Olympics’12 @ HC!! Post 1
July 31st, 2012 by IT DirectorHi everyone!
It’s time for the next mega event happening in London now: the London Olympics 2012! After 4 years of intense training following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, top athletes around the world have once again gathered in London for this greatest sporting event in the world.
The Olympics started off with a bang with the official Opening Ceremony on 27th July. Titled ‘Isles Of Wonder’, the Ceremony was a spectacular display of creativity and ingenuity and wowed the billions of people who were watching it. Many popular British references (such as a Mr Bean segment) were included in the Ceremony entertained the crowds. The event culminated with the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron which was done so by the lighting of 205 petals, presenting a wonderful start to this year’s Olympics.
As part of our efforts to provide professional Olympics coverage, we would be interviewing our very own resident sports experts: The CCA leaders of the respective sports. We would be asking them about who they are looking out for each event and the difficulties faced in the events.
Featured Sport of the Day
Table Tennis
Interviewee: Poh Jin An, Table Tennis Captain (Boys)
Q: What is the main difficulty faced when competing in this sport?
A: There is a lot of stress faced while competing in table tennis. As such, one of the main challenges faced in this sport is to be able to deal with your nerves. In table tenni,s it is extremely important to play with a cool head as doing so would enable you to react more quickly to an opponent’s shot. When you are nervous, you are more prone to making mistakes and will give points away to your opponent easily.
Q: The Singapore team performed relatively well in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. How do you think the Singaporean table tennis contingent would fare in the Olympics this time around?
A; I feel that Singapore’s chances of attaining a medal in this event is relatively high. This is because we have many high ranking table tennis players in both the men’s and women’s events. I expect Singapore to be a medal hopeful in the singles competition. While for the team events I expect Singapore to at least enter the top four.
Track & Field
Interviewee: Yu Xiang, Track and Field Vice Captain (Boys) & Shermaine Yeo, Track and Field Captain (Girls)
Q: What are the athletes that you are looking forward to seeing in the event?
YX: I would be looking forward to the two Jamaican runners Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt. Bolt was in sensational form during the 2008 Olympics where he won 3 gold meals and broke 3 world records (in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m rally). However, he was beaten by Yohan Blake this year during the Jamaican trials for the 100m and 200m events this year. Yohan Blake has been steadily decreasing his timing in the two events, while Usain Bolt has not regained the form he had during the 2008 Olympics. A fierce battle is expected between these two men for the 100m and 200m champion’s title, and it would be very interesting to watch.
SY: For the women’s event, the person to look out for would be Allyson Felix. Felix is an American runner who competes in the 200m and 400m races. She is an extremely hardworking runner who has an excellent running technique. She been growing from strength to strength and is now a medal favourite for these Olympics.
Water Polo
Interviewee: Adriel Ng, Waterpolo Captain
Q: Which water polo team are you rooting for during the Olympics?
A: I will be rooting for Hungary. Hungary was the past champions of the 2008 Olympics. They have very good chemistry between one another and as such are able to connect well with one another. Furthermore, they have a very good defence that is very well organised. As such, they are truly a dominating force in the poll and I expect them to easily retain their champion’s title.
Q: Which player should we look out for in the Hungary water polo team?
One player to watch out for is Daniel Varga. He is an extremely resourceful player who knows the game at the back of his hand. He is able to dictate play from the midfield and can be said to be the driving force behind the Hungarian team. He is also a powerful leader who is able to motivate the rest of the team to perform even better.
Do look out for more posts as we look to cover more sporting events throughout the course of the Olympics! Also, please feel free to leave your comments about the London Olympics in the comment box or Cbox!
~Photos from Reuters and The Washington Post~
Yours sincerely,
Your ITDs – Suhas, Patriack and Leslie
in collaboration with CCA PROs