Athletes shouldn't wear smog-masks during 2008 Beijing Olympics

Whether athletes should wear smog-masks during the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics or not is one of the raging issues that everyone is talking aboutthese days? Anyone who is following the 2008 Beijing Olympics developments know that the level of air pollution in Beijing is so high that they can'teven see the clear blue sky; and if reports are to believed, then, itstough to even breathe and many people have had respiratory complicationsduring their stay there.

Considering that, almost all the nations who will be sending theirathletes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics have started giving special kind oftrainings to their athletes to make them acclimatize with that pollutedweather of Beijing.

I even read in NYT that there are some US athletes who were consideringrunning after buses that emit lots of toxic smoke to make themselvesacquaint with the weather that they will be facing during 2008 BeijingOlympics. Then, many athletes said they will use masks and they all saidon a personnel level but now AFP carried a news stating that the British Olympic Association will give permission to use smog masks to their athletes.

I am personally against this move by the BOA for allowing their athletesto wear smog masks during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not only, I, who isagainst this; there are many star athletes too who have spoken againstsuch moves as it will be a major embarrassment for the host nation. Ibelieve in that.

See, every nation and every city has its own problems but that doesn'tmean that we are gonna stop visiting that place or should we startslamming the governments of that places.

Fine to an extent critising those governments is fine but at the same timewe need to see how serious is the government about improving theprevailing conditions. We if its serious then instead of slamming them weshould support them and the same we can do with the Chinese government byactively participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics that to withoutwearing smog-masks or should I say "snub-masks" as we all know howserious is Chinese people in bring down the pollution levels.

Spielberg shouldn't have quit from 2008 Beijing Olympics panel

I strongly feel that the ace Hollywood director has not done the right thing by quitting from his post of artistic advisor for the 2008 BeijingOlympics just to air his discontent with China's policy in Sudan.

Tell me ,Mr. Spielberg honestly "Is there any super power country which is not using other smaller nations for their own benefit?". You don't have lookto farther-US the nation where you reside and make your classic movies is one such example. Have you ever given a thought on US's foreign policies?You just need to think about that first. How can you forget that what theydid to Vietnam, former Russia and Iraq.

You never said that you will stop making your movies from US etc. why?What they have done to these countries is worse than what China is doingby being a mute spectator in Sudan.It's nice that you are concerned about the welfare of people there but forthat don't use sports events like 2008 Beijing Olympics as a weapon. And Iam strongly against it. You should have helped China in making 2008Beijing Olympics a major success by standing by them.

Don't forget that you are the king of the most potent tool called moviesthat has more impact than what you did by stepping down from the post ofartistic advisory for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.Wat u say guys?

Don't just read my blog,...comment also man!!!!!!!

I know there will lots of guys out there reading my blog on 2008 BeijingOlympics and laughing their heartout thinking about the way our nation is gearing up for this mega event that will be beginning soon. And buddieslook great I mean u feel better when your blog gets response too.. I mean to say comments that could be in favour of views or it could be against it.

But there has to be some sort of communication from all readers elseit gives the impression that I am talking like a lunatic with myselflol...So, how is ur country gearing up for this sporting extravaganza called the2008 Beijing Olympics? And what do u guys think about China's chance ofdisplacing US from the medal table as the number one country in terms ofmedals won?I think this time China is gonna beat US in the medal tally. It is my gutfeeling. Hope to hear from you guys on 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Why India fails to win Olympic medals?

I think it’s the mystery of the century that why India with its one billion population, which is constantly growing, is not able to win medals at Olympics. There are many small, small nations that win more Olympic medals in a single Olympics games than what India has won in all its participation in the Olympic Games.

The upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics is no different. I am sure our ill-treated athletes are gonna come back again empty handed. We shouldn’t blame them for that. It should be the Indian Olympic Association who is to be blamed for our shoddy performances at Olympics.

You can get a glimpse of how much our IOA is serious about the 2008 Beijing Olympics by visiting their site. Till few days back, they literally had nothing about the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. And the little info that they had would have made anyone laugh at the silly mistakes they had done.

They had written the spelling of closing as “clocing”, modern pentathlon was written as “modern pentalon”. It seemed they were secretly marketing for “Pantaloon”. And above all for Indian Olympic Association there are just 27 sports that will be there in 2008 Beijing Olympics. Whereas the fact is that there are 28 sports that will be part of 2008 Beijing Olympics and the great Indian Olympic Association which is bestowed with the responsibility of propagating the Olympic Games was doing the other way round. They had missed out sailing sport.

This is a small thing to show how much serious this country is about the Olympics or the 2008 Beijing Olympics that will start in few months from now.

Should asthmatic people visit Beijing for 2008 Beijing Olympics?

I plan to buy tickets for 2008 Beijing Olympics but I am scared now after reading news daily about the air pollution of Beijing. The more I read such news the more I get scary about going head with my plan of being one of the spectators to watch this Beijing Olympic Games?

Is there anyone out there who is stuck up with a similar problem? I need to interact with such people to know how they are gonna make themselves ready for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I was just going through an article published in New York Times about the way American athletes are preparing themselves for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympics and that scared the hell out of me, man.

You will wonder that whether these American athletes preparing for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games or some war at the Chinese frontiers. After reading the kind of preparation they are putting in to make themselves acclimatize for the Beijing smog, I think I should better drop my plan for the visiting Beijing for this 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In such case, it will be better to be part of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by sitting in the cozy comfort of my drawing room without even being pushed by the maddening crowd of Beijing.

The trauma of buying 2008 Beijing Olympic Games tickets

I just wanna share with you guys my trauma of getting a ticket for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. You know it was my childhood dream to be part of an Olympic Games as a spectator. During school days, I used to watch each day of the Olympic Games and had nurtured this small dream of witnessing Olympic Games.

Since, now I am working and with 2008 Summer Olympic Games to be held in our neighbor country China, I was confident of making it to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and had this plan of buying an Olympic Games ticket for the 100 m event—my best event since even I was a 100 mt athlete till my college days.

So, with each approaching days for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, my curiosity to get an Olympic Games tickets just increased and I started enquiring about it from my friends, who were totally blanked about it. I was shocked to hear that some friends were totally oblivious of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Then, with news on the craze for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games tickets that had crashed the Beijing games tickets software, my curiosity for that rose further and finally scan most of Beijing Olympic Games sites pages to gather any information about Beijing games tickets.

Luckily, they had enough info on that. It said people from other nation will have to get in touch with their country’s Olympic Committee. So, finally I thought yes now I have got the place from where I can finally book my ticket for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and enthusiastically opened the site of my country’s (India) Olympic site hoping that I will be able to buy tickets in November 2007 and I was flabbergasted to find nothing there.

I couldn’t believe that. And again few days ago, I log on to that same site thinking that with 2008 Beijing Olympic Games just few months away, they would have updated that section; and I will be able to accomplish my childhood dream, but alas, these Indian Olympic official were still found napping.

Can India win medal at 2008 Beijing Olympic Games?

I feel a big “NO”. India will repeat its long history of going to Olympic Games with lots of hope from our hockey team but from the last two occasions the burden of wining an (I write “an” coz a winning a single medal is too much for India) Olympic medal has been shared by our shooters, who do well at World Cups, and our weightlifters, with same credentials, but fail to repeat that feats at the biggest sporting arena called the Olympic Games. And I feel this year’s Beijing Olympic Games will be no different.

Miracles do happen. And like the last Athens Olympic Games when Major Rajvardhan Singh came from nowhere to bag a lone silver medal for India. This time too, if miracle happens then some little known sportsman or sportswoman might do India proud at the 2008 Beijing Olympics . Else, I don’t see any chance of any one from the Indian contingent standing on the podium.

Luckily for the Indian hockey team, with other sportsman occasionally performing well at international meets, expectations from them have been off their shoulders. And what you say guys, I have noticed a strange thing every Olympics—that of the medal expectations from different teams.

Every Olympics, the burden of winning a medal is borne by different teams. During Sydney Olympic Games, it was the weightlifting team, and during the Athens Olympic Games it was the shooters; and in Beijing Olympics Games a lot is expected from the Archery team, especially Dona Banerjee, who was recently crowned the World Champion.

And again, the former world number one pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati have rekindle the hopes of a medal in Beijing Olympics by agreeing to join hands for this Beijing Olympic Games, which will be begin in this August.

But despite all there world class performances from various Indian Sportsman or sportswoman, I don’t know why I have this feeling that they will not be able to repeat their best performances. I know I will be accused of being pessimist to the core, but I feel ,I am simply honest.