Underdog Sichuan Relay Team Wins at Bird's Nest
Tuesday, 27th May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The 4X100 final was supposed to be a run-off between the Chinese national team and Japan, and toward the end of the third leg it looked like that was exactly what would happen. But the Chinese team fumbled the last baton handoff, leaving Japan in the lead with Guangdong (province) in second. In the final leg, though, Yin Hualong from Sichuan overtook the Japanese front runner from two meters behind, winning the race for Sichuan with a time of 39.45 seconds.
It was an unexpected and uplifting victory for the team from the province that has seen so much devastation since the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake. Yin reportedly pointed to the name of his province on his jersey and proudly declared "I'm from Sichuan!" at the finish.
Tags: Good Luck Beijing, Liu Xiang, Sichuan
Liu Xiang Cruising in Beijing Test Event
Friday, 23rd May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
With one of China's biggest stars in Liu Xiang, and one of the Beijing Olympics' most hyped venues in the Bird's Nest, this event should be pretty hard to get into. But you can try your luck with one of the ticketing outlets listed on the Good Luck Beijing Web site.
National Stadium, aka the Bird's Nest, debuted last month with the finish of the marathon and race walking test events, but this weekend's four-day track and field meet is the venue's most complex event to date. In fact, it is probably the most important test event in terms of gauging Beijing's readiness to host the Olympics in August. The homepage for this event also happens to be the best that Good Luck Beijing has produced yet, with regular results updates and a wealth of video, photo and written content.
Image: Good Luck Beijing
Tags: Bird's Nest, events, Good Luck Beijing, Liu Xiang, National Stadium, track and field
China Upsets USA in Women's Basketball
Saturday, 26th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Beijing--In the United States first possession of the game Saturday night, Chinese guard Miao Lijie stole the ball from Sylvia Fowles and layed it up for an easy two points. That play set the tone for the game, as the USA committed 18 turnovers on the night and Miao shredded the nets with 26 points. China won the game, 84-81, to take first place in the Good Luck Beijing International Invitational Women's Basketball Tournament.
The U.S. players appeared to be looking beyond Saturday night's game to their return home to start the WNBA preseason next week. But China appeared pumped up to be playing to an enthusiastic crowd in its brand-new arena, and determined to avenge its 25-point rout by the US team two days ago.
The American team came out looking flat and sloppy, making just one out of seven two-point shots in the first 7:40 and committing a flurry of turnovers in the first quarter. China took advantage of their opponents' slow start, claiming a 10-point lead at the end of the first period. Early foul trouble kept Fowles and Lisa Leslie out for much of the first half and made it harder for the physical Americans to play their way back into the game.
The US team came out looking better in the second half. It made a run to pull into the lead late in the third quarter, its first lead since being up 6-4 in the first quarter. But China reclaimed the lead with five minutes to go and never looked back.
China held Leslie, who just two days ago made 26 points against China look like child's play, to a mere 10 points. Veteran guard Katie Smith led the United States with 16 points.
Australia placed third in the tournament, beating Cuba 65-61 on Saturday.
Tags: basketball, good luck beijing, Miao Lijie
Lessons from Good Luck Beijing's Big Week
Friday, 25th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Over the last week, running from venue to venue to catch sporting events at their Olympic sites, China Sports Today learned a few useful lessons. Here are our observations:
Ticketing Tips
Ticketing has been different at each venue for the Good Luck Beijing events. Some of the on-site box offices sell advance tickets, and others do not. The cute little "Tickets" link on each of the competitions' Good Luck Beijing home pages invariably doesn't work. When it's available, the best option for buying tickets is Emma Ticketmaster, which allows you to order tickets for delivery or pick-up. It also often has more complete practical information than the Good Luck site.
Under Construction
The venues themselves are pretty much ready to go, but the area that will be the focal of the games is still very much under construction. This means that spectators should allow extra time for getting to the venues, as access to the National Stadium, National Aquatics Center and surrounding venues is still confusing and inconvenient.
Is This Seat Taken?
The Good Luck Beijing events generally offer three different pricing categories for tickets. The strategy among locals seems to be to buy the cheapest category and then move up as close to the action as possible. This has caused some awkward moments as foreigners walk in with their tickets and are surprised when their exact seat needs to be cleared. If you are buying a ticket to upcoming events, keep this in mind.
Big BOCOG is Watching
At both the Workers' Stadium and the Fencing Hall, I received text messages from Good Luck Beijing upon enterin. The messages welcomed me to the stadium, informed me that I couldn't smoke and urged me to direct any questions to the volunteers. I hadn't given my phone number to anyone, and perhaps in my heightened American sense of privacy, was ever so slightly unnerved that I had been pinged.
Making Concessions
There is good news and bad news about the snacks sold at these events. The good news is that, unlike at sporting events I have been to in other countries, there is practically no markup on the snacks. A bottle of Coke or tea is three yuan, a large Snickers bar four yuan. The bad news is that the selection is small and not very appealing—Chinese style hot dogs, microwave popcorn, potato chips and the aforementioned Snickers.
