Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Begin

[Annie]

Here is a link for all the latest results in The Beijing 2008 Paralympics

HERE (http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/index.shtml)

I shall be following the events closely because when you talk of Sporting Heroes these individuals definitely fit the bill. They are everyday Heroes who have had to deal with situations that most of us will never have to endure, yet they have the strength to go forward and achieve incredible sporting feats.

My hat is well and truly off to these guys and I will watch with great interest.

:hi:

[Annie]

Just incase anyone is interested Beijing is currently 7 hours ahead of UK time (GMT +8), so we should see the first results filtering thourgh early tomorrow morning. :thumbsup:

[FantasyCheeseBasin]

Here is a link for all the latest results in The Beijing 2008 Paralympics

HERE (http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/index.shtml)

I shall be following the events closely because when you talk of Sporting Heroes these individuals definitely fit the bill. They are everyday Heroes who have had to deal with situations that most of us will never have to endure, yet they have the strength to go forward and achieve incredible sporting feats.

My hat is well and truly off to these guys and I will watch with great interest.

:hi:

here here annie well said :dance3:

[Annie]

Well it's the usual story with TV coverage, I tried to playback the opening ceremony but only got snippets unlike the Olympics! Of what I did see it looked magnificent and the Chinese people did themselves proud. http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/images/icons/clap.gif

Do you know in other countries like India for example they refer to disabled people as 'Special People' and show them the utmost respect? It's a shame the British Media can't do the same.

Any how I think we are really going to have to pull our fingers out if we are going to put up a show that can come near to what the Chinese have done.

Once again well done to our Chinese friends for a great show http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/images/icons/clap.gif



..............O and I love your food too!

[Belisar]

I wonder if the paralympics should be held before the olympics and not after.

It seems to me GB is still raving over our gold medalists from those games and so these games are just not receiving the same level of coverage or comment.

[DaveR]

http://www.sportfocus.com/newsimage/paralympic1.jpg



Difference in Experience
Wetherill was making his debut in the Paralympics whilst Rainer Schmidt is a much more experienced player.

Schmidt won gold in the Men’s Team event at the Paralympic Games in Barcelona (1992), Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) whilst in Athens he clinched silver in Men’s Singles Class 6 and in Barcelona, gold.

Controlled Emotions
"I think it just came down to who was better on the day; whoever kept their emotions in check was the player who was going to win", said Wetherill. "After all, we are playing in the country that is the home of table tennis."

First Paralympic Games
The Englishman is very much a newcomer to international Para Table Tennis but he has enjoyed success; in 2007 he won gold at international tournaments in both Italy and the United States of America.

"Yes, this is my first Paralympic Games, so to beat Rainer makes it all the more special", Wetherill explained. "I knew how good he was but I also knew that I had the ability to beat him."

Confidence
Undoubtedly, Wetherill grew in confidence as the match progressed and certainly the win over the German gives his medal hopes a massive boost.

"Certainly I came into this match thinking that Rainer would be one of my toughest opponents", continued Wetherill. "I know if I can beat him I can beat anyone in my class; however, it’s important not to think beyond my next games."

Wise words, just take one match at a time.

[DaveR]

