‘Bindra’s gold historic breakthrough for India’
Beijing, Aug 24: India’s best-ever performance at the Olympics here is a “historic breakthrough” for the country according to analysts here, who consider shooter Abhinav Bindra’s gold equal to that of Chinese sharpshooter Xu Haifeng, who won the first gold for the communist giant in 1984.
“The first individual gold for India in the history of Olympics is a historic breakthrough and augurs well for the country’s future,” former Chinese Ambassador to India, Cheng Ruisheng said.
“I consider Bindra’s gold medal as important as that of Xu,” Cheng, who is now a visiting professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the Sichuan University, told PTI here.
Xu, a 50 metre pistol shooter had won the first gold medal for China in the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Enthused by Xu’s historic performance, China has made impressive strides at the Olympics, topping the medals chart at the 2008 edition here.
“I am sure other Indian athletes will get inspired by Bindra’s success in Beijing and will try to emulate him,” Cheng, who was the Chinese Ambassador to India from 1991 to 1994, said.
The view of the former Chinese ambassador to India was also echoed by another leading South Asian scholar, Professor Ma Jiali, who described Bindra’s success in Beijing as “a key breakthrough for the world’s second most populous nation”.
“It is a historic achievement for India and it would contribute to the growth of India’s comprehensive national strength,” said Ma, who works with the China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations (CICIR), a major Chinese think-tank.
Ma said Chinese people were happy to share the glory achieved by India at the Beijing Olympics. Qin Gang, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and several other Chinese diplomats warmly applauded India’s best-ever performance at the Olympics while talking to PTI. Bindra shot his way into history in the 10m Air Rifle event here with a gold while Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar earned a bronze each in wrestling and boxing for the nation, marking India's best-ever performance in the history of the quadrennial event.
Indian Ambassador to China, Nirupama Rao also aired similar views and said Bindra’s success at the Beijing Games should serve as a powerful inspiration for millions of young sports personnel in the country.
“The dedication and commitment to his sport that Abhinav (Bindra) symbolises and the success he has achieved should serve as a powerful inspiration to millions of our young countrymen and women,” Rao said. (PTI)

Host China win gold medal race; US first overall
BEIJING, Aug 24: China proved an acquisitive first-time Olympic host, topping the gold-medal chart with one of the most dominating and diverse performances ever. The United States, Britain and an array of small nations also had reasons to celebrate.
China’s haul of 51 gold medals was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988. Fielding athletes groomed since childhood in sports academies, it won medals in 25 different sports, including its first ever in sailing, beach volleyball and field hockey.
Not since 1936, when Nazi Germany prevailed at the Berlin Olympics, had a country other than the US or the Soviet Union/Russia led the gold medal list.
The United States trailed well behind the Chinese in golds with 36, the first time since 1992 it didn’t lead the category. But the Americans did break their own mark for total medals in a non-boycotted Olympics; they won 110 in all, two more than their previous high set in 1992 and 10 ahead of China’s overall tally this year.
Britain, getting an early jump on its host role for the 2012 Summer Games, had its best Olympics in a century with 19 gold medals — good for fourth place behind the Russians. Its cyclists and sailors were the class of the field, and 19-year-old Rebecca Adlington stunned the swimming world with two golds in distance events.
It was also a satisfying Olympics for many of the world’s weaker sporting nations. A record 87 nations won medals, seven more than the previous high in Sydney in 2000, and a dozen nations won either their first-ever gold medal or first medal of any colour.
If there was a prominent loser at the games, it was Russia, whose team was deprived of 10 athletes due to doping accusations. The Russians finished a distant third in both gold medals, with 23, and overall medals with 72 — down from 27 and 92 four years ago in Athens. Germany and Japan also fared noticeably worse than in Athens.
The United States was disappointed by its boxing team (one bronze medal) and a lack of golds by its sprinters, but was delighted by breakthroughs in lesser sports such as fencing, as well as by the historic eight golds for record-smashing swimmer Michael Phelps.
“Both on the field of play and off, this will go down as one of the greatest performances ever for a United States Olympic Team,” spokesman Darryl Seibel said on Sunday.
Overshadowing the entire US effort, however, was a recognition of China’s arrival as the dominant Summer Olympics power.
