Remembering Beijing 2008

It's always saddening to see great sporting events coming to an end in the closing ceremony. In any case, it's being an action-packed Olympics in Beijing with several memorable points and controversies. Here are some of the stuff which characterizes the games in China.

1. During the opening ceremony, it was revealed that Lin Miao Ke, the 9 year-old girl who was singing "Ode to the Motherland", was actually lip-syncing. The voice did not belong her but to another 7-year-old girl, Yang Peiyi. It seems that some members in the Politburo and the committee felt that Peiyi was too chubby, had broken teeth and not cute enough. On the other hand, Miaoke had the looks but not the voice. The musical director chillingly puts out the criteria, "The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression." The organisers simply put out that the arrangement was done for the good of the nation. It certainly drew furious response from all over the globe and some have seen that the image branding consumerism has even invaded into the innocent world of children.

2. Another point that was revealed was that the fireworks scene at the opening ceremony was digitally enhanced by computer generated effects for the TV viewers. So, some of the fireworks effects were pixellated stuff and not really seen by those at the stadium. The strange thing was that famed director Zhang Yimou gave the ok button for such "modification".

3. Michael Phelps became an American and Olympic swimming legend after achieving an astounding 8 gold medals in Beijing, bringing his career total to a record 14 gold medals, the most earned by any Olympian athlete. One of his most memorable swims in Beijing was when he won the Gold in the 100 m butterfly by 0.01 seconds! Gosh, he seriously made 0.01 seconds so valuable and the silver medalist would reflect heavily on that..lol. Michael Phelps smash several world Records in his swimming campaign in Beijing and he is now the current holder of seven world records in swimming.

4. Usain Bolt became the fastest man on Earth when he won Gold in both the 100m and 200m sprints and breaking both World Records at the same time. His 100m was a highlight because apparently, he actually slowed down by looking behind and thumping his chest as he crossed the finishing. Even so, he still managed to get the Gold and break the record. Some criticized him as being a showoff while others say its a waste because he could have stretched the world record further. Nevertheless, the Lightning Bolt went on to set another World Record and gold medal with the 4x100m relay team.

5. China's popular champion hurdler Liu Xiang limps out before he got the first hurdle. He subsequently withdrew from the competition citing an injury problem, much to the shock and tears of the entire stadium. Liu Xiang had somewhat propelled himself as a cult figure in China's sporting arena and endorsing countless number of advertisments. The weight of the entire nation of 1 billion people was on his shoulders and many had expected him to retain his title from Athens. Alas, it was not to be and his withdrawal remained an issue of debate among the Chinese.

6. Moment of madenness in taekwando as Cuba's Valodia Matos lands a kick On Swedish referee Chakir Chelbat in anger after being disqualified. The poor referee needed to get stitches on his lips for the deliberate attack. Needless to say, both Matos and his coach were banned for life from any future taekwando competition.

7. Singapore won her first Olympic medal after 48 years of waiting.

8. Lee Chong Wei brought glory to Malaysia when he won the silver medal for badminton singles. =)

The closing ceremony was quite nice and David Beckham made an appearance..lol. Great electric guitar stuff also from Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Haha, the transforming London bus in the stadium was rather interesting. So, as we came to the end of one Olympic, we say hello to another in 4 years time, at London 2012.