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China’s 11th National Games Opened

The 11th National Games, billed as China's mini-Olympics, opened amid a splendid ceremony in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province Friday evening, October 16, 2009 in Jinan., east China's Shandong Province Friday evening.Chinese President Hu Jintao officially opened the Games at the ceremony held in the newly built Olympic Sports Complex in this capital city of east China's Shandong province.With 55 of all 63 Chinese Beijing Olympic champions expected to compete, the quadrennial national meet is set to stage another sports gala for the country which just celebrated its 60th birthday.Among those present at the ceremony are President of International Olympic Committee (IOC) Jacques Rogge, who was re-elected at the 121st IOC Session held in Copenhagen just one week ago, and a dozen of IOC members.When addressing the full capacity of 60,000 at the ceremony, Liu Peng, director-general of State General Administration of Sports and President of the Organizing Committee of the 11th National Games, said a successful staging of the National Games will be a perfect gift dedicated to the country's 60th birthday."The National Games has contributed a lot to the development of Chinese sport in the past 50 years. We must build on what we have achieved since the Beijing Olympics, make our country much stronger in sport and promote the national fitness program as well," Liu added.He also wished athletes could promote sportsmanship in the 13-day long competitions.Taking part in the biggest-ever National Games are 10,991 athletes of 46 delegations from all provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the People's Liberation Army, the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and various sports associations of the trades such as railways, coal mining, forestry, finance and banking and aviation.The athletes' parade was followed by an Olympic-style art performance, a brilliant combination of dazzling light, music and dance, fireworks, and cultural extravaganza.The ceremony reached the climax with an intricate cauldron lighting, which saw thousands of performers on the field line up and stretch to the foot of the cauldron with each holding a torch, meaning the cauldron was lit by all the people.Getting more of China's 1.3 billion people involved in sport was one of the legacy aims of the Beijing Olympics, where China topped the medal table on 51 golds last year.China's sports governing body has given the priority to the mass participation of sports after the Beijing Games and vowed to include more people in the national fitness program, with the latest effort making Aug. 8, the date when the Beijing Olympics was held, an annual National Fitness Day.The flame, which lit the cauldron, arrived in Jinan after a two-month nation-wide relay.The flame was ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony on Aug. 1 at the top of Mount Taishan, one of the world cultural and natural heritage sites in China.The mountain lies some 40km south of the host city Jinan and has been considered the holy mountain because it is to the east, the direction from which the sun rises.It is a continuation of a pilgrimage to Mount Taishan since ancient times, when emperors used to ascend the mountain to pray and say thanks to heaven and earth for peace and prosperity. High officials, noted scholars and commoners have followed suit.The Games, with the theme of "Harmonious China and People's Games", features 33 sports consisting of all 28 sports in summer Olympics, four winter sports and wushu as well.Before its official kick-off, finals of 104 events from winter sports and summer sports such as table tennis, gymnastics and diving have concluded.The National Games, which was inaugurated 50 years ago, has long been a fierce battlefield for those participants who will spare no efforts to take home both honor and pride. Usually held every four years, it is the country's top national-level sports event.The Games runs from October 16 to 28 and will be held in 17 cities for the overall benefits throughout Shandong

Weightlifting rookies to challenge Olympic champions in Chinese National Games

JINAN, East China, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Though six of eight Beijing Olympic champions will show their power in the weightlifting competitions of the 11th Chinese National Games, rookies may not only challenge their domestic domination, but also their tickets of the London Olympics in 2012. Liu Chunhong of the host Shandong team, the women's 69kg class Olympic champion in 2004 and 2008, had decided to continue her career, aiming at her third Olympic gold medal in London. "Liu will try her best in the National Games, but the gold medalis not her only goal. She will focus more on the preparation of the London Olympics," Liu's coach Ma Wenhui told Xinhua. "Even if she won, She would not win the gold medal as easily as before in the National Games, because many rookies in the 69kg class are getting stronger," he added. "I think it is a good thing for Chinese weightlifting," said Ma, also the head coach in the national team. China dominated the weightlifting events in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as 10 Chinese lifters won eight golds and one silver in all the nine categories they entered. All the four Chinese strongwomen fighting at the Games snatched golds. Besides Liu, other two strongwomen Cao Lei of Heilongjiang, 75kg class Olympic champion, and Chen Xiexia of Guangdong, 48kg class Olympic champion will also compete in the National Games. Chen Yanqing, winner in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, retired after the Beijing Olympics. Other Olympic weightlifting champions Long Qingquan, Liao Hui and Lu Yong will show up in the later men's competition. Zhang Xiangxiang, Olympic champion in men's 62kg, had turned his interest in the acting field. "All the top eight lifters in every category in the National Games will be enrolled in the national team next month," said Ma Wenguang, president of the Chinese Weightlifting Association. "The rookies and the veterans will compete for the Olympic tickets. If the rookies' performance are better than the Olympic champions, we will be happy to see them replace the veterans," he added. The weightlifting competition in the Chinese National Games, running from October 17 to 26, attracted a total of 226 lifters across China, including 130 strongwomen in seven categories and 144 strongmen in eight categories. Chinese female lifters are so strong that 13 of all the 21 national records are higher than the world records of the same kind. Though bettering weightlifting world records frequently happens in the National Games, the new results will not be counted as the world records due to the lack of the authentication from the International Weightlifting Federation. by Liu Yang (www.chinaview.cn)