“China has been systematically targeting every single available medal, and we’re going to have to do that in the future,” said US Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth.
“The resources that they put toward their Olympic team and the population base and the dedication is fantastic,” he said. “It’s much more difficult for the rest of the world to compete, but that’s the way it should be.”
China, of course, has the largest population pool — 1.3 billion people — from which to recruit athletes. Several far smaller nations distinguished themselves in medals per capita.
Jamaica’s sprinters and hurdlers — led by triple-gold sensation Usain Bolt — won 11 medals, one for every 245,000 of its 2.7 million people. With a population of 21.4 million, Australia won 46 medals, one for each 465,000 people. Cuba won 24 medals, one for each 470,000 of its 11.3 million citizens. Populous countries with no medals included Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh.
Kenya, despite election-related unrest which killed hundreds and disrupted its preparations, had a great games with five golds and 14 medals overall. Ethiopian runners Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba each won rare double golds in the 5,000 and 10,000. Overall, Africa won 40 medals — the most ever. Those included the first-ever Olympic medals for Togo in canoeing, Mauritius in boxing, and Sudan in the 800 meters. Also winning first-ever medals were Tajikstan, Bahrain (a gold by Rachid Ramzi in the men's 1,500), and war-torn Afghanistan. (Agencies)

Rogge tells London how to leap over Beijing bar
BEIJING, Aug 24: As London prepared to follow Beijing as the Olympic host city, International Olympic Committee president Jaques Rogge praised the British capital’s “unique assets” and called on it to stage a “fair play” Games.
The size of the Beijing Olympics have dwarfed all those that have gone before, with legions of staff drafted in to assist competitors, spectators and the world’s media. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities deployed vast numbers of military personnel to create an Olympic ‘bubble’ where only one security search is required rather than repeat inspections at each and every venue.
London 2012 chief Sebastian Coe has already contrasted the situations confronting his team, for example, over planning consent, with the lack of such problems in a Communist state such as China. But Rogge, the head of an organisation whose motto is “faster, higher, stronger,” said bigger did not always mean better.
“It is clear that China has put the bar very high,” the Belgian said. “It’s going to be a challenge for London and also for all subsequent Games. I believe, and my hope will be, that London will put the bar higher.”
However, the IOC supremo, speaking here Sunday on the final day of these Olympics, admitted there were areas where London would not match Beijing “There are issues that London will not be able to copy or equal.”
“The ability to bring in hundreds of thousands of volunteers to different sites, not only in Beijing but also Qingdao (where the sailing events were staged, Hong Kong (equestrian) and other cities — is something that, numbers-wise is not going to be easy for London.”
“Athens (in 2004) was a return to the roots, the country that has invented the Olympic Games, China was coming to the most populous country of the world.”
“London will be the city of the country that has invented modern sports, the country that has invented the rules of sport and brought in the values of fair play. That is the identity that has to be used in London,” he added. Rogge also said London’s diverse population sat well alongside Olympic ideals with the east of the city, where the central athletics stadium and Athletes Village will be situated, home to a succession of immigrant communities for hundreds of years. “London is also a very cosmopolitan city, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious. This is also an asset.” (Agencies)

Wansiru hogs limelight on concluding day
Beijing, Aug 24: (PTI) Samuel Wansiru became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon gold medal with a record timing as the world’s biggest sporting extravanganza came to end today with hosts China asserting their supremacy with a record haul of 51 gold medals.
The formidable Chinese, who maintained their dominance right through the Games, added a couple of more medals to their impressive kitty on the concluding day to finish with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze for an overall tally of 100 medals.
The United States of America finished in the second position with a tally of 36-38-36 while Russia had to be content with the third place with a tally of 23-21-28. Britain took the fourth position with 19-13-15, not being able to add any more medals to their overnight tally.
The 21-year-old Wansiru hogged the limelight on the last day as he clinched the coveted gold medal in the gruelling marathon event with an Olympic record timing of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds.
He thus became the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon title with an awesome display of stamina and skill in bright morning sunshine. Kenya had twice won men’s marathon silver medals, most recently in 2000, but never a gold.
“In Kenya we have many medals. But I’m glad I have this one”, Wansiru said after the race.
