This is a roundup of the week’s Chinese sports news from China Sports Today, a website from the GoKunming.com people.
• The National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatics Center (Water Cube) have made their debuts. The Bird’s Nest hosted the finish lines of both the race walking challenge and the Good Luck Beijing Marathon. The Water Cube hosted synchronized swimming and hundreds of people waited for three hours in the rain just to get in and take a look. Both of these venues, which have gotten a lot of attention since their designs were unveiled, appeared ready for their closeup.
• The Workers’ Stadium hosted its first event since being renovated. Brazil’s women’s football (soccer) team beat Ghana 5-1 to qualify for the Olympic competition. Olympic draws for men’s and women’s soccer were announced the next day (complete list of groups here).
• Last weekend also saw the conclusion of the Volvo China Open golf tournament in Beijing, in which Irishman Damien McGrane held onto his lead to claim the rain-soaked silk yellow jacket and a purse of US$366,660 (full report).
• The Chinese national team got off to a good start at the Good Luck Beijing women’s basketball test event, the first competition at the new Wukesong Basketball Arena. China had four consecutive wins before falling to the US team on Thursday night (full story).
• There was a lot to learn from all of the Good Luck Beijing test events from the past week, including that selling scalped tickets, usually standard practice at cultural and sporting events in Beijing, could currently lead to trouble with the law, and that buying them could lead to an inconvenient afternoon.
• In the sports world beyond Beijing, the GoKunming.com guys took to the skies, and came back with a detailed report of their first paragliding experience in Yunnan Province.
• Finally, the Chinese edition of Sports Illustrated has published its swimsuit issue (pictured).