Gold again for the Steiner weightlifting dynasty

Sydney - A magic moment from the Beijing Games was recreated Thursday at the World Masters Games in Sydney when Friedrich Steiner, father of Olympic weightlifting champion Matthias Steiner, paraded a gold medal won in the men's 70-74 age category. The younger Steiner, a German citizen after falling out with the Austrian weightlifting federation, endeared himself to the world with a magnificent final lift in the Beijing competition. The Austrian-born man-mountain dedicated his gold medal performance to the memory of his wife, Susann, who died in a car accident in 2007. He famously held up a photograph of Susann when he was on the podium. The elder Steiner, still competing for Austria, said his triumph at the seventh World Masters Games was not in the same class as his son's stupendous Beijing effort.

What’s with China’s National Games?

For those of you not familiar, China's National Games is held every four years in the country since 1975, when the Cultural Revolution was coming to an end. This year the 11th National Games will be held in Shandong Province, from October 16th to 28th. Every four years, the best players in national teams go back to their hometowns to win glory for their provincial teams. There are 50 teams participating this time: 4 municipality teams, 22 provincial teams, 5 autonomous region teams and the People's Liberation Army team. The PLA is a big player every time. The Games can usually tell you who will compete in the next Olympics. So if you're thinking about the London 2012, better keep an eye on these new Chinese champions. Up until now, still two days to the Opening Ceremony in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, there're 24 teams that won 238 gold medals already. Why so many? Partly because if a team member won a gold in the Beijing Games last summer, it counts for two golds for them in the National Game's medal tally. Competition Schedule: Day 1: October 17 Saturday 14:00-16:00 Women's 48kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Women's 53kg Group A Day 2: October 18 Sunday 14:00-16:00 Women's 58kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Women's 63kg Group A Day 3: October 19 Monday 14:00-16:00 Women's 69kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Women's 75kg Group A Day 4: October 20 Tuesday 14:00-16:00 Women's +75 Group A October 21-22    Rest Days Day 5: October 23 Friday 14:00-16:00 Men's 56kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Men's 62kg Group A Day 6: October 24 Saturday 14:00-16:00 Men's 69kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Men's 77kg Group A Day 7: October 25 Sunday 14:00-16:00 Men's 85kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Men's 94kg Group A Day 8: October 26 Monday 14:00-16:00 Men's 105kg Group A 19:00-21:00 Men's +105kg Group A The schedule may subject to be changed after the verification of final entries.      

Alfred Knight Close to be unveiled this weekend

Friends and family of Olympic weightlifter, Alfred Knight, will be attending a special ceremony this Saturday, 17th October, to unveil a brand new street at David Wilson South Midlands' Arena Gate development in Duston, which has been named after the sporting hero. Alfred Knight Close is just one of a number of streets within the Arena Gate development that have been named after well-known local legends. Around 100 guests, including local MP Brian Binley, are expected to attend the official opening of the street which has taken its name from Alfred, who, amongst his many accomplishments, came 4th in the 1948 Olympic Games in London (heavyweight, 117.5 kg snatch, 155 kg clean and jerk, 117,5 kg press, 390 kg total) Barbara Jackson, daughter of Alfred Knight, comments "As a family, we're extremely proud of what our father achieved not just within his chosen sport, but within the local community too, and I think having a street named after him is a fitting tribute to what he accomplished during his lifetime." Jackie Day, Sales Director at David Wilson comments "Alfred Knight is a well -respected and loved sporting hero in Northamptonshire and we are proud to have a street at one of our developments named after

WADA Executive Committee and Board to Meet on December 1-2 in Stockholm to Mark 10th Anniversary

To mark its 10th anniversary, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will hold its annual end-of-the-year Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings on December 1-2 in Stockholm, Sweden. WADA was founded on November 10, 1999, in Lausanne, Switzerland, following a joint initiative from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and governments of the world. To celebrate a decade of Play True and WADA's relentless commitment to doping-free sport, the Government of Sweden has offered to contribute to host the December meetings on the continent where WADA was founded. On this occasion, a number of Founding Members will be