Saturday, November 27, 2010

China dominant Asian Games 2010

The skies lit up with dazzling fireworks as an emotional China brought the curtains down on the biggest Asian Games in a riot of colour, foot-tapping music and a cultural extravaganza at the Haixinsha Island on the Pearl River in Guangzhou on Saturday.India finished sixth on the medal rostrum with a record 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for an overall tally of 64, eclipsing their earlier record of 57 medals in the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.

Korea finished way behind in second place while Japan were third that underlined the fact that the Asian Games, the second largest sports event after the Olympic Games, are still being overwhelmingly dominated by the far eastern nations of the continent.
Indian flag was carried by gold medal winning star boxer Vijender Singh with his left hand in a cast following the thumb injury he sustained during last nights final against two-time world champion Atoev Abbos of Uzbekistan.

OCA President Sheikh Al-Sabah, accompanied by the president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Liu Peng, executive president of the Games organizing committee Huang Huahua, and the mayor of Guangzhou Wan Qingliang, delivered the keynote address and declared the 16th Asiad closed.

The OCA flag was then lowered and the OCA anthem played before the national flag of Korea, the next Games hosts at Incheon in 2014 was raised, in the presence of the vice president of the Korean Olympic Committee and the chief of the Incheon Games organizing committee.

Guangzhou mayor Qingliang handed over the Asian Games torch to the OCA chief who, in turn, handed them over to the mayor of Incheon.

Koreans presented a short segment to the accompaniment of percussion instruments and taekwondo, the countrys martial arts, which is also part of the Games programme and "Welcome to Incheon" and "See you at Incheon in 2014" were flashed on the screen.
The Games flame was extinguished before the fireworks lit up the night sky to signal the end of the closing ceremony.

Asian Games ended in a festive closing ceremony on Saturday night as host China showed its overwhelming prowess by sweeping 199 gold medals.Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, hailed the Guangzhou Asiad "a huge success" and "one of the most outstanding" in history."I would now like to thank the Chinese government, the Chinese people and everyone from Asia and around the world for helping make the 16th Asian Games the best Asian Games ever," said the Asian Olympic chief.

China, won 119 silver and 98 bronze, topped the table for the eighth straight time, smashing its best gold tally of 183, set in the 1990 Beijing Games.Asian artists China's Tang Can, India's Gupta Tanya and Rave Tripthi, enthralled the capacity crowd. Japan's Ryoko Nakano, Kazakhstan's Mayra Kerei performed folk songs of their origin.Chinese women's volleyball team rallied from two sets down to beat South Korea to win the last gold of the Games.Thirty-five Olympic gold medalists, including hurdler Liu Xiang and badminton players Lin Dan, emerged the brightest stars among the 1,454-member Chinese delegation.

CABI Centenary Celebration

CABI Celebrates One Hundred Years of Improving Food Security and Protecting Biodiversity. Two-day workshop outline priorities for improving livelihoods of farmers in India.Improving crop yields, safeguarding the environment, and improving access to scientific knowledge: these key issues will be on the agenda at a major presentation and workshop to be opened in New Delhi on 29 November 2010. The two-day event, attended by 200 people, is being held as part of the centenary celebrations of international science and development organization CABI (CAB International), under the theme of CABI India: Innovative Knowledge Solutions for South Asia. The range of high profile speakers include Dr M. S. Swaminathan, (the legendary scientist and pioneer for green revolution in Indian agriculture), Dr Trevor Nicholls, Chief Executive Officer, CABI, Dr Dennis Rangi, Executive Director for International Development, CABI and Dr Ravi Khetarpal, Science Director (Asia) & Country Director (India), CABI. “CABI has been working with India on issues concerning agriculture and knowledge for many years. It has been mainly known to the academia through its quality scientific publishings so far, said Dr Khetarpal. CABI first established a Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control in 1948, and a fully fledged office at New Delhi in 2001. “Our focus is on helping India’s many farmers improve their yields and the quality of their crops - by supporting them in managing pests and diseases, and ensuring that they can both access markets and have the knowledge and skills to be able to meet international standards for export. The purpose of this event is not only to celebrate CABI’s centenary, but also to bring together the major stakeholders in agriculture in India to share experiences and exchange ideas on knowledge solutions that have the potential to support agriculture and the environment.” “As one of CABI’s member countries, India plays a key role in determining our strategy and direction,” said Dr Trevor Nicholls, CABI's Chief Executive Officer.

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