China caps Games with record haul
Source: Agencies |
November 28, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
JUST five gold medals were presented yesterday at the Asian Games in a rather slow-paced denouement for an event the Olympic Council of Asia president referred to as "one of the best ever."
Zhou Chunxiu won the women's marathon in the morning, giving China its 198th gold medal of the games, one shy of its eventual record total, and Myanmar took its first two - in the men's and women's doubles finals in sepak takraw.
OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah told a news conference that even a military conflict on the Korean peninsula during the games could not damage its image.
North and South Korean "athletes stood shoulder-to-shoulder to compete even though there had been some problems in their countries," al-Sabah said.
The closing ceremony yesterday evening began with an impressive display of fireworks from the 600-meter Canton Tower and along the Pearl River, the focal point of Guangzhou, China's third-largest city of 10 million.
Like the opening ceremony, the closing extravaganza was held in a 27,000-seat stadium on tiny Haixinsha island in the river. Later, al-Sabah took the games torch from Guangzhou officials and handed it to those from the city of Incheon, South Korea, which will host the Asian Games in 2014.
The Guangzhou organizers paid tribute to Asia's cultural diversity in a 47-minute opening medley that drew on ethnic song and dance from India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Lebanon and Mongolia. Hong Kong pop stars Alan Tam and Hacken Lee added a contemporary touch by leading a performance of the games theme song, "Triumphant Return."
The show was later turned over to Incheon - South Korean drummers, dancers with red and white fans and taekwondo performers emerged. Donning a black trench coat, actor-singer Rain followed with a fast number accompanied by identically dressed dancers. The closing ceremony ended with the games flame extinguished as hundreds of athletes watched beneath and fireworks again lit the coolish autumn sky.
After 48 gold medals were presented on Friday in a hectic penultimate day, Zhou won the first of the last-day medals when she finished the marathon in 2 hours, 25 minutes, about 90 seconds ahead of her Chinese compatriot Zhou Xiaolin. Kim Kum Ok of North Korea won the bronze.
Ji Young-jun of South Korea won gold in the men's marathon, finishing in 2:11.11, with Japan's Yukihiro Kitaoka second. That ended China's chances of capturing 200 gold medals in Guangzhou.
Myanmar won its previous gold in sepak takraw in 1998 in the women's regu division. Myanmar's men beat South Korea 2-0 and its women defeated China 2-1.
China won the first gold of the games on November 13 when Yuan Xiaochao finished first in martial arts event, and took the last yesterday. The Chinese women's volleyball team came back from two sets down to beat South Korea 21-25, 22-25, 25-10, 25-17, 16-14, leaving its final gold medal count for the games at 199.
"Although we have a relatively large amount of gold medals, only a few attained world standards and most of them lacked the competitive standard of the Olympics," deputy chef de mission Duan Shijie told reporters.
Al-Sabah was in an upbeat mood in the hours leading up to the closing ceremony, noting that there had been only two doping cases at these games compared with more than a dozen at the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar.
And the two positives - a judo competitor and a wrestler - were both Uzbeks.
Zhou Chunxiu won the women's marathon in the morning, giving China its 198th gold medal of the games, one shy of its eventual record total, and Myanmar took its first two - in the men's and women's doubles finals in sepak takraw.
OCA chief Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah told a news conference that even a military conflict on the Korean peninsula during the games could not damage its image.
North and South Korean "athletes stood shoulder-to-shoulder to compete even though there had been some problems in their countries," al-Sabah said.
The closing ceremony yesterday evening began with an impressive display of fireworks from the 600-meter Canton Tower and along the Pearl River, the focal point of Guangzhou, China's third-largest city of 10 million.
Like the opening ceremony, the closing extravaganza was held in a 27,000-seat stadium on tiny Haixinsha island in the river. Later, al-Sabah took the games torch from Guangzhou officials and handed it to those from the city of Incheon, South Korea, which will host the Asian Games in 2014.
The Guangzhou organizers paid tribute to Asia's cultural diversity in a 47-minute opening medley that drew on ethnic song and dance from India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Lebanon and Mongolia. Hong Kong pop stars Alan Tam and Hacken Lee added a contemporary touch by leading a performance of the games theme song, "Triumphant Return."
The show was later turned over to Incheon - South Korean drummers, dancers with red and white fans and taekwondo performers emerged. Donning a black trench coat, actor-singer Rain followed with a fast number accompanied by identically dressed dancers. The closing ceremony ended with the games flame extinguished as hundreds of athletes watched beneath and fireworks again lit the coolish autumn sky.
After 48 gold medals were presented on Friday in a hectic penultimate day, Zhou won the first of the last-day medals when she finished the marathon in 2 hours, 25 minutes, about 90 seconds ahead of her Chinese compatriot Zhou Xiaolin. Kim Kum Ok of North Korea won the bronze.
Ji Young-jun of South Korea won gold in the men's marathon, finishing in 2:11.11, with Japan's Yukihiro Kitaoka second. That ended China's chances of capturing 200 gold medals in Guangzhou.
Myanmar won its previous gold in sepak takraw in 1998 in the women's regu division. Myanmar's men beat South Korea 2-0 and its women defeated China 2-1.
China won the first gold of the games on November 13 when Yuan Xiaochao finished first in martial arts event, and took the last yesterday. The Chinese women's volleyball team came back from two sets down to beat South Korea 21-25, 22-25, 25-10, 25-17, 16-14, leaving its final gold medal count for the games at 199.
"Although we have a relatively large amount of gold medals, only a few attained world standards and most of them lacked the competitive standard of the Olympics," deputy chef de mission Duan Shijie told reporters.
Al-Sabah was in an upbeat mood in the hours leading up to the closing ceremony, noting that there had been only two doping cases at these games compared with more than a dozen at the 2006 Asian Games at Doha, Qatar.
And the two positives - a judo competitor and a wrestler - were both Uzbeks.
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