At long last, yesterday opening ceremony has finally ushered in the start of the Olympic Games. There was plenty of speculations of the well-guarded secrets for the special night where 90,000 spectators was in awe of the three and a half hour ‘flawless’ ceremony

We were treated to the spectacular countdown by 2,008 performers, a 70-meter scroll that is filled with special effects, soldiers re-enacting the resurrection of the Qin Dynasty, flying angels, children’s singing of “Sing to Our Homeland”, to men in space travel suits. It was all orchestrated and directed by China’s Oscar-nominated acclaim filmmaker Zhang Yimou

Fireworks highlights of the opening ceremony yesterday

As a nation that invented fireworks, I think they ‘reinvented the wheel’ to say the least when some 33,866 firecrackers, in 32 different locations was shot and blazed the Beijing night sky in an array of beautiful fireworks which depicts paintings from celestial peony, dragons, smiling faces and Olympic rings

More than 80 heads of state from all over the world was present, including our very own Senior Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew who was specially invited by China’s Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. Some US$40 billion dollars was spent in the lead-up to the games, a record number of 205 countries have come to Beijing and some 4 billion people around the world watched the ceremony live

The life of an athlete

To continue in that Olympic spirit, I want to share a good sporting video about the life of an athlete. Especially one that is from China. The video below is about the sports badminton. Although not related to athletics, but you get my point right.

It’s so hard to find a good motivating sporting video online, here’s one that I’m sure will inspire you and give an insight of the many dedications and sacrifices made, to be a ’successful’ athlete in this day of modern games

Sypnosis of video

Zhang Ning left home at the age of 12 to train full-time as a badminton player. She has managed to fight off the challenges of the younger set to remain on the national team in one of the most popular sports in China.

Enlisted into the Chinese national team in 1991, Zhang Ning remained largely unnoticed for 12 years before winning her first World Championship. An unstoppable Zhang Ning then went on to capture the titles of the Swiss Open, Singapore Open and the Hong Kong Open, culminating in a 2004 Olympic Gold. The 2008 Beijing Games are next on her list.

This documentary looks at both Zhang Ning’s sporting and private life, providing an insight into the intense world of Chinese sport at the highest level, and its impact on relationships and families.

A fascinating and revealing portrait of an athlete’s life in China during the build up to the Beijing Olympics.

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