The Games will, however, be remembered for US swimming sensation Michael Phelp’s incredible eight gold medals and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s golden treble in sprint events, feats which have been the high point of the Olympics.(PTI)

US men win 4x400 relay
Beijing, Aug 24: Jeremy Wariner anchored the US 4x400-meter relay team to victory in an Olympic record 2mins 55.39secs today, enabling the Americans to avoid the shame of matching their worst athletics gold haul.
New 400m Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt, 400m hurdles Olympic champion Angelo Taylor, 400m bronze medallist David Neville and two-time world 400m champion Wariner broke the old mark of 2:55.74 set by the US men in 1992.
It was the fastest showing for a US relay since a world-record effort of 2:54.29 at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart, Germany.
“We all just gave it our all and ran an Olympic record,” Wariner said. “It was close to the world record, the fastest time since then. We have a lot more to come.” US men have won the event 16 times in 21 tries, including 11 of the past 13.
Bahamas, last year’s world runner-up, were second in 2:58.03 with Russia third in 2:58.06. With their seventh Beijing gold medal, the Americans nosed past Jamaica and Russia by one in overall golds and raised their athetlics medal total to 23, five more than second-best Russia.
The triumph also enabled the disappointing US squad to avoid the shame of matching an all-time Olympic low for athletics gold.
US squads managed only six Olympics golds in 1972, 1976 and in 2000 when four others were stripped for doping, three from Marion Jones. Sydney was a US low of 14 total medals with the next-worst being 22 from 1972 and 1976. US sweeps in the men's 400m and 400m hurdles and men's and women's 400m relays eased the pain from flops by such stars as world champions Bernard Lagat, sprinter Tyson Gay and Wariner, who lost the 400 crown to Merritt.
“A lot of things happened here we weren’t expecting. But that gives us a lot to work on for the world championships next year.” Merritt was ecstatic to double his gold tally.
“I wanted my second gold medal so this felt good,” Merritt said. “My first Games, two gold medals, a personal record, an Olympic record - can’t ask for more than that.” Merritt put the Americans ahead on the opening leg and Taylor stretched the margin before making the handoff to Neville, a carefully made pass given dropped batons by both US 4x100m relays.
Neville handed the stick to anchor man Wariner and the 2004 Olympic champion sped off, serving notice to the field the Americans would not be denied. Bahamas anchor Chris Brown surged into second and held off Russia’s Denis Alexeev at the line. (AFP)


Yelena, at home with the loneliness of a pole star
Beijing, Aug 24: In the foreseeable future, Yelena Isinbayeva will keep raising the bar till she hits that vertical limit. Post-retirement, the iconic Russian pole vaulter says she wants to help the sport expand its horizon to newer pastures, including India.
In an exclusive interview with PTI, the greatest female pole vaulter in the game’s history said she would return to 2012 London Olympic Games to defend the gold medal she won here.
But once she calls it quits, Isinbayeva said she would love to tour India if that helps spread the game.
“Once I’m through with it all, it would be my obligation to spread the game,” she told PTI at the Omega Pavilion here.
“If travelling India and interacting with the youngsters helps the cause, I would love to do that,” said the lithe Russian, who won the gold medal here bettering her previous world record with an intimidating 5.05m, something she has also started putting beneath her calligraphic autograph these days.
Isinbayeva continues the glorious tradition of erstwhile Soviet Union’s incredible supremacy in pole vault and reckons the Russian and Ukrainian dominance stems from their excellent infrastructure, good coaches and a crop of talented athletes.
“We have a lot of good athletes back home, besides technically sound coaches. In fact, some of the other countries also have Russian coaches,” said the 26-year-old athlete. And she prescribes the same formula for India.
“It’s a slightly complicated sport, for which you need really good facilities. Poles are quite costly and then you need proper pit and machines as well. Having good coaches around is also very crucial.”
“Maybe India needs one good coach to start it off and others would pick it from there. It has to start somewhere,” said the Russian, the first female pole-vaulter to cross the five metre mark and having created 24 world records so far.
Isinbayeva has ruled the game with an iron fist, taking it far beyond the reach of lesser mortals. Asked if she felt lonely at the top with no real competition from anyone, she said she wanted it that way.
“No complaint at all,” said the lissome Russian, also an Omega brand ambassador.
