On August 5^th, 2008, the Chineese participating in the Martial Art tournament received a nod from IOC after a presentation of the various aspects of the Wushu. The tournament is slated to begin today and will last for four days. The tournament is hosted by BOCOG and the International Wushu Federation (IWUF) and 10 gold medals have been set aside for taolu and 5 gold medals for sanshou at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium.

There will be 15 events out of which each country or region will be allowed to participate only in 8 events thereby increasing the chances of more nations to sweep medals. 128 athletes from 43 countries and regions will take part in the tournament. As the tournament had never been recognized as an Olympic event, the participants will have to abide by a separate set of rules framed for Wushu. The athletes, coaches and referees will not stay in the Olympic village. Nevertheless, the sport is included in Beijing as a move to further the western and eastern cultural exchange. The sport is also promoted to encourage physical fitness among people, as such it has been thought of as a concept of 'People's Olympics.' The BOCOG, International Wushu Federation as well as the media are working towards making this event a grand success.

Lauren Jackson to play despite ankle injury

The iron willed OPALS captain Lauren Jackson who is determined to win a gold medal will play through her pain in the lower part of her leg in the Olympics. She has revealed that she had been taking pain killers and will have her ankle operated post Olympics. The effects of the pain killer are dying and she is experiencing tremendous pain especially when she takes off and lands. Jackson is the world's most valuable basketballer and the news of her undergoing a surgery soon after the game, comes at a time when Penny Taylor, another outstanding player has sustained an ankle injury in Australia's quarter-final win over the Czech Republic.

Michael Phelps has two girlfriends and eight gold medals

The swimmer must have been surprised to find his name appearing on a Chineese Daily stating that he has two girl friends – one a swimmer by the name, Amanda Beard, and the other, a model, who is ranked one of the top eight models in the world. Earlier Phelps had categorically declared that he had no girlfriends and most of his time was spent with music and his car. However, he was caught in a light hearted moment with Stephanie Rice, the Australian model.

Stand out performers of Australia at the Beijing games

Australia deems the performance of Sally McLellan and Anna Meares the greatest ever in Olympic history. The return of Anna Meares from a very pathetic fall in the track that had broken her vertebrae only to win a silver was good reason to lift up Australia's spirits despite the poor medal tally. Hurdler Sally McLellan, a recipient of the silver medal, walked out into the Bird's Nest stadium feeling pumped as her efforts paid off. Australia's IOC showered praises on the two performers.

U.S buoyed by the coach's return win three sets

The US Volleyball team thrilled by the return of Coach Hugh McCutcheon who missed three games following an attack laid on his in-laws, defeated China in three consecutive sets. A week ago, McCutcheon's father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was fatally stabbed and his wife, Barbara Bachman was badly wounded. The victims are the parents of former volleyball Olympian Elisabeth "Wiz" Bachman McCutcheon.

Swedish wrestler disqualified from Olympics

Ara Abrahamian had been stripped off his bronze for not having played with the spirit of the game. The International Olympic Committee was forced to take the decision following the wrestler's breach of the spirit of fair play during the medal ceremony. A disputed penalty call that ultimately caused the gold to be handed over to Italian Andrea Minguzzi put him in a fit of rage who dropped the bronze medal on the floor after occupying the third position in the Greco-Roman 84kg division on 13^th August. The IOC considered the action a mark of disrespect.

Canada heaves a sigh of relief through its winning of gold and silver

Freestyle wrestler Carol Huynh won the women’s 48-kilogram final securing gold for her motherland. Huynh posted a 4-0, 2-0 win against Chiharu Icho of Japan. And about 20 minutes later, Dave Calder and Scott Frandsen too rowed well enough to save Canada from any sort of embarrassment. In a matter of two seconds, the Canadians bypassed the Australians in rowing and put an end to the medal flurry that continued for seven long days.

End of the medal drought……

The King of swimming emerged as the true Olympian with his record breaking performance that won him 5 gold medals in the Olympics and a total of 11 in his career. Michael Phelps had set his aim so high that anything less than what he really achieved could have been a failure to him. As he reached the finishing line, his expressions barely conveyed anything. His goggles posed him real trouble as he could hardly see the walls, yet with strong determination he made it to the end.

Though the dude received incredible attention in America, the response in the host country was somewhat subdued. This was seen through the limited coverage extended by the Chineese local newspapers. The seats in the Aquatics too were not filled to their capacity and those interviewed in Beijing said their favourite American athletes were not swimmers. Perhaps, swimming is not a popular sport in China. They were more concerned about their own athletes' victory in sports like gymnastics, diving, badminton, table tennis, fencing and weight lifting.

But why should the flying fish (as he is nicknamed by some) be affected or distressed? Wasn't his performance heartening enough?

A day after the Chineese men gymnasts clinched the gold medal in team events, their women counterparts followed suit. The new format that replaced the conventional scoring system helped the Chineese post 188.90 points, while the Americans had to settle with 186.525 and Romania (181.525) a distant third. The event came to an end with the supposedly best performance from the Americans – the balance beam and floor exercises with glaring mistakes the team couldn't afford.

On the whole, the US team performed well, but their opponents out beat them. The vaults by Bridget Sloan, Johnson and Sacramone, were good beginning for the Americans who took a strong lead. Chellsie Memmel, Johnson and, especially, Luikin gave quite a decent bars performance, but the Chinese topped them resoundingly.

Deng Linlin, Jiang Yuyuan and Cheng were simply magnificent. Questions did arise as to the eligibilty of the Chineese participants in terms of age who appeared too young but there seemed to be no doubt on their ability to perform amidst a loud crowd gathered at the stadium.

