Deepika Padukone, born January 5, 1986) is an Indian supermodel turned actress who appears in Bollywood movies.

Padukone was born to Ujwala and Prakash Padukone on January 5, 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her family moved to Bangalore when she was only eleven months old. Her father Prakash Padukone is a badminton player of international repute, while her mother is a travel agent.

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore. She completed her studies from Mount Carmel College. While in high school she played badminton at the state level like her father and was a member of her father's badminton club. Besides her mother tongue Konkani Deepika is fluent with Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and English. However, she wasn't keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player and abandoned it because of her ICSE exams.

Modeling

While pursuing her studies in college, she decided to pursue a career in modeling due to her tall and slender figure.[4] Over the years, she has modeled for famous Indian brand names such as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca. She received many prestigious modeling offers, which included becoming the brand ambassadorship of the Jewels of India. Padukone hit the international scene when Maybelline made her their new international spokesperson.

At the 5th annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title Model of the Year. Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments) and Fresh Face of the Year later that year. Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and most recently Levi Strauss and Tissot SA.

Acting

After pursuing a successful career in modeling, Padukone branched out into acting. She started by starring in the music video for the song Naam Hai Tera from the independent pop album Aap Kaa Surroor by Himesh Reshammiya.

In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film, Aishwarya staring opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film went on to become the biggest hit of the year, both in India and abroad. The film featured her portraying Shantipriya - a 1970s superstar, and later as Sandy - a young woman who looks exactly like Shantipriya. Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star -- the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!"

Padukone is currently working on Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno opposite Ranbir Kapoor and Nikhil Advani's Chandni Chowk To China opposite Akshay Kumar.

Awards & nominations

Winner

• 2008: Filmfare Best Female Debut Award; Om Shanti Om^[9]
• 2008: Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award; Om Shanti Om

Nominated

• 2008: Filmfare Best Actress Award; Om Shanti Om

Winner

• 2008: Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female; Om Shanti Om
• 2008: Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan; Om Shanti Om

Winner

• 2008: Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut; Om Shanti Om

Nominated

• 2008: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor - Female; Om Shanti Om

Winner

• 2008: IIFA Awards' Best Debutant (Female); Om Shanti Om

Nominated

• 2008: IIFA Best Actress Award; Om Shanti Om

Nominated

• 2008: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Female; Om Shanti Om

Winner

• 2008: Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards' Best Female Debut; Om Shanti Om

• 2007: Star's Sabsey Favourite Kaun Awards, Sabsey Favourite Nayi Heroine; Om Shanti Om
• 2007: HT Café Film Awards, Best Newcomer Award (Female); Om Shanti Om
• 2008: Reebok Zoom Glam Awards, Glam Debutant (Female); Om Shanti Om
• 2008: Annual Central European Bollywood Awards, Breakthrough Role (Female); Om Shanti Om

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepika_Padukone

Apa ada cara instant biar cepet pintar main badminton? tolong kasih tau. thx.

Jawab saya adalah:

Ada mas, itu tergantung jenis makanan yang kita konsumsi sehar-hari. Nah, biar cepet pinter main badminton, maka harus makan "Liem SWIE KEE" setiap hari. He ... .....

Lagi serius ya? BTW, mana ada sih pinter bulu tangkis instant? Sabar, berlatih dan lihat Teknik Dasar Badminton.

ana design t-shirt ini untuk pelajar sekolah untuk perlawanan badminton, tetapi sayang nya sekolah itu tidak menghantar atau lewat menghantar borang penyertaan pertandingan.

LA DELEGAZIONE Quattro anni di dura preparazione per prender parte alla lista. Quella presentata ieri, dalla Giunta Nazionale del Coni con i nomi dei 347 atleti azzurri che rappresenteranno il tricolore alle prossime olimpiadi di Pechino. Di questi ben 135 saranno donne, il 39%. Compresi nella lista anche due atleti la cui presenza è ancora incerta: la triatleta Nadia Cortassa rischia di non partire a causa di una idoneità temporaneamente sospesa, mentre l’altro caso sub-judice riguarda il nuotatore Federico Turrini, sulla cui testa pende un giudizio presso il Tas di Losanna su una non negatività al nandrolone.

Meno quantità, più qualità Sarà comunque una rappresentanza numericamente inferiore rispetto alla passata olimpiade di Atene. Motivo, la mancata qualificazione a Pechino delle squadre di basket, baseball e softball. Di contro c’è la prima partecipazione nel badminton, con Agnese Allegrini nel singolare femminile. «Una squadra comunque numerosa e ben preparata - secondo Raffaele Pagnozzi, capo missione olimpico e segretario generale del Coni - Le condizioni per far bene ci sono tutte». Atleti provenienti da tutte le parti d’Italia, con una prevalenza della regione della Lombardia. «Sarà una squadra che rappresenterà in maniera dignitosa e positiva tutto il Paese - ha spiegato Raffaele Pagnozzi - Ripetere Atene non è stato possibile per la mancanza di alcune squadre ma, allo stesso tempo, a Pechino salirà la partecipazione agli sport individuali». Andranno a completare la presenza azzurra in Cina altri 274 tra officials, tecnici e dirigenti.

Le medaglie In Cina sarà impresa ardua riuscire a eguagliare il medagliere di Atene 2004 (10 ori, 11 argenti e 11 bronzi). Il Presidente del Coni, Gianni Petrucci, assieme allo stesso Pagnozzi predicano calma e basso profilo: «Ripetere questi trend sarebbe un'impresa straordinaria, ma i nostri atleti hanno dimostrato il proprio valore con continuità nel corso delle massime competizioni internazionali, anche se non dovessero andare bene alle olimpiadi».

Nuoto e Scherma Venendo al campo, dopo gli ori di Atlanta e Sydney e l’argento di Atene, il canoista Antonio Rossi farà di tutto, nelle gare di k1 e k2 , per conquistare nuovamente il grandino più alto del podio. Sarà lui il nostro portabandiera, il nostro «alfiere».Resta però l’atletica la disciplina più rappresentata, con 49 atleti. Il più atteso è sicuramente Andrew Howe, due ori nel salto in lungo, agli ultimi due europei di atletica, a Goteborg e Birmingham. Da non sottovalutare le prove del maratoneta Stefano Baldini, già oro ad Atene e in cerca di conferma in Cina, mentre Antonietta Di Martino, argento a Osaka nel 2007 nel salto in alto, se la dovrà vedere con la croata Vlašic.

Nel nuoto, oltre a Max Rosolino e Federica Pellegrini, risaltano i nomi di Filippo Magnini, terzo ad Atene, nella 4x200 s.l. e campione europeo,sempre nella stessa specialità, nel 2008, e della spumeggiante Alessia Filippi, record europeo dei 1500 s.l. Paolo Bettini (ciclismo), Aldo Montano (scherma), Igor Cassina (ginnastica artistica), Tania Cagnotto (tuffi), Vanessa Ferrari (ginnastica artistica), Margherita Granbassi (scherma), Alessandra Sensini (vela), Valentina Vezzali (scherma), gli altri ceh ci faranno sognare. Occhio poi ai team della pallanuoto, con la “ungherese” Erzsebet Valkai in vasca nel setterosa, e del volley, in cerca di riscatto, con la stella “cubana” Aguero, in campo con la squadra femminile. C’è poi la nazionale di calcio, con i giovani talenti Montolivo e G. Rossi. Saranno loro i primi a cominciare.

