I am not a big fun of watching sports but I am at the London Olympics so there was no way I could miss watching some games!
Fortunately, Samsung had booked me for two sports I would never had watched if I weren’t given that chance. I said fortunately because both Olympic events turned out to be pretty amazing!
First I watched two table tennis matches at the ExCeL on Wednesday 2 August. I saw the games of Germany against China and then that of China against Taipei China…lots of China in there but amazing games. I really never imagined a table tennis game could be that exciting.
Outside the ExCeL North Arena there was also a small exhibition of different Ping Pong, Pim Pom, Pom Pom (call it anyway you like) rackets and books from the past which I found really interesting as they gave a quick look on the history of Table Tennis and how it’s evolved in time.
Today (don’t think that I am skipping Thursday…I will tell you about it tomorrow) I watched a sport that where I come from (Greece) is not very popular but really amazed me, the Women’s single finals and Women’s Double finals of Badminton at Wembley Arena.
The first was India against China playing for the bronze medal and then China versus China competing for the silver and the gold medal. Unfortunately, the Chinese girl competing in the single finals had to quit the game due to a serious injury on her knee and so India came 3rd with China (of course) ranking 1st and 2nd. I was really sad to see the Chinese player giving up the match and I think it must have been terrible for her to do so. Taking part in the Olympics is an accomplishment on its own and undergoing a serious injury that forces you to quit them must be a very sad moment for any athlete.
Watching the Victory Ceremonies was honestly moving and reminded me that back in ancient Greece an athlete succeeding at the Olympics was considered a Semi-God which unfortunately is not the case anymore. Those kids, because I seriously believe they are just kids, put their soul in all that, try hard exceeding their personal limits and struggle to stand on that podium just to make their country and people proud. Whenever an athlete stands on the top level of that podium he is never alone…a whole nation stands right besides him or her and perhaps we should not forget who they are and what they have done as quickly as we usually do.
To give you a small taste of the Victory Ceremony I shot this video for you. Hope you enjoy it!