(BEIJING, 22 August) -- Day two of the Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics competition saw 10 individual finalists and eight group finalist surface as the qualification round wrapped up on Friday, August 22, at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.
Individual All-Around
European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia enters the All-Around finals with the highest score from the qualification round (74.075).
She impressed judges with the two most difficult routines on day two of the competition, which saw gymnasts perform with Ribbon and Clubs.
Kanaeva's teammate Olga Kapranova, a decorated world champion, followed with a final All-Around qualification score of 72.900 points.
If either Russian gymnast wins the All-Around finals, it will be the third consecutive All-Around Olympic gold medal for the country.
Ukraine's Anna Bessonova rounds off the top three She is the only Athens 2004 medalist competing at Beijing 2008 and performed two powerful routines, earning her a score of 72.825 points.
The other seven finalists are Inna Zhukova of Belarus, Aliya Yussupova of Kazakhstan, Natalia Godunko of Ukraine, Aliya Garayeva of Azerbaijan, Irina Risenzon of Israel, Simona Peycheva of Bulgaria and Almudena Cid of Spain.
Group All-Around
Belarus held on to the highest score in day two of competition, which saw groups perform with two Clubs and three Hoops. Their performance to Bolero earned the current Group world silver medalist 34.950 points.
Russia improved their standings and head into finals behind Belarus with 34.700 points. The world champions and Athens 2004 and Sydney 2000 gold medalists struggled during day one of qualifications, but managed to impress the judges with a near-flawless routine on Friday, August 22.
The Chinese group gymnasts were not as precise as they were in the first day of qualifications but managed to finish in third place with 34.525 points. Athens 2004 silver and bronze medalists Italy and Bulgaria rounded off the top five.
The last three finalists are Ukraine, Israel and Azerbaijan.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Rhythmic Gymnastics Day 3 Preview: Show-stopping Individual finals
(BEIJING, August 22) -- Day three of the Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics competition will be a show-stopping day as attractive and graceful Individual All-Around finalists will put on their finest displays at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.
The ten highest ranked gymnasts from the qualification round enter the finals, where they will perform four routines with Rope, Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon. The points earned in the previous round do not carry over.
European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia was the top qualifier ahead of her teammate and decorated former world champion, Olga Kapranova. They are bidding for the third consecutive Olympic gold for their country.
Ukraine's Anna Bessonova rounds off the top three in the qualification round. As the Athens bronze winner and reigning world champion, she is favored to make the podium again in Beijing.
Inna Zhukova of Belarus is also liable to gain a medal. She placed seventh at Athens and finished fourth at the 2007 World Championships.
The ten highest ranked gymnasts from the qualification round enter the finals, where they will perform four routines with Rope, Hoop, Clubs and Ribbon. The points earned in the previous round do not carry over.
European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva of Russia was the top qualifier ahead of her teammate and decorated former world champion, Olga Kapranova. They are bidding for the third consecutive Olympic gold for their country.
Ukraine's Anna Bessonova rounds off the top three in the qualification round. As the Athens bronze winner and reigning world champion, she is favored to make the podium again in Beijing.
Inna Zhukova of Belarus is also liable to gain a medal. She placed seventh at Athens and finished fourth at the 2007 World Championships.
Day 15 Preview: Every moment a medal
Marianne Steinbrecher of Brazil hits the ball over Ma Yunwen.
(BEIJING, August 22) -- Tomorrow is the second to last day of the Beijing Games, when the second-highest number of medals in one day will be awarded. For the first time in these Olympics, every event is a medal event.
Also exciting about tomorrow is that team sports are finally peaking. Preliminary round robins, quarterfinals and semifinals -- these teams have fought through days of competition to put it all on the line in one final match.
Before giving these hard-working teams their due attention, let's look at the last big day of multiple-medal action at the National Stadium, where seven medals will be awarded on the penultimate day of the Athletics competition.
Bernard Lagat of the United States is looking to repeat his Men's 5000 meter victory from the World Championships last year, but if Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia wins the event after already having won the 10,000m, he will become the second Ethiopian to achieve the feat.
In the Women's High Jump, reigning world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia will target her first Olympic gold and the world record of 2.09m, but defending Olympic champion Elena Slesarenko of Russia could stand in her way.