Simone Di Stefano - Pubblicato su L’Unità del 24-07-2008

Day 1 - Saturday

Pre Start

The day started as early as 4 AM for me (Mr. A). I got up, called the crew to wake them up. Took bath and started in my car to pick up my friends since it will be difficult for them to come to the starting point (Tambaram) that early in the morning. I started at 5 AM and reached Velachery at 5 30 AM. Picked up the first one (Ms. P) and went to Tidel Park to pick up Ms. N. When waiting for Ms. N to come, Ms. P remembered that she had forgotten her goggles and told that she would not be able to survive two days without her goggles. So we were thinking what to do about that. At that time Ms. N came and we 3 started off to the next destination, Adyar where we were supposed to pick up the rest 2. Ms. S being the always punctual one of our group came on time. And we picked her up. All the while Ms. P was scolding me for not taking her back to her place to collect her goggles. We were calling Mr. S to check if he is on time. And for every 5 mins he told he will be there in another 5 mins. So we decided to tel him to come to Guindy and in the mean time we would go and get Ms. P's goggles. All the while Mr. B who arranged the transport was checking with us where we were. So we went all the way to Velachery to get Ms. P's goggles and by the time we reached Guindy Mr. S was there. So we 5 started from there and in another 20 mins we reached Tambaram. There Mr. B and Ms. A were waiting for us with the cab that we have arranged to go there.

The start

So we were all set to start at 7 AM. And the journey started off in great fashion. All the introductions that were needed was done by Mr. B. Mr. S volunteered to sit in the front and take care of the audio system. (Note: Mr. S is known for his extra ordinary ability to handle the audio system. In 1 hour he would have changed 3 CDs without hearing a song fully). Call it fate or our good luck the audio system was not working properly. So we decided we will talk to kill boredom. Mr. B, Ms. N and Ms. A had bought all the eatables and we started eating them. We decided we will have a proper breakfast at Vellore. We were talking about many topics till we reached Vellore. We found an average place to eat breakfast. After break fast we decided to play some games till we reached Yelagiri. After much discussion we decided we would play dumb charades. (Dumb-C). We decided to form two teams based on our seating arrangements. Me, Ms. N, Ms. P and Ms. A were in one team and Ms. S, Mr. B and Ms. S were in the other team. Our team was not able to get it right almost every time while the other team had it in record time all the times. So we decided to stop the game since we were losing interest after every passing round.

The Journey

Everyone wanted to reach Yelagiri as soon as possible as the sun was beating down hard. After another couple of hours driving we were at the bottom of the Yelagiri hills. We stopped and took a picture of the places of interest at Yelagiri. We were too excited to check out all the places mentioned. The Yelagiri hills was a small one with only 14 hair pin bends. All the bends are named after famous Tamil poets and poetess. We stood at a couple of places to enjoy the view and take a couple of snaps. Since the road was small we could not wait for long since it will be a hindrance for the vehicles coming behind. So after half an hour we were at our first destination - Silent Waters Retreat (the place we were to stay). It was a pretty decent place to stay. We were given a separate building of 2 floors. The place was very good. After refreshing and changing we decided to go and check out the resort. Me Mr. B and Mr. S took the camera and took photos of us at all photogenic places.

Badminton part 1

After around half an hour lunch was served for us. The lunch was below the standard for the amount that we paid for stay and food. During lunch we were planning on what to do during the stay there. We enquired with the resort people about the places to visit and how to go there. There were 2 places that needs to be visited at Yelagiri. One is an artificial lake where we can do boating and another one is Swamimalai temple for trekking. Since it was just past 2, we decided we would take a walk around the neighbourhood. We were talking to the people who stay there and enquired about their living and life styles. After walking for about half an hour we decided we would go back to the resort, freshen up and go for boating. We reached the resort at 3 and we still had one full hour before we started for boating. So me, Mr, B, Mr.S and Ms. N decided we would play a game of badminton. Me and Mr. B were in one team and Mr. S and Ms. N were the other team. After a few rallies the game got pretty serious and we decided to play with points. Me and Mr. B won by 15 points to 6. Mr. S and Ms. N were not ready to accept the defeat and were saying that we cheated. So we decided we will play the game again some time later. Rain started drizzling and we were all sitting and sipping our cups of coffee praying for the rain to stop since we were told that boating will not be possible if it rains like this. It was raining for around half an hour. Once the rain stopped the place was pretty damp to walk. But we decided we will go and give a try at the boating place.

Boating

We reached the boating place at 5 PM. Since we were 7 people we needed two pedalling boats. But only one was available at that time. So we decided we would wait for half an hour and would go only when two boats were available. So we thought we would go and do time pass in the near by park. The park brought out the kids in us and we were all playing in the see saw, swings and all. Everyone was enjoying their time. Soon it was 5 30 and we decided to go and check if the boats were available. Two boats were available and we decided we will split up in two groups, me, Mr. B, Ms. P and Ms. A in one boat and Mr. S, Ms. N and Ms. S in another boat. Ours was a very old boat and the direction lever didnt seem to work. But our guys in the other boat seemed to know all the tricks to drive that boat and were going around the lake and passing comments at our inability to drive the boat. We changed positions to give everyone an equal chance to pedal te boat. At one point we were able to go near the other boat and Mr. B and Ms. S decided to do some stunt show by changing boats. They did it successfully. We took few snaps of the other boat and the setting sun. After half an hour of tiring pedal boating we got out of the boat. Our next destination was supposed to be a nature park where they had a musical fountain, a garden and an aquarium. We went there and almost everyone was tired to walk. We took rest many times and decided to go back to the resort. We reached the resort at 7 PM. Mr. B decided we would prepare paani puri and eat it before dinner. So after much effors from Mr. B, Ms.N and Ms.A we were all eating pani puri. It was good and by the time we finished eating that it was dinner time and we decided to go and check it. Dinner was average and after many discussions with the resort owner we were arranged for a camp fire.

The Slient Camp Fire

Ms. A was very tired to join us in the camp fire. So we started our camp fire without her. And after some time Ms. S was feeling very sleepy and she went back. So we 5 were sitting around the camp fire thinking what to do. It turned out to be a very quiet and enjoyable camp fire. We being IT professionals decided to get the help of Google and soon we were searching for camp fire games. We opened the first link and were checking out the games mentioned. After much discussion we decided we would play story building. Mr. B volunteered to start the story and soon everyone were contributing to the story and half an hour went by and soon we were losing interest in the game. Then we sat in silence for another half an hour enjoying the weather. Mr. S being a popular blogger suggested we play the tag game and we decided we would play the injury tag where everyone would say about any of the injuries that they had and explain how it happened. After everyone's turn was over the famous silence came back again. But this time the fire was also out and we decided to hit the bed since it was past 12 and we had plans of going for trekking early next morning. After saying our good nights we went to bed at 1 AM planning that we would go for a walk at 5 in the morning.

Day 2 - Sunday

Badminton part 2

Day 2 started at 6 AM. (Yes we were not able to get up at 5. We blame the nice weather for it ;) ). After much discussion about where to have coffee everyone decided to go out for coffee. So me, Mr. S, Mr. B, Ms. N and Ms. A went out in search of a tea shop. Ms. P and Ms. S were not feeling well. So we decided we would let them take some rest. So after 10 mins walk we found out a tea shop. We ordered our tea's and coffee's and biscuits. After having the tea we went back to the resort. It was around 7 when we reached there. So we decided we would start for trekking at 9. So we had two full hours. So me, Mr. B, Mr. S and Ms. N decided we would play a game of badminton but this time at a place outside. We soon found a place to play and to spice things up we decided we would play a bet match. The bet was 100 bucks and we started the game. Having won against them the previous day, me and Mr. B were playing casually. Suddenly we found out that we were 2 points behind them at 5 points to 3. So we decided we would play some serious game and after around half an hour of extreme badminton skill display by me and Mr. B we won. This time the score line was 15 points to 7. This time Mr. S and Ms. N were ready to accept defeat and congratulated us on our wins. (We haven't got our bet money yet :( ). Mr. S and Ms. N - If you are reading this please give our bet money. After the game we decided to go back to the resort and take bath and head out trekking.