“It gives me immense satisfaction if I can make people around me happy. I like it that way. It’s never boring for me. I want to remain at the top,” said the Russian, a marketing man’s delight for her looks and craft. A nine-time major champion, Isinbayeva cherishes each and every moment of her illustrious career but says nothing can really match the feeling of winning an Olympic gold. “It’s always a privilege for me to represent my country. In fact, nothing gives me more pleasure than making my country happy. It feels good to think that I give them a reason to celebrate,” she said.
Asked what has been the best moment of her career so far, Isinbayeva said, “Not one but so many like my first world record, my first Olympic gold at Athens, crossing the 5m mark, and now winning the gold here. So you see, it’s not just one moment.” Often dubbed Sergey Bubka of women’s pole vault, Isinbayeva doffed her hat at the Ukrainian legend and said she drew inspiration from him. (PTI)

Final medals tally of Beijing Olympics
Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 China 51 21 28 100
2 US 36 38 36 110
3 Russian 23 21 28 72
4 Britain 19 13 15 47
5 Germany 16 10 15 41
6 Australia 14 15 17 46
7 South Korea 13 10 8 31
8 Japan 9 6 10 25
9 Italy 8 10 10 28
10 France 7 16 17 40
11 Ukraine 7 5 15 27
12 Netherlands 7 5 4 16
13 Jamaica 6 3 2 11
14 Spain 5 10 3 18
15 Kenya 5 5 4 14
16 Belarus 4 5 10 19
17 Romania 4 1 3 8
18 Ethiopia 4 1 2 7
19 Canada 3 9 6 18
20 Poland 3 6 1 10
21 Hungary 3 5 2 10
21 Norway 3 5 2 10
23 Brazil 3 4 8 15
24 Czech Republic 3 3 0 6
25 Slovakia 3 2 1 6
26 New Zealand 3 1 5 9
27 Georgia 3 0 3 6
28 Cuba 2 11 11 24
29 Kazakhstan 2 4 7 13
30 Denmark 2 2 3 7
31 Mongolia 2 2 0 4
31 Thailand 2 2 0 4
33 North Korea 2 1 3 6
34 Argentina 2 0 4 6
34 Switzerland 2 0 4 6
36 Mexico 2 0 1 3
37 Turkey 1 4 3 8
38 Zimbabwe 1 3 0 4
39 Azerbaijan 1 2 4 7
40 Uzbekistan 1 2 3 6
41 Slovenia 1 2 2 5
42 Bulgaria 1 1 3 5
42 Indonesia 1 1 3 5
44 Finland 1 1 2 4
45 Latvia 1 1 1 3
46 Belgium 1 1 0 2
46 Dominican 1 1 0 2
46 Estonia 1 1 0 2
46 Portugal 1 1 0 2
50 India 1 0 2 3
51 Iran 1 0 1 2
52 Bahrain 1 0 0 1
52 Cameroon 1 0 0 1
52 Panama 1 0 0 1
52 Tunisia 1 0 0 1
56 Sweden 0 4 1 5
57 Croatia 0 2 3 5
57 Lithuania 0 2 3 5
59 Greece 0 2 2 4
60 T&Tobago 0 2 0 2
61 Nigeria 0 1 3 4
62 Austria 0 1 2 3
62 Ireland 0 1 2 3
62 Serbia 0 1 2 3
65 Algeria 0 1 1 2
65 Bahamas 0 1 1 2
65 Colombia 0 1 1 2
65 Kyrgyzstan 0 1 1 2
65 Morocco 0 1 1 2
65 Tajikistan 0 1 1 2
71 Chile 0 1 0 1
71 Ecuador 0 1 0 1
71 Iceland 0 1 0 1
71 Malaysia 0 1 0 1
71 S Africa 0 1 0 1
71 Singapore 0 1 0 1
71 Sudan 0 1 0 1
71 Vietnam 0 1 0 1
79 Armenia 0 0 6 6
80 Chinese Taipei 0 0 4 4
81 Afghanistan 0 0 1 1
81 Egypt 0 0 1 1
81 Israel 0 0 1 1
81 Moldova 0 0 1 1
81 Mauritius 0 0 1 1
81 Togo 0 0 1 1
81 Venezuela 0 0 1 1