Monday, July 21, 2008 Padilla: Beijing Olympics worldwide excitement spreading like wildfire By Nars Padilla Sportscope
WITH the universal theme, "One World, One Dream," and with just 18 more days to go, the 24th World Olympic Games excitement is spreading like wildfire particularly among sports lovers in every nook and corner of the universe.
This is definitely one big occasion where race, creed, political belief and idiosyncrasies should by all means be relegated to the background. Instead, let's have fun and adventure and enjoy the games on a democratic playing field and atmosphere in communist China.
With the Olympics getting off the pod on August 8, host China will be under the klieg lights. For good luck and good fortune, China's organizing body has chosen Triple 8 as the special event touchstone.
The first eight connotes the month of August; the second 8 marks the start of the games at 8 p.m. and the third eight for year 2008.
The date is full of symbolism which the host considers as the "Games' Lucky Number." The theme of the sports conclave calls for unity of the whole world under the Olympic spirit!
Game time is from August 8 to the 24th billed in several sites with the Beijing National Stadium, dubbed the "Birds' Nest" as the central venue of talent hostilities.
It was named Birds' Nest because of its skeletal structural design inspired from the birds' nest. It has a sitting capacity of 80,000 people, concededly one of the biggest of its kind in the modern sporting world.
In a nutshell, there will be about 10,500 athletes culled from at least 250 countries from the Americas (North and South), Australia, Europe, Antarctica, Africa and Asia.
The best-of-the-best from the various continents will showcase their prowess in at least 302 major events in 29 sports with athletics as the centerpiece. A grand total of 3,000 gold, silver and bronze medals are at stake. Another 50,000 commemorative medals will be on hand.
In the sports spectrum, any color of the medal, represent a lifetime achievement award by the athlete-performer. It is priceless! In the Athens Olympics four years back, the United States was on top the leader board in medal haul.
Host China was close behind the heels of the winner while Russia settled on the third slot. Host China, this time around is the top contender to the Olympic throne.
As far as the Southeast Asian Region where our dear Philippines is a regular member, only Thailand and Indonesia were in the medal row. Our country is aiming high to win medals in Beijing particularly in boxing, taekwondo and swimming to say the least.
The Filipino is hoping and praying that the time has come and is ripe enough to make the Pinoy medal dream come true. Again, let us in unison hope for the best!
Personally, I am elated that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, our No. 1 sports patron, is scheduled to attend the grand opening bonanza of the games. Even U.S. President George W. Bush will be there.
Their attendance, together with other world leaders from other countries, is a vital demonstration and manifestation that sports should never be politicized. It must be by itself pure, fresh and enduring as one eternal symbol for peace and unity.
The presence of WBC lightweight champion Manny Pacquiao in the games will be a glowing source of inspiration to our RP Team whether he will serve as the official flag bearer or otherwise. Or just be another spectator, a grain in a bucket of sand.
Host China has its fingers crossed that the Olympic Games to be held in their midst will be best ever in the life span of the Olympic diary. So be it!
The late businessman and civic leader Conrado Romero of U-Need Grocery and a core of friends inkling your truly had plans to be in Beijing for the summer games but...his untimely death blew out the light from our candle of hope and aspiration. That's how life is and bravely we must face reality with understanding.
I got several and very good and pleasant feedback about my Sportscope Sabado show on MountainView Television and Sportscope weekly column last weekend when I featured Baguio's Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) RP national titlist in various divisions led by newly-crowned fight king Edward Folayang.
He now owns the welterweight and super crowns, a feat no Filipino URCC warrior ever achieved in the past.
Kevin Belingon successfully retained his lightweight title while Roy Docyogen lived up to his billing as RP's most consistent URCC pinweight champion as shown in his fourth defense fight.
The three athletes are also local wushu standouts from the University of the Cordilleras (UC).
Folayang is multi-awarded in the Asian Games and battle-tested in the SEAG and a world wushu medalist.
Sportsman Mark Sangyao who administers the wushu gym at Maharllika Livelihood Center at the foot of Session Road is presently scouting for more and younger sports enthusiasts to join the Wushu Federation of the Philippines-CAR Chapter training activities. He said they just opened up a new training venue in La Trinidad, Benguet.
Sangyao emphasized that the Cordilleran has the discipline, physical and mental attributes required specifically for wushu (sanshou and taulo) individual combat martial arts.
This has been proven for the past decade where our wushu warriors glittered like gold in several national and prestigious international tournaments.
Baguio wushu superstars Marianne Mariano and Benjie Rivera are with the RP wushu team seeing action in the Beijing Olympics where the discipline is a demonstration sport.