(BEIJING, September 7) -- Germany’s Holger Nikelis and Walter Kilger, the winners of the gold and bronze medals respectively in the Men's Individual Class 1 event at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, both suffered surprise defeats in their opening matches Sunday at the Peking University Gymnasium.
Wheelchair competitors participate in Classes 1-5 whilst Standing players compete in Classes 6-10; all matches are best of five games.
Nikelis was beaten in a contest that went the full distance by Jean-Francois Ducay of France whilst Kilger was defeated in three straight games by Yunier Fernandez of Cuba.
The two surprises in the Men's Individual Class 1 event were added to by a third one, when Andrea Vevera of Austria, the number one seed, was beaten in five games by Cho Jae-kwan of the Republic of Korea. The one highly rated player to survive was ROK’s Lee Hae-kon, the silver medalist in Athens, he beat Isvel Trujillo of Cuba.
Meanwhile, in the Men's Individual Class 9/10 competitions there was also a result to raise the eyebrows.
Olabiyi Alabi Olufemi of Nigeria defeated Lu Xiaoleiof China, the Class 9 Men's Individual silver medalist in Athens.
However, for top seed Jose Manuel Ruiz of Spain, there were few problems. He defeated David Korn of Germany, whilst Tahl Leibovitz of the United States, the Athens Class 9 bronze medalist, overcame Tonnie Heijnen of Netherlands.
Also successful were the respective gold, silver and bronze medalists in the Class 10 event in Athens. Ladislav Gaspar of Slovakia, Fredrik Andersson of Sweden and Ge Yang of China all emerged victorious as did Stanislaw Fraczyk of Austria, the Men's Individual Class 9 champion four years ago.
Surprise hit Women's Individual Class 3 as well. Stephanie Mariage of France, the Athens silver medalist, lost by the narrowest of margins to Christina Ploner of Italy. However, for Mateja Pintar of Slovenia, the reigning champion and No.1 seed, there were no heartaches. Pintar beat Federica Cudia of Italy, while Alena Kanova of Slovakia, the bronze medalist four years ago, accounted for Forough Bakhtiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Unexpected verdicts were not the situation for those with high hopes in the Women's Individual Class 1-2 or in Men's Individual Class 2.
In the former, Isabelle Lafaye Marziou of France, the reigning champion, defeated Narges Khazaei of Islamic Republic of Iran, whilst Clara Poddaof Italy accounted for Dzaier Neil of Great Britain in a close match; the contest was decided by the very narrowest of five game margins.
Meanwhile, in Men's Individual Class 2, Jan Riapos of Slovakia, the winner in Athens, defeated Damien Mennellaof France with the respective silver and bronze medalists from four years ago also emerging successful. ROK’s Kim Kong-yong beat Ali Mabrouk Ahmed of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya while Kim Kyung-mook from the Republic of Korea overcame Gao Yanming of China.
Similarly, in Men's Individual Class 4-5 there was success for the highly rated players.
Tommy Urhaug of Norway, the No.1 seed defeated Ilija Durasinovicp of Serbia; Kim Byoung-young of the Republic of Korea, the reigning champion, overcame Chang Chih-Jung of Chinese Taipei, while the player the latter beat in the final four years ago, Jung Eun-chang of the Republic of Korea, defeated Tsang Tit-hung of Hong Kong, China .
Similarly, for the Athens bronze medalist, there was success. Christophe Durand of France overcame Nasiru Sule of Nigeria.
In Women's Individual Class 4 it was the same scenario.
Monika Sikora Weinmann of Germany, the Athens winner, defeated Patrizia Sacca of Italy; Valeria Zorzetto of Italy, who was the silver medalist in Athens, beat Faith Chinenye Obiora of Nigeria whilst No.1 seed, Borislava Peric of Serbia accounted for Andreja Dolinarof Slovenia.
Wins also came the way of Athens gold and silver medalists in the Men's Individual Class 3 event. Kim Young-gun of the Republic of Korea and Jean-Philippe Robin of France recorded respective wins against Ivan Lisac of Slovenia and Jan Kosco of Slovakia, while Florian Merrien of France, the No.1 seed, defeated Bojan Lukezic of Slovernia.
Concluding the day Zhang Xiaolingof China defeated Marleen Bengtsson Kovacs of Sweden in their Women's Individual Class 8 match; the two had met in the final of Women's Individual Class 6-8 in Athens when the Chinese player had won.
In Beijing she repeated the treatment; while similarly it was a happy ending to the day for Thu Kamkasomphou of France; the No.1 seed; she beat Josefin Abrahamsson of Sweden.

Article courtesy: The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games (http://en.paralympic.beijing2008.cn/sports/tabletennis/index.shtml)

[Hovis Bread Eater]

The chinese public are supporting the Table tennis event with crowds of over 4,000 for some of the sessions.

