Beijing Olympics-2008 Moments

Gold Rush

Host China topped the gold  medal chart for the first time ever. China’s haul of 51 gold medals in 25 different sports was the largest since the Soviet Union won 55 in Seoul in 1988. China won its first ever medals in sailing, beach volleyball and field hockey.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps set the pool on fire at the Beijing Olympics by winning a record breaking eight gold medals.At 23,

and competing in his third Olympics, Michael Phelps won a record eight gold medals overtaking Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals won in a single Olympics which was set in Munich in 1972. Phelps has a total of 14 goals medals to his name including six from Athens in 2004. Apart from the 14 gold medals he has also won two bronze Olympic medals.

Usain Bolt

A Bolt of lightning struck not once, not twice but thrice at the Bird’s Nest as Usain Bolt of Jamaica won gold in the 100m, 200m and 4 x 100m and this too, all in world record time. In the 100 meters he set a world record of 9.69 seconds and left his competitors trailing in his dust with the silver medalist Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago coming in a distant second clocking 9.89 seconds and Walter Dix of the United States coming in third in 9.91 seconds. Usain Bolt was hardly known outside his Caribbean nation at the start of the season.

Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra became the first ever individual gold medal winner for India at the Beijing Olympics. He broke an Olympic record at the Athens Olympics in 2004 but it was not enough to win a medal. He qualified for the Beijing Games with a remarkable performance in Zagreb in 2006. He comes from an affluent family and had the luxury of practicing in an indoor range in his own backyard. He shot into the limelight by winning a bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup, in the  2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games he won gold in the pairs event and silver in the individual event. During the year 2001 he hit a purple patch by winning six gold medals at various meets in the European Circuit.

Sushil Kumar

Sushil Kumar’s ability to grapple with the world’s best was known only recently when he surprised others by winning the Bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. He had finished 14th in the 2004 Athens Olympics. A resident of Najafgarh, West Delhi, he had promised his father, Diwan Singh, an MTNL driver a Gold medal. He began to grapple at the age of ten and his first major success came in 1998 when he won gold at the age of 15 in Manchester.

Vijender Kumar

He won silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2006 in Melbourne. He won bronze at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. A resident of Kaluwas village in Haryana, he was coached by Jagdish Singh who is the coach of Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar too. With the bronze medal which he won in Beijing also came the money, the Haryana Government has announced a reward of 5 million for Vijender Kumar.

Manipuri Maidens

Tombi Devi

Tombi Devi was born in Konchak Village near Imphal. She  bagged a gold medal in the 33rd National Games and won gold in the Commonwealth Games at Mauritius in January last. Tombi Devi was selected as a recipient of the coveted Arjuna Awards for the year 2007.

L.  Bombayla Devi

Laishram Bombayla Devi, had taken up archery since 1997 and made a mark after she was spotted by the Sports Authority of India in 2001.  One of her most memorable moments was in the 24th Senior National Archery Championship in 2004 where she won gold.

Victim of Conspiracy

Laishram Monika Devi’s dream of an Olympic Medal was shattered when she was ousted from the Olympic squad after being falsely charged for taking banned anabolic salt just hours before his departure to Beijing. Although later she was cleared of the doping charges she could not make it to Beijing because the entry process was already closed. The 27 year old who is employed with the CRPF who  hails from Manipur had won Gold for the nation in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, thus depriving her of a chance to compete in Beijing has cost the country dearly.

Cuba’s Angel

Valodia Matos was banned for life from taekwondo for kicking a referee. Matos was disqualified for exceeding a minute’s injury time, prompting the Cuban’s coach to rush on to the mat. After a heated exchange, Matos struck the referee in the head with a high kick. He also kicked another official before being escorted out of the arena. An official remarked that the incident “was an insult to the Olympic vision, to the spirit of taekwondo and in my opinion, an insult to mankind”.

Swedish Wrestler 

Ara Abrahamian was stripped of the Olympic bronze medal he won when he dumped it on the podium. The Swede grudgingly climbed the podium after finishing third in the 84 Kg class. But he left the medal at the centre of the competition not before stalking off the stage with a raised clenched right fist. Abrahamian thought he had beaten Audrea Minguzzi, the eventual gold medalist, in the semi-finals, but the match was awarded to the Italian.

Lame excuse coach!

“Archery Coach Sanjeeva Singh blames the big crowds and noisy stadiums for the dismal show of the Indian archers in the Beijing Olympics. The coaching and the support staff should have known this fact and by the start of the Games the players should have been accustomed to playing in front of big and noisy crowds”. What a shame coach! You have done one better by washing your hands off the dismal performance of the archers.

It’s Party Time

Just about every Indian sports official made it a point to make a trip to Beijing. Some went to Beijing as observers which really meant nothing; others say they do liaison work for some federation or the other. Then there are those who are part of a delegation which is studying how to run games so that their experience comes in handy at the time of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Apparently, the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) and the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee had sent a delegation ahead of time, just to book hotel rooms for all these people.