China's upset-minded tennis team gets its draws
Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
One of the last sports to determine its Olympic matchups, tennis finally held its draw Thursday night at the Swissotel in Beijing. China's best shot at a tennis medal is on the women's side where, despite lacking a player among the top 25 in the world, it has the maximum four players, all with the potential to pull off upsets.Zheng Jie (郑洁), the hottest name in Chinese tennis and the team's highest ranked player (38), will face Agnes Szavay (14, Hungary) in her first match. The two also played in the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year, with Zheng winning 6-3, 6-4.
Li Na 李娜 (43) plays Svetlana Kuznetsova (3, Russia); Peng Shuai 彭帅 (50) will face Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro (55); and Zheng's doubles partner Yan Zi 晏紫 (52) is matched up with Vera Zvonareva (11, Russia).
For highlights and interviews with these women, check out CST's tennis playlist on Youtube (below).
Zheng and Yan are a force in doubles, having won Wimbledon and The Australian Open in 2006. The pair open up against Daniela Hantuchova and Janette Husarova of Slovakia.
On the men's side, China's Sun Peng faces Fernando Gonzales of Chile. Yu Xinyuan, who got a spot in the tournament after Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany withdrew due to injury, will play Argentina's David Nalbandia.
Tennis play begins Sunday, August 10.
Related: China's Zheng making tennis history
Zheng's Wimbledon run continues
Zheng in Wimbledon quarterfinals (after Szavay match)
Zheng loses in Wimbledon semis
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Li Nan, Peng Shuai, Sun Peng, tennis, Xu Xinyuan, Yan Zi, Zheng Jie
A virtual peek into the Olympic Village
Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
While tourists coming to Beijing for the Olympics will be running from the Forbidden City to Wangfujing to Houhai, the athletes will spend most of their free time holed up in the Olympic Village. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games) has been telling us for months that the village is spectacular, but they of course do not represent an objective observer.So CST checked in with Heather Petri of the U.S. water polo team, who moved into the village with her teammates earlier this week. She gave a rave review of the place that 2008's Olympians will call home.
"It's simply amazing," says Petri, a three-time Olympian. "It's right up there with Sydney. The way they put everything together gives it a very special feel, and things are seamless. The grounds are beautiful and the food is great." She's had the chance to sample a little local fare, including Peking duck whipped up by IOC chefs.
And between workouts athletes have plenty of distractions. "There's tons of stuff to do—an arcade, Internet center, pool table, disco, outside pool," Petri says. Her only complaint is that she can't share photos from inside.
Petri and the American women open Olympic competition against China August 11. She is blogging about her Olympic experience here.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, Heather Petri, Olympic village, Olympics, water polo
China Sports Today joins ESPN Olympics roundtable
Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China Daily's Zhou and Newsweek's Liu
With the torch on its way to entering the National Stadium aka 'The Bird's Nest', American sports network ESPN arranged a journalist roundtable to discuss the political repercussions of China hosting the games, as well as how China will perform in different events.
Host Anthony Tao was joined by Newsweek Beijing bureau chief Melinda Liu, China Daily columnist Raymond Zhou, Sexy Beijing writer, editor and host Anna Sophie Loewenberg.
Rounding out the roundtable was Maggie Rauch, who is now based in Beijing where she is co-founder and editor of China Sports Today.
Sexy Beijing's Loewenberg and China Sports Today's Rauch
A transcript of the ESPN roundtable can be viewed here. Our favorite quote may be this one by China Daily's Zhou:
"Personally, I only care about Liu Xiang because I feel Liu Xiang winning the gold medal is tantamount to Barack Obama winning the presidency in the United States. Because it's about more than sports. It's about shattering stereotypes that Asians are intrinsically not good at track and field."
Image: ESPN
Tags: Barack Obama, China Daily, ESPN, Liu Xiang, Newsweek, Olympics, Sexy Beijing
China women's soccer beats Sweden, 2-1
Thursday, 7th August 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's Olympic soccer team poses for a team photo
"The home fans gave us great support," Shang said to Xinhua. "Maybe that is why so many countries would like to host Olympics."
The game's first goal came in the sixth minute when striker Xu Yuan followed up Zhang Na's shot, which had bounced off the left goalpost.
Xu, 23 years old, also assisted on China's other goal, punched in by Han Duan (韩端) in the 71st minute. Sweden's goal came from Lotta Schelin.
China plays its next game against Canada on August 9.
Tags: Beijing Olympics, football, Han Duan, Shang Ruihua, soccer, Tianjin, Xu Yuan