SWIMMING: Men's 200m Freestyle

Michael Phelps won eight medals at the Athens, out of which six were in gold and this time he is looking to beat the equally competent Mark Spitz who has a record of seven medals at the Munich Games. America's focus is on this young star whose every move will be carefully observed. Not just Spitz, Phelps needs to be leery of other competitors like Ryan Lochte and South Africa's Jean Basson too.

SWIMMING - Women's 100m Breaststroke Final

In the sport, the lady who is expected to stir the Olympic games is Leisel Jones and many want her to take home an individual gold medal this time. In Athens, she managed to win only the 4×100m medley relay. The good news for the Australian is that Jessica Hardy, the US Swimmer has not passed the drug test and hence would not be able to participate in the big games to offer intense competition to Jones. Nevertheless, Jones has to beat Tarnee White who is another tough contestant.

TENNIS: Women's

Serena Williams has got back her form. Though she lost the Wimbledon to her sister, Venus, she swept the gold medal in the Sydney Games. And this Olympic games, she couldn't have taken them more seriously and that could be unpleasant news for Queenslander Sam Stosur. Stosur had more success in doubles and her slack in performance in singles could be ascribed to her Lyme disease that was diagnosed late in 2007.

While Stosur too has her hopes set very high, it might not be easy for Serena to accept defeat.

TENNIS: Men's Second Round, Lleyton Hewitt v Rafael NadalRead

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt has gone in for the sport with a crook hip that compels him to keep his time on court restricted. But he has no time for rest, as he has to outdo his rival, Rafael Nadal, the world's new number one.

BASKETBALL - Men's Second Round, Argentina v Australia

Australia has never succeeded in cracking a gold medal in the realm of Basket ball despite good players like Andrew Gaze, Luc Longley and Shane Heal. It is going to be a real test for the Australians as they face competition from the world's number two, Argentina who won the Olympic title in the Athens. This would clearly give an indication of where Australia stands. A mere win is sufficient to give the Australians good boost for the rest of the tournament.

There couldn't have been a better start for the Indians with Abhinav Bindra sweeping the gold medal at the Olympics, winning the 10m air rifle event. He is the first Indian ever to be the individual gold medalist to have achieved a remarkable score of (596+104.5) 700.5. This young blood who's only 25 appears calm and composed not demonstrating too much enthusiasm over his victory.

The entire shooting fraternity is celebrating with the national coach Sunny Thomas showering praises on the champion describing him as a hard working and deserving athlete.

This however is not the first time he has tasted victory, Bindra, a Khel Ratna awardee, had earlier won the gold medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games in the pairs event and the silver medal in the individual event.

The Chinese Zhu Qinan (699.7) had no choice but to remain content with a silver medal while Finland's Henri Hakkinen (699.4) could manage to take home a bronze.

The opening ceremony at the Bird's Nest was indeed a high profile celebration that marked the beginning of the 29^th Olympics. The spectacle was beyond description where the Chineese lay the red carpet in honour of the athletes gathered to exhibit their talent from 204 countries. Technology was at its best and the audience could rightfully expect to take home the memories of a life time. Of all the different interactive elements of the Olympics, the breathtaking sights were the fireworks that turned the bird's nest to a blossoming flower, the lights and colours and above all the lifting of the Olympic ring by the flying acrobats. The hearty welcome of the hosts was thunderous with two thousand and eighty performers beating the fou and singing merrily. The entry of the Chineese National flag into the stadium was yet another glorious sight subsequent to which 56 children representing the 56 ethnic groups in China clustered around the flag.

As it was in the last Olympic games at Athens, the star basket baller carried the flag for the host. The oath of honour was taken by the table tennis star, Zhang Yining. It was also a phenomenal spectacle to witness the march past being led by Greece, the pioneers of the game with the host country being the last one to enter the stadium.

China's relentless efforts have indubitably captured the hearts and minds of the Beijing visitors who would be already considering the games a landmark in Olympic History. The volunteers need to have their share of appreciation for the sincere hardwork and time invested in the preparation of the ceremony. The event has finally begun and the hopes of sweeping the medals still remain high on China's mind.

London has every reason to celebrate as it has not only the right to host the next Olympics but also the only city in the world to have been granted the privilege of hosting the modern Olympic games thrice. 1908, 1948 and now it's going to be 2012.

The 1908 event was only the fourth in the Olympics of the modern times, the first being Athens followed by Paris and St.Louis. Originally, the event had to be held in Italy but misfortune set in and changed the proposed plan. Vesuvius erupted in 1906 and the lava claimed about 100 lives compelling the government to divert its funds to a more urgent cause.

The 1908 event that took place in Britain layed standards for future events. Britain won more medals than any other participating country. Controversies surrounded the event and home conditions were attributed to its super duper victory.

For the second time, London was chosen from among its counterparts to host the grand event slated to happen in 1944. But the event itself stood canceled with the onset of World war II. London not giving up hopes reapplied for the prestigious position after four years and successfully got back its right to host the event. Its performance was not that remarkable as it was in the earlier event and managed to secure only few medals to its kitty.

And finally, 2012 will be another blessed year for London. Following a dramatic vote in Singapore which enabled the country surpass Moscow, New York, Madrid and Paris, there was wild rejoicing in the Trafalgar square which saw 11,000 people gathered to hear the announcement. The country views the opportunity as one that would change the face of British sport and calls upon the whole world, particularly the youth, to get connected with the power of games.