[DaveR]

(BEIJING, September 11) -- On the fourth day of action in the Table Tennis events at the Peking University Gymnasium, China had won gold in four of the five events and in the one event that proved elusive, they won silver and bronze. On the fifth day of play they added to their medal count but the domination of the previous day was not repeated.
Feng Panfeng of China won gold in Men's Individual--Class 3 beating Jean-Philippe Robin of France in the final; later in the day, in Men's Individual--Class 8 and Men's Individual Class--9/10, Chen Gang and Ge Yang of China emulated Feng's efforts.
Chen defeated Piotr Grudzien of Poland to clinch top prize in Class 8, with Miroslav Jambor of Slovakia securing bronze. In Class 9/10 the player defeated by Ge was his colleague Ma Lin, the bronze medalist being Fredrik Andersson of Sweden.
Earlier in the day Feng had overcome Jean-Philippe Robin of France to claim the top prize in Class 3 with Tomas Pinas of Spain, the bronze medalist.
There were three gold medals in the male events for China and one more for women. Lei Lina of China won Women's Individual--Class 9 beating compatriot Lu Meili in a reversal of the Athens 2004 final and the bronze medal went to Neslihan Kavas of Turkey.
There were two further medals for the host country.
Ye Chaoqun of China gained silver in Men's Individual--Class 7, losing to Jochen Wollmert of Germany at the final hurdle with Alvaro Valera of Spain, the bronze medalist. Meanwhile, in Women's Individual--Class 8, Zhang Xiaoling of China secured bronze; the gold medal going to Thu Kamkasomphou of France and the silver to Josefin Abrahamsson of Sweden.
There were golden times for European players: Andreas Vevera of Australia won gold in Men's Individual--Class 1 beating Cho Jae-kwan of the Republic Korea in the final, and the other ROK player Lee Hae-kon secured bronze.
There was gold for Austria and for Russia and France also added to its medal haul.
Furthering the Russian cause, Natalia Martyasheva subdued colleague Yulia Ovsyannikova in the Women's Individual--Cass 6/7 final with Kelly Van Zon of the Netherlands clinching bronze. France provided both finalists in Men's Individual--Class 2 and Vincent Boury of France secured victory at the expense of his compatriot Stephane Molliens.
Also in Men's Individual--Class 4/5 there was French success. Christophe Durand of France defeated Jung Eun-chang of ROK to secure gold, with Tommy Urhaug of Norway winning bronze.
There was one more European victory. In Men's Individual--Class 6, Peter Rosenmeier of Denmark defeated Daniel Arnold of Germany to secure gold, with Nico Blok of the Netherlands winning the bronze medal.

[Hovis Bread Eater]

Nico blok such a NICE guy.

[Annie]

Are you back now Hovis or still in the thick of it?

[Hovis Bread Eater]

still here finished yesterday, lost in two bronze medal matches, home friday,

[Annie]

Well that's the end of a very sucessful Paralympics. The top 5 stats are as follows: -

.........G...S..B..ToT
1 CHN 89 70 52 211
2 GBR 42 29 31 102
3 USA 36 35 28 99
4 UKR 24 18 32 74
5 AUS 23 29 27 79

Well done to China and a fantastic result for the UK. Also congrats to USA for coming a close third.

http://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/images/icons/clap.gifhttp://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/images/icons/clap.gifhttp://www.tabletennistalk.co.uk/forum/images/icons/clap.gif



p.s. Hovis, hurry home safely as I'm sure you'll have some wonderful pictures to share.

[Llooppyy]

aahpishcumprrrrrdtiradrumwehaveover300playerslivin inabjectpovertyrisininaboveitallweekin'n'oot-purebuckfastboooooominbacinyooropsaystel

[Annie]

Lest we forget this tournament will have a peaceful yet positive effect for all it's everyday people!

[Hovis Bread Eater]

i have took over 300 pics, including after we had finished our competition a beer in waldners bar where we had to play his chinese manager,

[Annie]

Well when you get back perhaps we should get together and I could create a slide show gif like I did for my Warwick Castle trip. Just let me know Hovis :thumbsup: