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Love blooms on the court
It’s love all at the badminton courts in Beijing. Three couples have been plying their trade at the Games, however, due to the team orders they have to act differently. Chinese world champion Lin Dan had to ignore his girlfriend and fellow world No 1 Xie Xingfang, while Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and teammate Wong Mew Choo meet each other when they don’t play. Malaysian veteran Choong Tan Fook plans to marry China’s Athens gold medallist Zhang Jiewen only after the Games.
Eat, sleep and corner glory
If you think the athletes are diet conscious then, certainly, you are mistaken. The classic case is none other than Michael Phelps, who broke Mark Spitz’s record with eight gold medals in Beijing. The American superstar swimmer has been eating a lot of pasta and pizza. Maybe the carbs helped him to achieve the mark, apart from two massages a day and ice baths. The secret formula to success seems to be – eat, sleep and make merry.
Nappies for Chinese soldiers
Chinese soldiers were forced to relive their childhood nightmares during the opening ceremony of the Games. As many as 900 soldiers, who were hidden underneath the huge scroll in the centre of the opening ceremony, had to stay inside for up to seven hours and were not even allowed toilet breaks. The quick remedy – they had to wear nappies during the mega opening extravaganza.
Gem of a medal for winners
The medallists of the Beijing Games will have another gem along with their respective medals. The organisers, for the first time in Olympic history, will include jade along with the gold, silver and bronze medals. Jade, known in China for 5,000 years as the “imperial gem”, will be inlaid in the Beijing Olympic emblem on the back side of the medal. The gold will have a light hue stone, while the silver greenish-white and the bronze green.
The Emmons are on target
The Emmons are hunting in pairs. Katerina of the Czech Republic and her American husband Matt Emmons have won three medals this year in the shooting competition. Matt, who missed the gold by firing the wrong target in 2004, said love was the key ingredient for him becoming a better shooter. The American, however, failed to add one more medal to the family after finishing fourth in the 50-metre three-position event.
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