The Big Small Trek

Once everyone was ready we had our breakfast. Only the breakfast was good at that place. During breakfast we decided that due to the health conditions of our group members we would not conquer Swamimalai instead some shorter version of it which would be an easy trek. After enquiring the directions we started to this so called small trek place. After much difficulty we were able to locate the trek. The trek was an easy one but since we were going with friends it turned out to be an exciting and fun activity. We climbed some big stones. Took photos like moving the big stones, climbing the trees. After one hour we decided we would go down. And the down journey was pretty much normal since everyone was tired and wanted to reach back home. By the time we came down it was past noon and we decided we would go to Vellore and have lunch. Everyone was too tired to start any interesting conversations. We were taking rest till we reached Vellore. On the way to Vellore we saw an advt board of Saravana Bhavan and everyone was too excited and we decided to have lunch there. Lunch was awesome. By the time we finished our lunch it was 3 PM and we decided not to stop at any more places and reach home as early as possible. It was very hot and we were all sweating. But the gods blessed us with some mild showers and an excellent weather. We reached Chennai by 6 PM and we said our good byes to all and headed home.

Important points about the trip:

1. Later we found out that we did not go to any of the places that was mentioned in the board that we took a picture of.
2. The boating that we went was a smaller one and there was another big one that we missed. (Courtesy: Our afternoon walk where we found out about this boating place. Or else our driver would have enquired and took us to the correct place.)
3. We did not do trekking in Swamimalai which was supposed to be visited in Yelagiri.

All said this was a memorable trip. One to be remembered through out my life !!!!

Hoje falarei do Badminton, um esporte meio diferente, e de Basquete, já muito bem conhecido por nós.

O Badminton é um esporte muito parecido com o tênis, porém, no lugar de uma bola utiliza-se uma espécie de peteca. Este esporte foi levado para a Inglaterra por militares ingleses, que o conheceram na Índia durante a fase da colonização inglesa (século XIX). Na Índia, o jogo possuia o nome de poona. Em 1873, surgiu a versão oficial do jogo, através do duque inglês de Beaufort.

O jogo é praticado um contra um ou em duplas. Utiliza-se uma raquete e uma peteca (chamada de volante ou birdie). A quadra ou campo, onde este jogo é praticado, possui o formato retangular com 13,4 metros de comprimento por 6,1 de largura, e no meio da quadra é colocada uma rede de 6,10 metros de comprimento e 75 cm de altura. Esta rede fica presa nas extremidades por dois postes de metal que medem 1,55 metros.

Dupla mista de badminton

O jogo é acompanhado por um árbitro que marca os pontos e aplica as regras necessárias. Cada jogador usa uma raquete para bater na peteca. O objetivo do jogo é fazer com que a peteca toque o campo do adversário, passando por cima da rede. Quando isto acontece é contabilizado um ponto. Quando o jogador joga a peteca para fora da quadra, o ponto é contabilizado para o adversário. O jogo é dividido em três games de 15 pontos. O jogo é vencido pelo jogador ou dupla que ganhar dois ou três games (sets). Os jogos individuais femininos são realizados em três games de 11 pontos.

Neste ano em pequim serão disputadas as provas duplas masculino, simples masculino, duplas feminino, simples feminino e duplas mistas. O Brasil não participará da competição (que pena)

O Basquete acho que nem precisa ser explicado né!? Já basta lembrar-nos dos tempos de escola em que aprendiamos com todos aqueles movimentos repetitivos em aulas exaustivas o que era e como se jogava o basquete, hehe. Fora alguns jogos que à nós eram transmitidos em algumas ocasiões, porém nem sempre foi uma prática tão comum de nossas emissoras (que pena... denovo).

Nóssa seleção masculina infelizmente não conseguiu se classificar para este ano. Por outro lado, as meninas fizeram bonito em seus jogos, se classificaram e o técnico Paulo Bassul já divulgou o nome das 16 estrelas que participarão da competição.

Seleção feminina de basquete

São elas:

Érika de Souza - Pivô - 26 anos
Jucimara Dantas (Mamá) - Ala/Pivô - 30 anos
Kelly Santos - Pivô - 28 anos
Graziane Coelho - Pivô - 24 anos
Soeli Zakrzeski (Êga) - Ala/Pivô - 30 anos
Franciele Nascimento - Ala/Pivô - 20 anos
Karina Jacob - Pivô - 22 anos
Fernanda Beling - Ala - 25 anos
Patrícia Ferreira (Chuca) - Ala - 29 anos
Micaela Jacintho - Ala - 29 anos
Jaqueline Silvestre - Ala/Armadora - 22 anos
Karen Gustavo - Ala/Armadora - 24 anos
Karla Costa - Ala/Armadora - 29 anos
Adriana Moisés (Adrianinha) - Armadora - 29 anos
Cláudia das Neves (Claudinha) - Armadora - 33 anos
Natália Burian - Armadora - 23 anos

Valeu pela sua visita e até a próxima!

Alias... antes de ir, devo dar os créditos ao site Sua Pesquisa pelas informações sobre o Badminton.

Abçs

ATLETICA (49):
- Uomini (27): Ottavio Andriani (maratona), Stefano Baldini (maratona), Andrea Bettinelli (alto), Ivano Brugnetti (marcia), Diego Cafagna (marcia), Filippo Campioli (alto), Fabio Cerutti (100 e 4X100), Maurizio Checcucci (4X100), Simone Collio (100 e 4X100), Marco De Luca (marcia), Emanuele Di Gregorio (4X100), Massimiliano Donati (4X100), Fabrizio Donato (triplo), Giuseppe Gibilisco (asta), Andrew Howe (lungo), Hannes Kirchler (disco), Claudio Licciardello (400), Marco Lingua (martello), Jean Jacques Nkouloukidi (marcia), Christian Obrist (1500), Ruggero Pertile (maratona), Jacques Riparelli (4X100), Giorgio Rubino (marcia), Alex Schwazer (marcia), Alessandro Talotti (alto), Matteo Villani (3000 siepi);
- Donne (22): Audrey Alloh (4X100), Giulia Arcioni (4X100), Zahra Bani (giavellotto), Vincenza Cali' (200 e 4X100), Micol Cattaneo (100 hs.), Clarissa Claretti (martello), Elisa Cusma Piccione (800), Antonietta Di Martino (alto), Bruna Genovese (maratona), Martina Giovanetti (4X100), Libania Grenot (400), Manuela Grillo (4X100), Anna Incerti (maratona), Assunta Legnante (peso), Magdelin Martinez (triplo), Anita Pistone (100 e 4X100), Elisa Rigaudo (marcia), Elena Romagnolo (3000 siepi), Chiara Rosa (peso), Silvia Salis (martello), Vincenza Sicari (maratona), Silvia Weissteiner (5000);

BADMINTON (1):
- Donne (1): Agnese Allegrini;

CALCIO ( 18 ) + 4 riserve:
- Uomini ( 18 ) + 4 riserve: Ignazio Abate, Robert Acquafresca, Salvatore Bocchetti, Luca Cigarini, Andrea Coda, Andrea Consigli, Domenico Criscito, Paolo De Ceglie, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Daniele Dessena, Sebastian Giovinco, Claudio Marchisio, Riccardo Montolivo, Marco Motta, Antonio Nocerino, Tommaso Rocchi, Giuseppe Rossi, Emiliano Viviano; Riserve: Antonio Candreva, Andrea Ranocchia, Andrea Russotto, Salvatore Sirigu;
CANOA KAYAK (16):
- Uomini (10): Franco Benedini (velocita'), Andrea Facchin (velocita'), Luca Piemonte (velocita'), Alberto Ricchetti (velocita'), Antonio Rossi (velocita'), Antonio Massimiliano Scaduto (velocita'), Michele Zerial (velocita'), Andrea Benetti (slalom), Erik Masoero (velocita'), Daniele Molmenti (velocita');
- Donne (6): Stefania Cicali (velocita'), Alessandra Galiotto (velocita'), Alice Fagioli (velocita'), Josefa Idem (velocita'), Fabiana Sgroi (velocita'), Maria Cristina Giai Pron (slalom);

CANOTTAGGIO (19) + 4 riserve:
- Uomini (16) + 4 riserve: Luca Agamennoni, Catello Amarante, Salvatore Amitrano, Alberto Carboncini, Giuseppe De Vita, Rossano Galtarossa, Raffaello Loenardo, Elia Luini, Bruno Mascarenhas, Marcello Miani, Carlo Mornati, Niccolo' Mornati, Simone Raineri, Alessio Sartori, Simone Venier, Jiri Vlcek; Riserve: Lorenzo Bertini, Dario Dentale, Luca Ghezzi, Daniele Gilardoni;
- Donne (3): Gabriella Bascelli, Elisabetta Sancassani, Laura Schiavone;

CICLISMO (16) + 1 riserva:
- Uomini (11) + 1 riserva: Paolo Bettini (strada), Marzio Bruseghin (strada), Damiano Cunego (strada), Franco Pellizotti (strada), Davide Rebellin (strada), Marco Aurelio Fontana (cross country), Yader Zoli (cross country), Roberto Chiappa (pista), Angelo Ciccone (pista), Fabio Masotti (pista), Manuel De Vecchi (BMX); Riserva: Vincenzo Nibali (strada);
- Donne (5): Marta Bastianelli (strada), Noemi Cantele (strada), Tatiana Guderzo (strada), Eva Lechner (cross country), Vera Carrara (pista);

GINNASTICA (19):
- Uomini (7): Matteo Angioletti (artistica), Alberto Busnari (artistica), Igor Cassina (artistica), Andrea Coppolino (artistica), Matteo Morandi (artistica), Enrico Pozzo (artistica), Flavio Cannone (trampolino);
- Donne (12): Francesca Benolli (artistica), Monica Bergamelli (artistica), Sara Bradaschia (artistica), Vanessa Ferrari (artistica), Carlotta Giovannini (artistica), Lia Parolari (artistica), Elisa Blanchi (ritmica), Fabrizia D'Ottavio (ritmica), Marinella Falca (ritmica), Daniela Masseroni (ritmica), Elisa Santoni (ritmica), Anzhelika Savrayuk (ritmica);

JUDO LOTTA KARATE (10):
- Uomini (6): Paolo Bianchessi (judo), Giovanni Nicola Casale (judo), Giuseppe Maddaloni (judo), Roberto Meloni (judo), Andrea Minguzzi (lotta greco-romana), Daigoro Timoncini (lotta greco-romana);
- Donne (4): Lucia Morico (judo), Giulia Quintavalle (judo), Ylenia Scapin (judo), Michela Torrenti (judo);

NUOTO (33):
- Uomini (21): Mattia Aversa, Marco Belotti, Niccolo' Beni, Alessio Boggiatto, Paolo Bossini, Emiliano Brembilla, Alessandro Calvi, Nicola Cassio, Federico Colbertaldo, Mirco Di Tora, Loris Facci, Christian Galenda, Damiano Lestingi, Filippo Magnini, Luca Marin, Mattia Nalesso, Matteo Pelliciari, Samuel Pizzetti, Massimiliano Rosolino, Michele Santucci, Alessandro Terrin;
- Donne (12): Romina Armellini, Ilaria Bianchi, Alice Carpanese, Paola Cavallino, Cristina Chiuso, Erika Ferraioli, Alessia Filippi, Roberta Panara, Federica Pellegrini, Maria Laura Simonetto, Renata Spagnolo, Flavia Zoccari;

NUOTO SINCRONIZZATO (2) - Donne (2): Beatrice Adelizzi, Giulia Lapi;

TUFFI ( 8 ) :
- Uomini (3): Francesco Dell'Uomo, Nicola Marconi, Tommaso Marconi;
- Donne (5): Noemi Batki, Tania Cagnotto, Francesca Dallape', Maria Elisabetta Marconi, Valentina Marocchi;

NUOTO DI FONDO (2):
- Uomini (1): Valerio Cleri;
- Donne (1): Martina Grimaldi;

PALLANUOTO (26):
- Uomini (13): Alberto Angelini, Fabio Bencivenga, Leonardo Binchi, Fabrizio Buonocore, Alessandro Calcaterra, Luigi Di Costanzo, Maurizio Felugo, Valentino Gallo, Andrea Mangiante, Federico Mistrangelo, Leonardo Sottani, Stefano Tempesti, Fabio Violetti;
- Donne (13): Silvia Bosurgi, Chiara Brancati, Elisa Casanova, Tania Di Mario, Teresa Frassinetti, Elena Gigli, Martina Miceli, Maddalena Musumeci, Francesca Pavan, Cinzia Ragusa, Federica Rocco, Erzsebet Valkai, Manuela Zanchi;

PALLAVOLO (24):
- Uomini (12): Emanuele Birarelli, Vigor Bovolenta, Alberto Cisolla, Mirko Corsano, Alessandro Fei, Mauro Gavotto, Matteo Martino, Luigi Mastrangelo, Marco Meoni, Alessandro Paparoni, Valerio Vermiglio, Hristo Zlatanov;
- Donne (12): Taismary Aguero, Jenny Barazza, Paola Cardullo, Nadia Centoni, Paola Croce, Francesca Ferretti, Simona Gioli, Martina Guiggi, Eleonora Lo Bianco, Serena Ortolani, Francesca Piccinini, Manuela Secolo;

BEACH VOLLEY (2)
- Uomini (2): Eugenio Amore, Riccardo Lione;

PENTATHLON MODERNO (4):
- Uomini (2): Nicola Benedetti, Andrea Valentini;
- Donne (2): Sara Bertoli, Claudia Corsini;

PESISTICA (4):
- Uomini (3): Moreno Boer, Giorgio De Luca, Vito Dellino
- Donne (1): Jenny Pagliaro;

PUGILATO (6):
- Uomini (6): Roberto Cammarelle, Alessio Di Savino, Jahyn Vittorio Parrinello, Vincenzo Picardi, Clemente Russo, Domenico Valentino;

SCHERMA (13) + 3 riserve:
- Uomini ( 8 ) + 2 riserve: Andrea Baldini (fioretto), Diego Confalonieri (spada), Aldo Montano (sciabola), Andrea Occhiuzzi (sciabola), Alfredo Rota (spada), Salvatore Sanzo (fioretto), Matteo Tagliariol (spada), Luigi Tarantino (sciabola); Riserve: Stefano Carozzo, Giampiero Pastore;
- Donne (5) + 1 riserva: Ilaria Bianco (sciabola), Margherita Granbassi (fioretto), Gioia Marzocca (sciabola), Giovanna Trillini (fioretto), Valentina Vezzali (fioretto); Riserva: Ilaria Salvatori;

SPORT EQUESTRI (6):
- Uomini (5): Pier Luigi Sangiorgi (dressage), Stefano Brecciaroli (completo), Juan Carlos Garcia (completo), Fabio Magni (completo), Roberto Rotatori (completo);
- Donne (1): Vittoria Panizzon (completo);

TAEKWONDO (3):
- Uomini (2): Leonardo Basile, Mauro Sarmiento;
- Donne (1): Veronica Calabrese;

TENNIS ( 8 ): - Uomini (3): Simone Bolelli, Andreas Seppi, Potito Starace; - Donne (5): Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta, Mara Santangelo, Francesca Schiavone, Roberta Vinci;

TENNISTAVOLO (3):
- Uomini (1): Mihai Bobocica;
- Donne (2): Nikoleta Stefanova, Wen Ling Tan Monfardini;

TIRO A SEGNO (7):
- Uomini (5): Mauro Badaracchi (pistola), Francesco Bruno (pistola), Niccolo' Campriani (carabina), Marco De Nicolo (carabina), Vigilio Fait (pistola);
- Donne (2): Maura Genovesi (pistola), Valentina Turisini (carabina);

TIRO A VOLO ( 8 ):
- Uomini (6): Andrea Benelli (skeet), Francesco D'Aniello (double trap), Daniele Di Spigno (double trap), Ennio Falco (skeet), Erminio Frasca (fossa), Giovanni Pellielo (fossa);
- Donne (2): Chiara Cainero (skeet), Deborah Gelisio (fossa);

TIRO CON L'ARCO (6):
- Uomini (3): Ilario Di Buo', Marco Galiazzo, Mauro Nespoli;
- Donne (3): Pia Carmen Lionetti, Elena Tonetta, Natalia Valeeva;

TRIATHLON (4):
- Uomini (2): Emilio D'Aquino, Daniel Fontana;
- Donne (2): Charlotte Bonin, Nadia Cortassa*

VELA ( 18 ):
- Uomini (11): Edoardo Bianchi, Fabian Heidegger, Francesco Marcolini, Diego Negri, Giorgio Poggi, Diego Romero, Gianfranco Sibello, Piero Sibello, Andrea Trani, Luigi Viale, Gabrio Zandona';
- Donne (7): Chiara Calligaris, Giulia Conti, Giovanna Micol, Larissa Nevierov, Giulia Pignolo, Francesca Scognamillo, Alessandra Sensini.

IN BOCCA AL LUPO  ! ! ! !

The Wilson boys, Shane and Sean, who together with their partners, had 6 medals between them, will however come in a bit earlier. They are scheduled for Air Jamaica JM24 at 6:15 p.m.

A few players were booked through Panama and these will return on Wednesday with Assistant Coach, Lisco Jackson.  Left in Guatemala will be Coach Howard Ranger and two players, Anthony McNee and Shakira Bailey, who will be attending the annual high performance training camp which takes place annually, immediately following the Championships.

Jamaica's team finished fifth in the team event and was also fifth on the medal table for the individual events, having won eight medals - 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze.  Peru won the team event while the USA topped the individual medal chart.

But today, I went into the office with a grin and a heart quietly beating with pride, all thanks to The Straits Times and TODAY, or rather, all thanks to the reports that they carried of our athletes in action on the international stage over the weekend.

I really cannot remember the last time I read so many reports in a single edition of the two newspapers about the exploits of our sportsmen in four different sports. There was:

- the report of our junior sailors narrowly missing out on a gold at the World Optimist Championships by just three points

- a report on Jasmine Yeong-Nathan snaring a bronze in the girls singles at the World Youth Bowling Championships;

- a story about Fandi Ahmad's eldest two sons, Irfan and Iksan, capturing the attention of the youth coaches at Spanish club Valencia during a training stint and winning invites to train with the La Liga side's academy, and finally,

- the report of Lam Chih Beng creating local sporting history by becoming the first Singapore golfer to make the cut for the British Open.

My heartiest congratulations to Singapore Sailing and the Singapore Bowling Federation for once again proving to everyone out there that our locally-born athletes have what it takes to excel on the world stage.

By their successes, they have shown once again that the argument put forth by some national sports associations that we must have foreign sports talents in order to do well internationally (because our local athletes are just not good enough) is nothing but sheer deception.  

As I have mentioned before, both Singapore Sailing and the SBF have shown that our local sportsmen can deliver the goods so long as they are given the opportunities and resources to develop themselves into top-class athletes.

And what all that, in turn, really needs is an unwavering belief in local talent, in one's fellow Singaporeans, and the iron will to erect systematic training structures that will enable them to progressively climb the ladder to success.

In fact, the other sailing report on our Singapore sailors finishing fourth at the World Youth Championships, which appeared in The Sunday Times (20 July 2008), when placed side-by-side with that of our silver-medal winning Optimist sailors, provides ample proof of this progression.

Thanks to the talent development systems that Singapore Sailing has built over the years, the likes of Low Wen Chun, Jonathan Chew, Griselda Khng, Cecilia Low and Elizabeth Yin, all good Optimist sailors previously, are now rated among the top 10 sailors in the world in their respective classes.

On the other hand, while Lam Chih Beng's "mini trumph" at the British Open cannot be used to illustrate the above two points, it nevertheless still drives home the fact that our local athletes do have what it takes to compete on the world stage.

Sure, Lam finished last in the end ( he finished with a 31-over-par total of 311). But honestly, that statistic is nothing to be embarrassed about. As The Straits Times rightfully reported:

"Despite those blemishes on his scorecard, Lam can take heart from a historic achievement. He became the first Singaporean to make the cut in a Major after carding rounds of 72 and 75 on Thursday and Friday. He was also the only South-east Asian player in the field to survive the axe..."

But what I was most sruck by were Lam's quotes after his British Open adventure.

"For two days, I felt like I really belonged out here," he said. "I felt like I could compete with the world's best players... I'm going back and I hope to win an Asian Tour tournament over the next few months. If I can get through this, oher events won't be that tough." 

In other words, being given the precious opportunity to compete against the best, and grabbing that opportunity with both hands has enabled Lam to emerge from the experience a tougher, wiser and better golfer. Clearly, his mental game has been given a huge boost with this experience.

Now just imagine how possibly different the state of Singapore badminton and table tennis might be today if, in the past decade, instead of foreign-born sports talents, it was our local-born badminton and table-tennis players instead, who had been given the same sort of opportunities to constantly pit and measure themselves against the best in the world.

Finally, tempting as it may be, I'm not letting myself read too much into the report about how Fandi Ahmad's sons are wowing the youth coaches and selectors at Valencia.

The kids are doing great now, judging from the glowing report, but then again, the situation may change as they grow older and their bodies change.

And I'm sure they are where they are now, not only because of their genes but also the windows of footballing opportunities that they have easy access to because of their father (ie coaching clinics, stints with S-League clubs, one-on-one coaching sessions with Dad etc).

Once again, here are two examples of how far local talent can go if given the ample opportunities to be developed and groomed.  

Even though I am not letting myself be carried away by the reports, still, it's nice to dream, isn't it, that perhaps one day we can see Fandi's sons not only following their father's famous footsteps, donning the national jersey, and playing in Europe (and even going further than their father ever did)?

Shouldn't ALL our local-born athletes be given the chance to dream too?

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

Related links:

26 June: Singapore boleh, local talent boleh!

1. Darkmane
2. England v. South Africa: Cricket
3. Stefan Fatsis: A Few Seconds of Panic
4. Lewis Hamilton wins German Grand Prix
5. Tour de France: Making the slow climb back
6. Michael Phelps: Here comes the pre-Olympic expectations. Can he meet them?
7. The Open Championship: Norman story overshadows Harrington repeat
8. Pro basketball played outdoors?
9. Badminton: England’s #1 racket sport?

On the horizon: Olympics; Baseball Trade Deadline
In the rear view mirror: Brett Favre; Josh Hamilton

Eyecube Buzz9 will appear on Monday's

Malgré ses spectaculaires tentatives aux qualifications, Carl Loose portera bien les couleurs de votre addon préferé lors des Jeux Olympiques de Pékin!

JAMAICA'S MEDAL WINNERS

GOLD MEDALS (2)

Under 11 Boys Singles: Shane Wilson #1 seed - defeated Vinson Chiu #2 of USA 21-12, 12-21, 21-15 in final.

Under 11 Boys Doubles: Shane Wilson & Vinson Chiu (USA) – defeated Guilherme Lemos & Henry Mateus of Brasil 21-11, 21-12 in final.

GOLD or SILVER MEDALS (To be decided) (1)

Under 11 Mixed Doubles: Shane Wilson & Bianca Hall #2 seed – play  Vinson Chiu & Micaela Lum of USA in final.

SILVER MEDALS (2)

Under 19 Boys Doubles: Gareth Henry & Chadwick Parsons – lost to Martin Guiffre & David Pastewka of Canada 23-21, 18-21, 14-21 in final.

Under 13 Boys Doubles: Sean Wilson & Samuel Ricketts – lost to Ygor Coelho & Fabio Soares of Brasil 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in final.

BRONZE MEDALS (3)

Under 17 Boys Doubles: Delsang Lue-Taim & Jordan Roberts – bronze.

Under 13 Boys Singles: Sean Wilson #1 seed – bronze.

Under 13 Mixed Doubles: Sean Wilson & Jahvaine Henry – bronze.

]]> http://kingstonchronicle.wordpress.com/?p=1439 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:09:34 +0000 kingstonchronicle http://kingstonchronicle.wordpress.com/?p=1439 On course for Triple Crown as he plays the boys and mixed doubles later today.

JAMAICA'S MEDAL TALLY

GOLD MEDALS

Under 11 Boys Singles: Shane Wilson #1 seed – GOLD (Defeats Vinson Chiu #2 of USA 21-12, 12-21, 21-15.;

GOLD or SILVER MEDALS (To be decided)

Under 11 Boys Doubles: Shane Wilson & Vinson Chiu (USA) – through to final;

Under 11 Mixed Doubles: Shane Wilson & Bianca Hall #2 seed - through to final.

Under 13 Boys Doubles: Sean Wilson & Samuel Ricketts - through to final;

Under 19 Boys Doubles: Gareth Henry & Chadwick Parsons - through to final.

BRONZE MEDALS

Under 17 Boys Doubles: Delsang Lue-Taim & Jordan Roberts – bronze.

Under 13 Boys Singles: Sean Wilson #1 seed – bronze;

Under 13 Mixed Doubles: Sean Wilson & Jahvaine Henry – bronze.

Eight year old Shane Wilson will lead the way for Jamaica as he contests the three Under 11 finals. His boys’ doubles partner will be Vinson Chiu of the USA who is also his singles opponent and for mixed doubles he will be partnered by Bianca Hall where he will again oppose Chiu.

Last year’s Under 11 Triple Crown winner Sean Wilson, brother of Shane, had to settle for bronze in the Under 13 singles and mixed doubles where he teamed with Jahvaine Henry but he and Samuel Ricketts will go for gold in the boys doubles final.

The other finalists are Gareth Henry and Chadwick Parsons who will contest the Under 19 boys doubles event. These two won the Under 17 doubles gold in 2006. The other medal going to Jamaica was from the pair of Delsang Lue-Taim and Jordan Roberts who won a bronze in the Under 17 boys doubles.

Over 300 players from fourteen countries are entered for this year’s individual events. The countries represented are: Brasil, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and the USA.

Below is a list of the abovementioned Jamaican medal winners:

UNDER 19

Boys Doubles: Gareth Henry & Chadwick Parsons - through to final.

UNDER 17

Boys Doubles: Delsang Lue-Taim & Jordan Roberts – bronze.

UNDER 13

Boys Singles: Sean Wilson #1 seed – bronze;

Boys Doubles: Sean Wilson & Samuel Ricketts - through to final;

Mixed Doubles: Sean Wilson & Jahvaine Henry – bronze.

UNDER 11

Boys Singles: Shane Wilson #1 seed - through to final;

Boys Doubles: Shane Wilson & Vinson Chiu (USA) – through to final;

Mixed Doubles: Shane Wilson & Bianca Hall #2 seed - through to final.

For individual match results go to: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=23083

]]> http://kingstonchronicle.wordpress.com/?p=1389 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:46:06 +0000 kingstonchronicle http://kingstonchronicle.wordpress.com/?p=1389 The finals and presentation of awards for the Pan American Junior badminton Championships in Guatemala City will be tomorrow, Sunday 20.07.08 and not today as previously posted.

Despite having their Vice-captain, Hadei Kay Williams having to return home due to injury plus with two others on the injured list but still playing, the twenty five (25) participating Jamaican players are in good spirits and still in contention for a possible fourteen (14) medals in the individual events of the Pan American Junior Badminton Championships now being played in Guatemala City.

This section of the tournament which has over three hundred participants competing in five age groups is being played over three days, with today Saturday being the final day. The quarter-finals, semifinals and finals are down to be contested on today’s final day plus a few matches carried forward from an earlier round. All quarter-final winners will be guaranteed at least a bronze medal as both losing semifinalists are awarded bronze.

Gareth Henry and brothers Sean and Shane Wilson are the top seeds in the Under 19, 13 and 11 singles while Delsang Lue-Taim is #2 in the Under 17 and Shevon Salmon #4 in the Under 13 age group. Doubles seedings for Jamaica are: Under 11 mixed doubles - Shane Wilson & Bianca Hall #2; Under 15 girls doubles - Shana-Kay Bailey & Stacey-Ann Blake #3; Under 17 mixed doubles - Jordan Roberts & Mikaylia Haldane #3.

Results for Jamaica thus far are as follows:

WINNERS:

UNDER 19

Boys Singles: Gareth Henry #1 seed - through to quarterfinal;

Boys Doubles: Gareth Henry & Chadwick Parsons - through to round 2.

UNDER 17

Boys Singles: Delsang Lue-Taim #2 seed - through to quarterfinal;

Boys Doubles: Delsang Lue-Taim & Jordan Roberts - through to quarterfinal;

Mixed Doubles: Jordan Roberts & Mikaylia Haldane - through to quarterfinal.

UNDER 13

Boys Singles: Sean Wilson #1 seed - through to qtr-final; Samuel Ricketts - through to qtr-final;

Boys Doubles: Sean Wilson & Samuel Ricketts - through to qtr-final; Shevon Salmon & Victor del Valle (Guatemala) - through to qtr-final;

Girls Doubles: Jahvaine Henry & Jade Clarke - through to qtr-final;

Mixed Doubles: Sean Wilson & Jahvaine Henry - through to qtr-final.

UNDER 11

Boys Singles: Shane Wilson #1 seed - through to qtr-final;

Boys Doubles: Shane Wilson & Vinson Chiu (USA) – bye to qtr-final;

Mixed Doubles: Shane Wilson & Bianca Hall #2 seed - bye to qtr-final.

DEFEATED JAMAICAN PLAYERS:

UNDER 19

Boys Singles: Tossainte Taylor - lost round 3; Chadwick Parsons – lost round 2; Shawn Forrester – lost round 1.

Boys Doubles: Tossainte Taylor & Shawn Forrester – lost round 1.

UNDER 17

Boys Singles: Anthony McNee – lost round 2, Jordan Roberts – lost round 2;

Girls Singles: Mikaylia Haldane - lost round 2, Shakeria Bailey– lost round 1;

Girls Doubles: Mikaylia Haldane & Shakeria Bailey – lost round 1;

Mixed Doubles: Anthony McNee & Shakeria Bailey- lost round 2.

UNDER 15

Boys Singles: Johnathondavid Smith– lost round 1, Jon-Andrew Neita– lost round 2, Jonathon Tomlinson – lost round 3, Romone Robinson – lost round 1.

Girls Singles: Shana-Kay Bailey – lost round 3. Aleisha Cousins– lost round 2. Sheinell Hyatt – lost round 2. Stacey-Ann Blake – lost round 2.

Boys Doubles: Jon-Andrew Neita & Jonathon Tomlinson – lost round 2, Johnathondavid Smith & Romone Robinson – lost round 1.

Mixed Doubles: Jon-Andrew Neita & Shana-Kay Bailey - lost round 3; Johnathondavid Smith & Stacey-Ann Blake – lost round 2; Romone Robinson & Aleisha Cousins– lost round 1.

UNDER 13

Boys Singles: Shevon Salmon – lost round 3.

Girls Singles: Jahvaine Henry – lost round 2, Jade Clarke– lost round 2.

Samuel Ricketts & Jade Clarke – lost round 1.

UNDER 11

Boys Singles: Jourdan Hydol-Smith – lost round 1.

Girls Singles: Bianca Hall – lost round 1.

For individual match results go to: http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/tournament.aspx?id=23083

N.B. - The final placing of countries in the team event was:

1. Peru - gold; 2. Mexico - silver; 3. USA - bronze; 4. Brasil; 5. Jamaica; 6. Canada; 7. Guatemala; 8. Suriname; 9. Trinidad and Tobago.

The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico also participated in the team event.

]]> http://malaysian88antics.wordpress.com/?p=67 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 06:15:56 +0000 malaysian88antics http://malaysian88antics.wordpress.com/?p=67 You know, the whole world, especially the US is really watching us closely.  Not only does the arrest of Anwar causes the market to go downsouth and his release causes the market forces to go upnorth, but in international bilateral relations, governments around the world are concerned over the political situation in Malaysia.  Whether or not Badawi will react to this whole thing, we do not know.  But knowing him, he'd probably just shrug it off and pretend that it is beyond his hands to intervene, saying that it is at the hands of the Malaysian police department to handle.  He probably might say he is not surprised by the allegations and its hard to kick off an old habit.

He has been totally silent on the issue.  At least Najib has stepped out and asked the police to handle Anwar with respect.  That is definitely a respectable act.  But what about his big boss?  Still hiding behind the pillars?

I read this on Raja Petra's blog.

Biden said in a statement that the treatment of Anwar a decade ago "greatly discredited Malaysia in the eyes of the world community." Current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, he said, should "not repeat the mistakes of the past. I urge him to drop this political attack on a respected opposition figure and commit himself to rule of law and good governance in Malaysia."

You know, I almost can see Pak Lah's reaction to this.  He'd most probably ask the US to 'mind their own business' and not intervene into Malaysia's internal affairs.  This is a consistent pattern by the Malaysian government in recent years.  But in that one liner, it expresses such huge facts.  Yes, Malaysia perhaps at this point is not going to be famous for her Petronas Twin Towers.  Neither is Malaysia famous now with her beautiful beaches and clear blue skies.  Talk Malaysia, and perhaps tourists is going to whisper about the political condition of the country right now.  At this moment, Anwar is perhaps synonymous with the name Malaysia.  Liken a badminton game, Badawi is playing the defense game, while Anwar is playing an attacking game.    But perhaps, at the back of Anwar's mind, Badawi's defense game is coupled with some cheap shot attacks.  Whether or not this game would reach the 21 point is what the world is waiting to watch and see.

So are we Malaysians.

Pagi menjelang siang hari ini setelah main badminton, aku dan temanku Dhiaz Aji Dewantoro memutuskan untuk makan mie ayam di depan kos. Nah, sambil menunggu mie selesai dimasak, tiba-tiba ada kecelakaan yang terjadi di depan gedung kampus III UAJY (Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta). Di belakang mobil yang baru saja akan belok masuk menuju kampus kulihat ada motor (entah satu atau dua) yang jatuh.

Rider A (cowo) yang tidak terima mendatangi rider B (cowo juga) yang baru saja berdiri mendorong motornya ke pinggir jalan. Rider A tampaknya ingin menghajar rider B, namun usaha itu dihalangi pacar rider A. Pacar rider A berusaha melerai perkelahian itu dengan berbicara baik-baik dengan rider B. Tapi tampaknya hal itu justru membuat rider A cemburu. Masalah jadi runyam, dan rider A sempat mendorong kepala rider B.

Hal itu bikin pacarnya rider A marah, bahkan security kampus gak bisa berbuat apa-apa melihat pacar rider A yang sekuat tenaga berusaha melerai. Pacarnya rider A ini orang baik. dia berani melarang rider A untuk berbuat kasar, meskipun rider B yang mukanya agak culun juga berusaha melawan.

Akhirnya rider A dan pacarnya yang kelihatan sedih meninggalkan tempat kejadian perkara. Nah ada yang menarik. Disebelah tempatku berdiri ada seorang bapak, seorang ibu, dan anak mereka yang badannya sangat besar dan tingginya bahkan lebih tinggi daripada aku.

Dari pembicaraan kami, ternyata pagi tadi, di tempat yang sama juga terjadi kecelakaan. motor di tabrak mobil. Katanya ada seorang cewe yang menjadi korban jatuh dan menabrak trotoar. tangannya patah, iii mengerikan.

Dan lebih mengejutkan lagi, anak mereka adalah penghuni kos kami yang baru. Lebih lagi, dia mahasiswa baru di UAJY yang juga mengambil teknik informatika. Namanya aku lupa, suaranya tadi terlalu kecil.

jadi, itu aja, cuma ingin kasih tahu jalan babarsari emang rawan kecelakaan yang seharusnya tidak terjadi.

Here's the reason I expressed some interest in it. I don't run fast, I can't lift anything heavy. Swimming? Forget about it. And growing up in Queens I never did equestrian or fencing. So that pretty much leaves badminton. And I saw some of the tape from the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. It was doubles badminton. And those guys were good! Since I've played a little ping pong, tennis and squash, why not try another racquet sport?

At the 1996 Olympics the only U.S. men's badminton participant was named Kevin Han. We did stories on him in Atlanta. He didn't win, but he was "our guy!" He was from Manhattan, and in his real life he was a Chinese food delivery guy. Hey I eat Chinese food! There you have it. That's why I'm "playing" badminton in my Olympic dream. I still haven't figured out if that's proper terminology. Do you "play" badminton? You don't "play" fencing do you? As you've figured out I have a lot to learn.

Len Berman's Badminton Coach:

Len Berman will go into the swing of Badminton under the direction of Coach Chibing Wu. The National Champion is no stranger to Olympic circles. He coached the U.S. Olympic team in 1997 and the Spain Olympic team in 1996. Along with the Olympics, Wu has coached multiple National teams all over the world. Currently, Wu is the head coach of the Queens Badminton Club and the NYC Badminton Club.

Watch  video of Wu in action.

Tras los encuentros desarrollados en el gimnasio nacional Teodoro Palacios Flores,  la delegación de Perú ganó la competencia por equipos, México logró el sub campeonato y Estados Unidos fue relegado a la tercera posición, el cuarto lugar fue para Brasil; en quinto quedó Jamaica; la sexta posición fue  para Canadá; el séptimo lugar le correspondió a Guatemala; el octavo a Surinam; la  novena posición para el equipo de Trinidad y Tobago, mientras que en el décimo lugar quedó República Dominicana.

Estos fueron los resultados de la jornada final:

México 3 – Jamaica 1, 

Canadá 1  - Estados Unidos 3

Perú 3 – Estados Unidos 2

Guatemala 3 – Surinam 0

Jamaica 3 – Canadá 2

Brasil 1 – México 3  

Estados Unidos 2 – Perú 3  

Trinidad & Tobago 3- Trinidad & Tobago 1

México 1 - Perú 3

Brasil 1 – Estados Unidos 3

Guatemala 3 - Trinidad & Tobago 1

A partir de las 9:00 horas del día de hoy hasta el día domingo 20 en horas de la  tarde, se desarrollará en el gimnasio nacional Teodoro Palacios Flores el torneo individual para las categorías menores de 11, 13, 15, 17 y 19 en sus cinco modalidades, lo que sumará un total de 208 encuentros en jornadas ininterrumpidas.

·  sencillos varones

·  sencillos damas

·  dobles  varones

·  dobles damas

·  mixtos

Lo que sumará un total de 208 encuentros en jornadas ininterrumpidas en horario desde las 9:00 horas.

Kendati sebagai ganda veteran, Bambang/ Tony bermain agresif pada set pembuka. Strategi tersebut membuahkan hasil dengan menjaga keunggulan sekaligus menutup set pertama 21-19.

Memasuki set kedua, Fernando/ Ahsan mencoba mengubah strategi permainan. Keduanya mangambil inisiatif menekan dengan smes keras. Langkah itu membuahkan hasil dan merebut set kedua 12-21.

Pada set penentuan, pertarungan semakin menarik. Kejar-mengejar angka tidak terelakan. Faktor pengalaman membuat Bambang/ Tony akhirnya mempersembahkan emas bagi Jatim setelah menutup set ketiga 22-20.

Kemenangan ini sangat berarti bagi Bambang. Soalnya, dia menjadikan PON Kaltim sebagai even nasional terakhir yang diikutinya.

''Saya ucapkan banyak terima kasih kepada Jatim karena memberikan kesempatan masuk dalam kontingen PON. Ini PON terakhir saya. Selanjutnya saya tidak akan tampil di even resmi nasional,'' kata Bambang usai bertanding.