The Women's 4 x 400m Relay qualifiers saw the United States team through the fastest, and they still might call upon experienced relay runner Deedee Trotter to assist them in defending their Olympic title in tomorrow's final. Jamaica and Belarus will be hot on US heels in this event.
The US team in the Men's 4 x 400m Relay is strong apart, with a team including three medalists from the Men's 400m final (LaShawn Merritt, Jeremy Wariner and David Neville), but it remains to be seen if they can also dominate as a team. Great Britain and the Bahamas were the fastest qualifiers into the final.
Finals in the Men's Javelin Throw, Men's 800m and Women's 1500m will also be contested in the last day of big medal competition in Athletics.
Tomorrow is the final day of Diving, and the whole world is waiting to see if China can sweep all the Diving golds in Beijing. In the Men's 10m Platform, German diver Sascha Klein may be all that stands in China's way. Klein is the World No. 1 in this event. He won a surprise gold at the 16th FINA World Cup at the Water Cube earlier this year by fending off strong Chinese divers.
Zhou Luxin and Huo Liang, meanwhile, are out to stage a one-two finish for China. World No. 2 Zhou settled for second at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, as well as the World Cup in Beijing this year. Huo recently won gold in the Men's 10m Synchronized Platform event with teammate Lin Yue.
In another Chinese-dominated sport, the only man standing in the way of China taking all three Men's Singles Table Tennis medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. World No. 1 Wang Hao will face Persson in the semifinals. Persson lost in the Sydney bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China, who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
The other semifinal match is between two Chinese players, World No. 2 Ma Lin and World No. 3 Wang Liqin, and the Table Tennis Men's Singles gold medal match between the winners will take place at 8:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), right after the 7:30 bronze match.
Many finals in team sports events include a rematch between two countries that fought for gold in previous Olympics, and Women's Basketball is no exception. For the third Games in a row, Australia will try and top the United States for the gold. While the Australians have the indomitable center Lauren Jackson, the tournament's second-highest scorer, the United States captain Lisa Leslie is looking for her fourth consecutive gold medal. Both teams enter this final having won all seven of their games. They will tip-off in the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium at 10:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8), after China and Russia compete in the bronze medal match at 7:30 p.m.
Men's Baseball ends tomorrow with Japan and the United States playing for bronze, and Cuba and the Republic of Korea vying for gold. Japan defeated the United States 4-2 in extra innings when they met in the preliminaries, and has only finished outside the medal standings once in Olympic history when it finished fourth at Sydney.
Cuba is the defending gold medalist, with three golds and one silver in its history. If the ROK wins gold, it will be the third team to remain undefeated throughout an Olympic Baseball tournament. Cuba has done this twice, once in 1992 and again in 1996. The Baseball bronze match is at 10:00 a.m. local time, while the gold medal game happens at night at 6:00 p.m. at the Wukesong Baseball Field.
Brazil will play the United States in the Women's Volleyball final, while China faces Cuba in the bronze medal match at the Capital Gymnasium. This is the first time Brazil and the United States are playing each in the tournament, and it's Brazil's first Olympic final. The Brazilian players are led by Sheilla Castro and Marianne Steinbrecher as their main force of attack. The US team's Logan Tom is the top scorer in the tournament, with 81 spikes, 19 blocks and eight service aces. The gold medal game starts at 8:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8).
In Men's Hockey, the Netherlands will play Australia in a bronze medal game that is also a rematch of the Athens final (which Australia won), before Germany and Spain compete for the gold at 8:30 p.m. These two teams played each other in a pool A game, which Germany won 1-0, but with a gold medal on the line this game will be hard-fought on both sides. Spain has the ability to upstage world champions Germany, which they showed by beating defending champion Australia 3-2 in the semifinal after being down 0-2.
With Men's Football, Olympic gold medals keep seesawing between South America and Africa in the last three Olympic finals, so it is no surprise Nigeria and Argentina will be facing off tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. at the National Stadium. In the semifinals, Argentina beat Brazil 3-0, while Nigeria defeated Belgium 4-1. This is a rematch of the Atlanta gold medal match, which Nigeria won 3-2.
Women's Handball teams will compete in the event's first medal matches tomorrow. Norway and Russia have dominated the Women's competition, and they will play for gold at 3:45 p.m. at the National Indoor Stadium, while the Republic of Korea will compete against Hungary for the bronze medal at 1:30 p.m.