Tags: Good Luck Beijing
Worth the Wait
Friday, 25th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Tickets for the synchronized swimming events only went on sale a couple of hours before each day's competition. I arrived at the Cube at 10:30 Sunday morning, and joined the 60 or so people who had already lined up to buy tickets. As the hours passed, the line stretched to at least 500 people—it was hard to get a count because everyone huddled under umbrellas and crowded together for some warmth on a chilly and rainy day.
Where I stood in line, people were taking the long and uncomfortable wait rather well. One woman, who said she had come out because her six-year-old son "loves swimming," said to me, "I was sure that there would be a long wait. Everybody is excited about participating in the Olympic games and this is the beginning. There is a difference between staying at home to watch on TV and getting into the stadium to see it with your own eyes."
Inside, time for some Olympic posing.
The rain-soaked masses cheered when ticket sales commenced precisely at 1:00. Inside the Cube, it was a video-taping, photo-snapping frenzy, and the athletes put on a good show, with the British duo winning the duet free routine portion of the synchronized swimming test event.
Tags: Good Luck Beijing, synchronized swimming, Water Cube
USA Dishes China its First Loss in Basketball Test Tournament
Friday, 25th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Thanks to fast break buckets, unchallenged second shot opportunities and skillful post moves from Leslie and Fowles, the United States scored a lot of its points in the paint and kept its two-point field goal shooting percentage at a high 59 percent.
China played like a well-coached team made up of talented athletes who have played basketball since they were 10 to 12 years old. They made their cuts and set their screens, shot 50 percent from the three-point line and made 75 percent of their free throws. But the US team looked like a group of women who have been dribbling as long as they have been walking. They easily broke China's press and put on a clinic on how to execute low-post moves. They dominated the boards, 48 to 31, and also had three players combine for six blocks.
"We should have done better although we are not as good as them in strength and talent," China's Chen Xiaoli said after the game.
If the USA revealed weaknesses, they would be free throw shooting (64 percent) and three-point shooting (3-for-11).
The Chinese fans continued to show the sportsmanship that they have throughout the tournament, cheering not just for their team but also for particularly impressive plays by the opponent. They have, however, picked up the practice of harassing the free throw shooter with a chorus of boos.
For American fans, it was the first test event that gave them a chance to see some athletes who are household names in the United States—veterans like Leslie and Kara Lawson and rising stars like soon-to-be WNBA rookies Fowles and Candice Wiggins.
"I'm from Connecticut and getting tickets to women's basketball games there is next to impossible," said one Beijing resident. A friend of hers, a fellow expat from Minnesota, said she especially enjoyed the chance to see Team USA compete, since she'd been unable to secure tickets to the Olympic tournament.
The Chinese and American fans get one more look at their teams this Saturday, when the two go head-to-head one more time for the tournament championship.
"We know it's going to be a big game with China the day after tomorrow, so we are really focused today," said USA head coach Anne Donovan.
Image: Good Luck Beijing
Tags: Anne Donovan, basketball, Bian Lan, China, Good Luck Beijing, Lisa Leslie, national team, Sylvia Fowles, USA
China Beats Cuba, Will Face USA Tonight
Thursday, 24th April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The Chinese team came out looking a little timid against the stronger Cubans, pulling out on fast break opportunities and fading away on shots inside the paint. But the team began spreading the floor, moving the ball and knocking down threes. Minor injuries to point guard Yamara Amargo Delgado and explosive small forward Suchitel Avila Cazanas helped dampen Cuba's comeback efforts and China coasted to the win.
China's high scorers were Chen Xiaoli with 17 points and Miao Lijie with 15. The team was perfect from the line at 16-16.
Tonight, China faces the United States, who are 3-1 in the tournament and coming off of a 78-60 rout of New Zealand in which they rested their starters for most of the second half. The game starts at 8:00 and tickets can be bought at Wukesong Basketball Arena for 20, 40 or 60 yuan. Whoever loses tonight will get another shot at their opponent in a higher-stakes game this weekend. The teams will face each other again in the tournament final at 8:00 on Saturday, April 26.
To get to Wukesong（五棵松）take the Line 1 subway to the Wukesong stop. The arena is to the northeast, past the baseball stadium.
Tags: basketball, Cuba, Good Luck Beijing, national team, Olympics, women
A Test Event for Cloud Seeding?
Tuesday, 22nd April 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Sunday's April showers in Beijing
With the National Stadium (a.k.a. the Bird's Nest) making its debut, hosting the race walking and marathon finishes; and with a European Tour golf tournament being played in Beijing, this past weekend would seem to be a perfect time to manipulate the weather a bit for some blue skies and more breathable air.
For those reasons, I thought the cloud-seeding powers that be would make it rain on us last Thursday or Friday, cleaning out the air and leaving the weekend skies ready to be photographed for stories in the Los Angeles Times and the International Herald-Tribune. Instead, there was no rain late last week and Saturday was a particularly dirty day in the capital, one where a walk around the block makes you want a shower. Rain clouds gathered Saturday night. It poured all day Sunday and much of Monday, slickening the marathon route and forcing golfers at the Volvo China Open to play in pretty tough conditions. The April showers also meant that the poor souls who waited three hours to buy tickets to see the synchronized swimming event in the Water Cube did so huddled under umbrellas with water seeping into their shoes.
It all begs the question: Was this past weekend also a test event for cloud seeding or just an unfortunate weather coincidence?
Tags: cloud seeding, Good Luck Beijing
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