The 2004 Athens Olympic Games, which are the biggest in Olympic history -- involving over 11,099 athletes, 20,000 reporters and costing over US$20 billion -- were to be launched last night with a splendiferous opening ceremony.
After 108 years, the Olympic Games returned to their home country, Greece, and the games will last 17 days, allowing over 11,099 athletes to compete for 301 gold medals in 35 disciplines.
Seventy-five members of Team Taiwan -- including athletes and staff -- were to be led by flag-bearer Chen Chih-yuan (
The ceremony was to begin at 2am Taiwan time, and the Athens Olympic Organization Committee was, as usual, keeping the details of the ceremony secret.
The committee said that Mihalis Hatzigiannis, a male singer who is popular in Greece, will sing the Athens Olympic theme and Yannis Kotsiras, also a famous Greek singer, will sing the Olympic theme song, while Bjork, the elfin Icelandic chanteuse, will perform at the end of the parade.
Vowing to win the country's first gold medal, Team Taiwan is placing its hope in two Taekwondo athletes -- Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎) in the men's category and Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) in the female category. Team Taiwan said it expects to bring home at least six medals.
Other possible disciplines in which Team Taiwan might earn medals include archery (female), shooting (female), weightlifting (male), table tennis (male, single and double) and baseball.
The coaches of Taiwan's female softball team and Judo team also expressed confidence of making it to the finals and said they are looking forward to winning medals.
As for the baseball team, although some foreign sports commentators say that Taiwan ranks sixth among the competing teams, Team Taiwan's coach, Hsu Sheng-ming (徐生明), pledged that his team will beat its first two opponents -- the Canadian and Australian teams -- and gain at least four wins during the seven preliminary games to make it to the final qualifications.
The baseball team is scheduled to play Canada on Aug. 15 and Hsu said that Chang Chih-chia (張誌家), who plays in Japan's professional league, or Wang Jien-ming (王建民), who plays for the New York Yankee's minor league team, will be the starting pitcher, while Tsao Chin-hui (曹錦輝), who plays for the Colorado Rockies, may be closer.
"Team Japan, which is organized with the best professional players, may be the most hopeful of getting the gold medal," said senior baseball commentator Tseng Wen-cheng (曾文城). "However, their weakness may be that they are too confident."
Taiwan's best table tennis athlete, Chuang Chih-yuan (莊智淵), who ranks fifth, faces a tough challenge on the road to winning a gold medal, because he has to defeat China's Wang Hao, who ranks fourth worldwide, in the quarterfinals and Wang Liqin (
Also see stories:
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
RSS