Hal senada juga dilontarkan Tony. Dia bangga bisa memper-sembahkan medali emas bagi Jatim. ''Saya sangat senang. Meski sebagai pemain veteran, namun masih bisa memberikan medali terbaik,'' imbuhnya.

Sementara itu, Ahsan mengaku kekalahan itu karena kurang beruntung, namun dijadikan pengalaman. Pasalnya, Bambang memberikan pelajaran dalam menghadapi posisi kritis tetap bermain tenang.(fmh)

SURABAYA, KAMIS - Asosiasi Bulu Tangkis Perancis atau FFBA mempercayakan pembinaan atlet-atlet mudanya di klub Suryanaga Gudang Garam, Surabaya. Sebanyak lima pebulu tangkis putra dan tiga pebulu tangkis putri yang masuk dalam kelompok remaja asal Perancis berlatih di klub Suryanaga Gudang Garam Surabaya sejak 4 Juli lalu.

La segunda de las tres jornadas previstas para el primer día de competencias por equipos se dio en horas de la tarde. Los equipos favoritos se alzaron con las victorias en las diferentes modalidades, individuales femeninas y masculinas, dobles varones, dobles mujeres, dobles mixtos.

Resultados por equipos:

Canadá  3 ganados - Guatemala 2 ganados

Perú 5 ganados. República Dominicana 0

Jamaica 5 ganados - Surinam 0

Estados Unidos 5 ganados - Trinidad & Tobago 0

La jornada del día de mañana miércoles inicia a las 9:00 horas, incluye las finales y la disputa de los lugares secundarios, los cuales se conocerán luego de que concluya la jornada nocturna.

The game also paused when neighbors on their daily evening walks stopped to say, ‘hello’ and enquire what we were up to during the vacations and if we were being ‘good’. You see, unlike now, Bangalore in those days was a pensioner’s paradise, and I am positive that over 80 per cent of couples living in Indiranagar at that time belonged to that category. I know that my lane of 20 houses had grandparents much like mine, enjoying their retired life in the peace and quiet life that Bangalore offered. Did I also mention less crowded and much less polluted? And since everyone knew everyone else, we kids, simply couldn’t continue our game, ignoring the ‘hellos’. You wonder why? Because I knew Daddy was watching. It was his way of checking if we were growing up into well-mannered, polite and social girls! Please spare me the gasp, it is true. So, we had to stop our game, plaster our best smiles, mumble, ‘good evening appacha (grandfather) or ammachi (grandmother) and answer their prying and often repetitive questions. Any sign of impatience was construed as disrespect and I knew a lesson on the importance of being ‘respectful’ was going to precede dinner. I wanted to argue with Daddy about how disturbing it was to our game but always took the path of least resistance (my life’s guiding principle) and agreed to everything he had to say. The words in my head ranged from ‘gibberish’, ‘seriously Daddy’, ‘how silly’ among others. But then it was Daddy speaking and no one spoke back to him, lest he threatened to throw us out of the house (I see my siblings nodding in fierce agreement). So the words remained – in my head… until now.

The only exception to this was Fr Joseph. I looked forward to meeting Fr Joseph. He lived four houses away from mine. He was everything that my grandfather would have been, had I known him. I don’t remember what he did exactly but his stint in the Vatican made him a very popular person in our community. I also remember his wife, who we called Kochamma (little mother – more because she was short and not because of any motherly feelings). As much I loved Fr Joseph, I disliked her completely. (Note to self: Story on her another day).

Fr Joseph meant a lot to a lot of people - people turned to him for advice, asked him to pray for the sick in their family and took his help to get things done. I never met anyone who had bad things to say about him including my grandmother who had an uncanny ability to see only the negative. That was her gift. I am convinced that she viewed the world in the negative. Hopefully, the recent cataract operation fixed that.

Getting on with my story, to me, the word ‘gentleman’ meant Fr Joseph. I knew he loved me and I was perhaps his favorite little girl in the neighborhood. He never said so but I believed so. As he went on his daily evening walks, he would always stop where we played, flashed the brightest smile I ever seen and ask, “Molae (darling) how are you today?” My answer always was, “Appacha, I am fine.” I stopped my game or gave up my turn so I could chat with him as I knew that his next question would get me talking and this was one conversation that I would give up anything for. Never failing, his next question almost always was, ‘Molae, what book did you pick up from the library?”

That summer I was introduced to the girl detective - Nancy Drew, and the brother duo - Hardy Brothers. I was a voracious reader (Note to self: Get back to reading!) and would go through a book as fast as I could so I could narrate the plot to Appacha. So, standing on the non-existent sidewalk of 6^th Cross, I went about explaining how Nancy cracked the new mystery. Animated with a lot of dramatics thrown in for effect, I entertained Appacha. The scene with my friends has blurred and the surroundings have faded but the image of Fr Joseph in his half-sleeved shirt and walking stick remain lucid. As the game continued, we stood in front of Poppy aunty’s garden that was supposed to be the sidewalk, with dogs walking between us and annoying people butting into my time to ask Fr Joseph a quick question – I can still see it in my mind as if it were happening at this very moment. It is one of my fondest memories of my childhood – the meeting of 20 minutes everyday when I held court with Appacha, who never interrupted my flow of thoughts, never questioned how much of what I told him was actually the plot of the book, and never doubted my abilities for storytelling. When I was finished, he applauded and threw words like ‘brilliant’, ‘funny’, and ‘interesting’ at me in front of friends. I swelled with pride and even today a lot of my deemed arrogance comes from the fact that Fr Joseph thought I was good.

It was the day before school was to re-commence. Time to wrap up the games and get back to teachers, books and homework. Yes, such a chore did exist in those days. As always, Fr Joseph walked up to us but this time he had a surprise for me. It was a book, gift wrapped in a blue and silver wrapper with a note that said, “For my little girl – for the woman that you want to be!” I protested saying that his gift was ill-timed as I wouldn’t have the time to read it. He told me to hold on to it and read it during the next vacations. Eager and excited, I tore open the wrapper and saw the book – Little Women! My first copy of the classic by Louisa May Alcott. I put the note into the book, thanked Fr Joseph and promised him that I would tell him the story soon. “Shine, take your time. There is no rush,” he said as he continued on his walk while I got back to my friends.

Ten years of schooling but the excitement of the first day of the new academic year is unique. Meeting your school buddies after the holidays, sharing tales of what transpired in that time, mangoes that were eaten, journeys that were made – it was all talk, talk and more talk. No Facebook to display photographs, no Internet for emails to go back and forth, no mobile phones for SMSes to let you know what your friend was up to every minute. It was back to the art of storytelling – how good your vacation had been was judged by how good a story you could spin. No prize for guessing on whose vacation was considered the best!

I came back in the evening, exhausted, but thrilled about beginning of new friendships and strengthening old ones while plotting how I was to beat N Pramod and M Sudhindra this year (we were the top three students). After all, girl pride was at stake! Walking through the door, I saw my grandmother, all dressed up and hurrying to go somewhere. I stood at the door and asked her what the hoopla was all about? “Joseph Appacha died in the morning…” she continued but I heard nothing after that. I later heard how peaceful he was when his time came, how he moved on to the next world with all his wishes fulfilled, how he lay in his casket with a smile… “He was a blessed one,” quipped my grandmother. I didn’t understand the adult ways of professing grief or paying tributes.  All I knew was that summer would never be the same again.

Fr Joseph was not family but he was everything that I thought family would be. I refused to go to the funeral, and was adamant of not praying for him at his grave. I didn’t want my memory of Fr Joseph to be clouded with wails of cries, or to know that his body was wrapped in flowers with strong fragrance he didn’t like (flowers gave him a headache), or share him with people who pretended to know him. The street wore a busy look that day with folks from all over Bangalore coming to pay their respects while I stayed indoors refusing to budge from my room, pretending I was very busy s