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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lords Of The Ring

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Two Indians, one destiny Their fate intertwined in one moment of glory -a medal moment - sparked wild jubilation in a billion hearts. Finally we did it. After 56 years we have more than two medals next to India's name. Who knows, by the end of the Games we might have more than just two bronze and a gold! The Beijing Games will forever be remembered for India's greatest display in the world's greatest event.

It was maddening here. The moment boxer Vijender Kumar added another medal to India's two, after Sushil Kumar won the bronze in the 66-kg freestyle wrestling here on Wednesday evening, the Workers' Stadium erupted in joy The Tricolour was fluttering all around and for a moment, the handful came to watch Jitender and Vijender fight, couldn't conceal their joy "Proud of being an Indian," yelled one from the crowd.

In Najafgarh on the outskirts of Delhi, the fireworks were reminiscent of the time another local hero, Virender Sehwag, scored a triple ton.

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Monday, August 4, 2008

Aboard the Beijing Bullet, lessons for Delhi

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IN LESS than two minutes, the Harmony silently glided past the top speed of India's fastest trains, the Rajdhani and the Shatabdi.

A week before the most definitive moment in China's modern history as a rising superpower - the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing at 8.08 pm on 08.08.08 - I bought a second-class ticket out of the capital. HTs daily dispatch for the Beijing Olympics began aboard China's latest and the world's fastest intercity bullet train that will shuttle football fans between inland Beijing and coastal Tianjin at a record 350 kmph in 30 minutes. By 2013, a high-speed railway wn cut train travel between BeijingShanghai from 10 hours to five. I skipped the media test ride to line up as a common commuter between inland Beijing and China's third-largest city and its busiest northern seaport about 135 km away The Made-in China bullet trains cut the com- mute from a previous 70 minutes at 200-250 kmph to 30 minutes. The new commute combines Beijing and Tianjin into one city Chinese researcher Zhou Gansi told China Central Television. "It can dramatically change people's way of life." The local train from Mumbai's southern financial hub to its northern suburbs takes twice as long. Imagine the potential of a Delhi-Chandigarh or Mumbai-Ptme train giving professionals the choice of a comfortable daily intercity commute instead of migration. The fastest Mumbai-Pune train takes three hours to cover 192 km. The seven-year infrastructure revolution inside India's largest and most powerful neighbour goes beyond its 37 Olympic stadiums.

My journey began at Asia's largest railway station (by one estimate, the size of 20 football fields) that opened in south Beijing last week with none of the fanfare that would accompany such an event if it happened in India.

After all, Beijing opened the world's biggest international airport terminal this year, to welcome over 10,000 athletes and modern China's biggest-ever influx of foreigners (about half a million) from August 8-24.

The solar panel-roofed station looks like an international airport, and is bigger than the 91,000-seat Bird's Nest stadium that will host the opening ceremony. As commuters bought instant noodles they prepared with hot water from the station taps, I was the only Indian in the crowd, struggling to decipher Chinese signs.

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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Hillary asks Bush to skip ceremony

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US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has urged President George W. Bush to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies this summer unless China improves human rights.

Hillary, in a statement, cited violent clashes in Tibet and the lack of pressure by China on Sudan to stop "the genocide in Darfur".

"At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government," the New York senator said.

Bush plans to attend the Summer Olympics ceremonies in Beijing in August and so far has resisted pressure to change his plans in response to a violent crackdown against protesters in Tibet by Chinese authorities.

China has also been accused of refusing to use its influence on the Sudanese government to get it to stop what the US calls a genocide in the Darfur region.

Hillary has gone a step further than US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California who last week urged Bush to keep the option of boycotting the ceremonies on the table.

"I encourage the Chinese to take advantage of this moment as an opportunity to live up to universal human aspirations of respect for human rights and unity, ideals that the Olympic games have come to represent," Hillary said.

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Pollution cloud over Olympics

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There's a dark shadow over certain events at the Beijing Olympics this August. In Lausanne on Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) didn't rule out postponing endurance competitions like the marathon because of the heavy pollution in the air over the Chinese capital. If that happens, it will be unprecedented.

There may be "some risk (to the health of the athletes)" from the pollution, the IOC said. It will consider a 'Plan B', and may even postpone events if, after daily monitoring of the air quality, weather conditions and other relevant data, it finds the conditions aren't conducive for competition.

Events that require a minimum one hour of continuous physical effort at a high level, are under the scanner; the IOC said. These would include the marathon, swimming, mountain biking, urban road cycling, triathlon and the walks.

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