.
 
“However, if you are British, the rewards are rather more modest a postage stamp,” it reported, adding that “virtually all the national Olympic committees have established a financial incentive scheme except Britain, whose Olympic association insists it is not necessary.”

The Royal Mail reportedly will begin designing a stamp of each British gold medallist the moment the event finishes and deliver them to the 500 post offices for sale the following day.

Gold producer Datuk Seri Andrew Kam, who is in London to lend support to our badminton team, in particular Datuk Lee Chong Wei, has been enjoying some unusual attention since he made public his glittering challenge to our badminton heroes.

Whatever the form of reward, in the case of the Brits, the first gold medal has been elusive and pressure is mounting on the Olympic host.

World champion Mark Cavendish finished 29th in the 154-mile cycling race, dashing Britain's hope of the first gold.

On Monday, cyclist Lizzie Armitstead finally put the host on the medals table by winning the silver.
Her picture was splashed on the front page of almost every local newspaper.

Swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who took a bronze in the women's 400m freestyle, too shared the limelight.

The Brits were bound to win gold medals but as host nation, the media has started asking what has been done to encourage their athletes and whether more should be done as the bottom line is “money does talk”.

Russia is paying £85,000 (RM417,958) for a gold medal and this excludes other bonuses from their regional governments.

“Still if Team GB gold medallists feel cheated, they could always send begging letters to their peers in Russia. At least they will have the stamp,” the report said sarcastically.

But this writer is optimistic that our badminton players will get more than the RM2mil worth in gold bars if they make history by winning our first ever gold medal.

Imagine the national euphoria they will create if they just bring home one gold medal.

The timing couldn't be better as we celebrate National Day.

I even think it will be perfect timing for the Prime Minister to call for general election as an elated nation celebrates Datuk Lee Chong Wei's victory.

Sorry if I get carried away with placing such high expectations on Lee, but we have waited too long.

This is his only chance and our best hope in a long, long time. We will definitely put Lee's face on our stamps, that's hardly an issue.

Our politicians cannot unite us but over the next few days, Lee will.

Let's cheer for Malaysia!

WONG CHUN WAI in London

 

Related: 

Medal Count as at July 31, 2012
Leaders

Total
1
China1364
23
2
United States886
22
3
France434
11
4
DPR Korea3-1
4
5
Kazakhstan3--
3
6
Italy242
8
7
Korea223
7
8
Germany221
5
9
Russia214
7
10
South Africa2--
2
11
Japan148
13
12
Australia132
6
13
Romania121
4
14
Brazil111
3
14
Hungary111
3
16
Netherlands11-
2
17
Ukraine1-2
3
18
Georgia1--
1
18
Lithuania1--
1
18
Slovenia1--
1
21
United Kingdom-22
4
22
Colombia-2-
2
22
Mexico-2-
2
24
Indonesia-11
2
25
Cuba-1-
1
25
Denmark-1-
1
25
Egypt-1-
1
25
Poland-1-
1
25
Sweden-1-
1
25
Thailand-1-
1
25
Chinese Taipei-1-
1
32
Canada--4
4
33
Slovakia--2
2
34
Azerbaijan--1
1
34
Belgium--1
1
34
India--1
1
34
Moldova--1
1
34
Mongolia--1
1
34
Norway--1
1
34
New Zealand--1
1
34
Qatar--1
1
34
Serbia--1
1
34
Uzbekistan--1
1
Malaysia---
-
Malaysia