silver medal after 48 years!

just came back from TV party organised by embassy to support our women's team in the table tennis team finals. it was a raucous n cheerful gathering with about 200 Singaporeans with families and kids in tow. CNA and omy sg film crews were there. you might see us on TV news later.
a group of young SG students studying in BJ provided the energy for loud cheers! results was not unexpected. even the most partisan SG supporter did not expect a victory against the mighty Chinese (world no.1 & 2). most of us just hoped to win one match for pride. in the end, a silver medal was just as sweet after a long wait of 48 years!
it was a proud and emotional moment to see our national flag rising (with PRC and ROK flags)! majullah Singapura!now I'm drinking hot honey and citron cos my throat is hoarse from all the cheering! :-)

Olympic venues

At the height of Olympics fever, I went through several key Olympic venues to get a behind the scenes look at the sports extravaganza. Needless to say, the infrastructure at the venues are excellent, like the massive Bird Nest National Stadium and the Water Cube
I first saw this structure as a hole in the ground 3 years ago and followed it's progress from half-completed to a completed but unfinished stadium. It was amazing to see the stadium filled to the rafters on Saturday with thousands of enthusiastic Chinese and international sports fans! That day was the start of track and field events. many heats like the women's 400m and qualifiers for women's pole vault was on-going. Outside the stadium, the huge square between the Birds Nest and Water Cube was full of curious wandering crowds taking in the sight on a wonderful blue sky day
The Water Cube was impressive, both inside and outside. we saw the emotional Brasilian Cesar Cielo who just won the 50m freestyle. my European friends pointed out Swedish King Gustav in the stands, he was just 2m away! later saw him up close in the Olympic family Lounge area.
wandering around, we saw swimmers training in the warming up pools and divers training in the gym. outside the Cube, we bumped into Zimbabwean swimmer, Kirsty Coventry who won the women's 200m backstroke gold earlier that morning. she graciously posed for photos with us!
Next we headed to the Indoor Stadium for gymnastics. the men's trampoline qualifiers were on. The Chinese duo was topping the tables, but the Japanese men, Germans and Russians were quite good as well. Here we spotted Bill Gates in the stands. I had spotted him at the Birds Nest Stadium just a short while before. should have asked him for some loose change, like a million or two, shucks!

Table tennis wonders!

I managed to catch our women's table tennis semi-finals against South Korea at Peking University Gymnasium. this was my first Olympics event! even caught a glimpse of Li Jiawei getting ready behind the scenes inside the stadium.

the series of matches were very exciting and nail biting, especially Li Jia Wei's first singles (which she lost). Her Korean opponent Kim Kyung-ah was very skillful and used a series of spins and drop shots to frustrate Jia Wei into making mistakes.

Singapore's doubles match was much better when Jia Wei and Wang Yuegu made a clean sweep in 3-0

this semi is crucial since Singapore will be guaranteed a medal (at least silver) if they win. If not, then it's a gruelling round robin play off for the bronze!

Our supporters made up for their small numbers with their high spirits. They bested the Korean supporters in cheering (which was quite unusual for Koreans since they are usually very well-organised).

I had to leave earlier and it was even more nerve wracking to receive SMS updates from my frens about the last match. Thankfully Feng Tianwei finished the job and won! this meant that Singapore finally win an Olympic medal after 48 long years!

now we are planning a TV party on Sunday evening to watch the table tennis finals. Even though China is in a separate class, you never know when you playing without pressure!

Update: FM George Yeo on the table tennis team
ST blog's blow-by-blow account of the table tennis semi-finals

meeting President Nathan

Robina and I was at the reception organised for President Nathan to meet with the Singaporean community in Beijing. Many Team Singapore officials were there as well even though our athletes had to compete or train in the Olympic Village.
there was a scrum when President arrived and he spent the evening chatting with Singaporeans and yes, posing for photos!

Olympic Games Village

visited the Games Village today. It was a wonderful feeling to be amongst so many athletes from so many countries. plus learn to recognise so many flags and wonder why Indonesia and Monaco have exactly the same flag?

it was great to spot our Singapore flag in the village. I had to wait for the right moment for our flag to flutter in the gentle breeze.

the huge dining hall (about the size of 5-6 army camp dining halls) is the centre of activity. we spotted so many athletes that after a while, it was like a human zoo. As a biologist (and birder) I quickly differentiate the body types and physiques associated with various sports. The volleyball players are so tall! the weightlifters are stocky and powerfully built. the sprinters from the Caribbean are like gazelles.
all those high metab need to be fuel by burning calories. plenty of good food here to supply that
and after they kena knocked out of their events they can seek solace and comfort in fast food.