Although it might not be the first event that comes to mind when one thinks of team sports, Synchronized Swimming ends tomorrow with eight teams performing their Free Routines for the Team Event medals. Russia is looking to go two-for-two with their second Synchronized Swimming gold medal in Beijing, and they enter this competition in the lead after receiving the highest Technical Routine score on August 22. Russian duo Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova, two of the eight team members, already won gold in the Duet competition.
Russia has won gold at the past two Olympic Games and the past five world championships. The team's strength is, well, its strength, which allows them to perform throws and lifts beyond the capabilities of other teams. Characterized by the team's creativity, Spain currently trails Russia 0.583 points..
Along with Synchronized Swimming, Canoe/Kayak ends tomorrow, and the Beijing Olympics say goodbye to all medal events that take place in or on the water.
In total, six gold medals will be contested in Canoe/Kayak tomorrow, and many of the same paddlers from Friday's finals in the 1000 meter events will compete in the 500 meter races. K1 1000m gold medalist Tim Brabants of Great Britain, silver medalist Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway, bronze medalist Ken Wallace of Australia will all meet again in the K1 500m final. In the C1 500m, Spain's David Cal will hope to improve upon his C1 1000m silver medal finish the previous day
Julien Absalon of France
In the Men's K2 500m, defending champions Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskötter of Germany are favored to win, as are China's Yang Wenjun and Meng Guanliang, the Athens gold winners in the Men's K2 500m.
The defending champion pair in the Women's K2 500m, Katalin Kovacs and Natasa Janic, is favored to repeat a gold performance, but the duo must watch out for Germany's Fanny Fischer and Nicole Reinhardt, who surpassed them in the K4 500m final.
Finals for the Women's K1 500m and Men's C2 500m will also take place tomorrow, and all races begin at 3:30 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8) at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park.
In the one and only day of the Cycling-Mountain Bike event, 50 men and 30 women will have to face added curves, drops and rocks on the difficult Laoshan course. One major change from the last Olympic Games is that cyclists may change bicycle parts with the help of mechanics in designated zones along the course, and carry tools and equipment.
The leading favorite in the Men's event is defending Olympic champion Julien Absalon of France, but the course changes could favor bikers who are better handlers like Swiss Christoph Sauser.
On the Women's side, defending Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway has struggled with health problems, perhaps clearing the way for bikers like current world champion Margarita Fullana of Spain or Athens silver medalist Canadian Marie-Helene Premont.
In Rhythmic Gymnastics, Russia is looking for its third consecutive Olympic gold. Tomorrow is the Individual All-Around finals, and two Russian gymnasts, European All-Around champion Evgeniya Kanaeva and Olga Kapranova, enter with the highest scores from qualifications.
Finally, two combat sports wind down tomorrow, with Boxing awarding its first set of gold medals and Taekwondo giving out its last two.
Five gold medal bouts will take place in Boxing tomorrow at the Workers' Gymnasium, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (UTC/GMT +8). Men's fly (51kg), Men's Feather (57kg), Men's Light Welter (64kg), Men's Middle (75kg) and Men's Heavy (91kg) weight classes will compete.
In Taekwondo, the heavyweight classes enter the stage for the event's last day. In the Women's +67kg weight class, China's Chen Zhong, nicknamed "Taekwondo Queen," is a favorite and looking for her third consecutive gold medal.
In the Men's +80kg weight class, reigning world heavyweight champion Daba Modibo Keita of Mali could be set to win his country's first-ever Olympic medal, and it could be a gold.
That's day 15, when nine events will give their last medal, six events will award their first gold, and 32 medals total will be handed out in Beijing's final medal push.
Men's Beach Volleyball Day 10 Review: No. 2 Seeds crowned
(BEIJING, August 23) -- In a thrilling final match, No. 2 seeds Philip Dalhausser and Todd Rogers of the United States claimed the gold medal by defeating Fabio Magalhaes and Marcio Araujo of Brazil 2-1 (23-21, 17-21, 15-4) in the Men's Olympic Beach Volleyball competition, one day after another US team, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, claimed the title in the Women's competition.
Throughout the match, Dalhausser impressed fans with his extraordinary blocking ability, especially in the deciding set, when he stunned the opponents with three consecutive blocks.
