Curtain comes down in Guangzhou Asian Games

Dinesh WEERAWANSA reporting from china

The curtain will come down in the 16th edition of the Asian Games here in the Southern Chinese capital here at the Aoti Main Stadium on Saturday after China hosted the largest and the most successful Games ever in its 59-year-old history.

After the mega success at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the capital, China once again proved not only its organizational skills but also its sporting might with another spectacular performance in almost all disciplines. At the Beijing Games, China challenged the US supremacy in international sports arena. Here at the Guangzhou Games, China once again underlined its sporting might in Asia with a landslide victory in the final medals standings.

There are only two athletic finals to be worked off on the final day of the 45-nation Games which comes to an end with yet another spectacular closing ceremony which would once again be a rich blend of Chinese culture and modern techniques.

Besides the two athletic events - the men's and women's marathons at the Triathlon Venue on Saturday morning and at noon respectively, the women's volleyball final too will be worked off on Saturday afternoon, four hours before the mega closing ceremony which is expected to attract a packed stadium.

Although there is one more day left before the closing of the Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games, over 500,000 Asian Games volunteers are still working at their positions, serving the Games wholeheartedly in different competition venues and public places.

Local residents in the city initiated a campaign which aims to call for citywide care to Asian Games volunteers from November 21. Since its inauguration, around 20,000 people took part in the campaign, sending out more than 10,000 greeting cards on a daily basis and greeting over 300,000 Asian Games volunteers.

Attendees of this campaign will set out to a variety of places and spots across the city and pay tribute to Games volunteers by delivering greeting cards, snacks and drinks. A sincere "Thank you!" or a simple smile could show your appreciation and gratitude for volunteers who make the Games fabulous and successful.

Chairman of the Media Committee of the Olympic Council of Asia, Manuel Silverio said that the OCA is satisfied with arrangements made by the local organizing committee - the GAGOC, including security, the competition schedule, accommodation, transport and competition results.

"The OCA is quite sure that the GAGOC security department is capable to protect everyone involved in the Games, including athletes, officials, media, volunteers, and spectators," he said.

He added that to date there had been no request for special arrangements in terms of accommodation, transport or security for any delegation. "The OCA extends equal treatment to all. Therefore, there is no need for extra security at this moment," he added.

He also expressed his appreciation to all delegations for their understanding and support towards the OCA constitution. Silverio stressed that "the Asian Games is a sports arena" and should not be affected by any other factors.

"The OCA is making an appeal to all athletes from both sides that they must stay together to show that they are here to compete and never withdraw. They should embody the value of sports with higher achievements," he said.

The Asian Games that has greatly improved the image of Guangzhou and residents' feeling of belonging to the city. According to a new survey, more than 80 percent of local residents said they are going to live in Guangzhou for a long time.

The survey, which was conducted by the College of Journalism and Communication of the Guangzhou-based Ji'nan University, interviewed 1,200 residents in the past six months. All the interviewees had lived in the city for more than six months. The survey found that 91.75 percent of the interviewees said the Asian Games have helped Guangzhou improve its status and reputation, while 82.75 percent said the Games have also helped improve the city's culture and entertainment industries.

Deputy Director of the public sentiment center under the Collegeof Journalism and Communication of Ji'nan University, Zhang Lei said more residents have begun to endorse their city after they have benefited from Guangzhou's hosting of the Asian Games. "Guangzhou's road network has improved greatly, thanks to an advanced new light railway and extended metro network," said Zhang.

In addition, the quality of the city's water and air has been improved in recent years. Most people are of the view that great changes have taken place in the city since July 2004, since Guangzhou won its bid to host the 16th Asian Games.

Now, it will be South Korea's turn once again to host the Asian Games since its 2002 Busan Games.

As the Asian Games goes to Inchon City in South Korea in 2014, one hopes that the standard of Asian sport would go from strength to strength in the international arena and that Asia would turn to be the superpower in world sport.

It was nice to be a part of Asian Games family and cover my fifth Asian Games for the Daily News and the Sunday Observer in Hiroshima 1994, Bangkok 1998, Busan 2002, Doha 2006 and now Guangzhou 2010. Unfortunately, this is the worst Asian Games of the five that I have witnessed from Sri Lanka's point of view.

Sri Lanka's 143-member contingent painted a poor picture and struggled in every discipline they took part.

The dominance Sri Lanka had in athletics too has now become history with the retirement of the big wings such as Susanthika Jayasinghe, Damayanthi Darsha, Sugath Tillakaratne, Sriyani Kulawansa, Sriyani Dhammika Menike and Rohan Pradeep Kumara. We hope that development programs implemented by authorities would produce results even in future.

GUANGZHOU, Friday.