Araujo acknowledged the role Dalhausser played in deciding the outcome of the match:
"Phil (Dalhausser) was more successful today but Fabio (Magalhaes) also blocked brilliantly in their matches. We had two or three matches in this tournament that were won by Fabio's blocks. We have the three best blockers in the world seated at this table, but today was Phil's (Dalhausser) day."
The bronze medal went to Athens 2004 gold medalists Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, who overpowered Georgian pair Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes in the bronze medal match, with an unusually large margin in both sets.
Despite losing the last semifinal match and the opportunity of defending the title, Santos and Rego performed impressively in this match, while Terceiro and Gomes failed to deliver convincing performances to prove they deserve their place among the last four in the tournament, and the match ended in Santos and Rego's overwhelming 2-0 victory (21-15, 21-10).
Throughout the match, Dalhausser impressed fans with his extraordinary blocking ability, especially in the deciding set, when he stunned the opponents with three consecutive blocks.
Araujo acknowledged the role Dalhausser played in deciding the outcome of the match:
"Phil (Dalhausser) was more successful today but Fabio (Magalhaes) also blocked brilliantly in their matches. We had two or three matches in this tournament that were won by Fabio's blocks. We have the three best blockers in the world seated at this table, but today was Phil's (Dalhausser) day."
The bronze medal went to Athens 2004 gold medalists Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego of Brazil, who overpowered Georgian pair Jorge Terceiro and Renato Gomes in the bronze medal match, with an unusually large margin in both sets.
Despite losing the last semifinal match and the opportunity of defending the title, Santos and Rego performed impressively in this match, while Terceiro and Gomes failed to deliver convincing performances to prove they deserve their place among the last four in the tournament, and the match ended in Santos and Rego's overwhelming 2-0 victory (21-15, 21-10).
Wang Hao of China advances to Table Tennis final
Wang Hao hits a return against Jorgen Persson.
Wang Hao of China beat Jorgen Persson of Sweden 4-1 in the Men's Table Tennis Single semifinal and advanced to the final.
Wang Hao celebrates a score.
Jorgen Persson hits a return against Wang Hao.
Jorgen Persson hits a return against Wang Hao.
Wang Hao (R) celebrates with Liu Guoliang, head coach of Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
Photos: German Spitz wins Women's Cross Country Mountain Bike gold
Sabine Spitz poses with the gold medal.
Sabine Spitz of Germany won the Women's Cross Country Mountain Bike gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Saturday.
Spitz clocked in 1:45.11 to win the title. Maja Wloszczowska of Poland, 0.41 seconds behind, took silver and Russian Irina Kalentyeva finished third.
Sabine Spitz competes.
Sabine Spitz competes.
Cyclists compete.
Sabine Spitz celebrates her victory.
Sabine Spitz celebrates her victory.
Wang and Ma set for gold
Wang Hao celebrates winning a point.
(BEIJING, August 23) -- Two Chinese players, top seed Wang Hao and second seed Ma Lin will meet in the Table Tennis Men's Singles final which secured China's clean sweep of all four Table Tennis gold medals.
World No.1 Wang Hao met the Swedish veteran Jorgen Persson in the first match of the Men's Singles semifinals. Persson gave an outstanding performance but Wang was unbeatable. Nicknamed "Hurricane," Wang claimed victory 4-1.
Ma Lin celebrates victory.
World No.2 Ma Lin met his teammate Wang Liqin who has beaten him twice in the World Championships final before. But this time, Ma triumphed. Wang failed to deal with Ma's serve effectively and lost several easy shots. Wang was not in his best form throughout the match. Ma, however, entered form early on and didn't let Wang catch his weaker backhand. With a 4-2, Ma headed into the final to fight for the Olympic gold that has eluded his resume.
Ma Lin will play Wang Hao in the final to be held at 8:30 Saturday evening (UTC/GMT+8). Wang Liqin will contend for the bronze medal against Jorgen Persson an hour earlier than the gold medal match.
Chinese divers aim to make history
(BEIJING, August 23) - China's young diver Huo Liang, 19, recovered from his eighth-place finish in the preliminary round to claim the top spot in the semifinal of the Men's 10m Platform, 17.75 points higher than the second-place finisher Matthew Mitcham of Australia. Huo's teammate, preliminary-round leader Zhou Luxin came in third with a total of 526.20. World No. 1 in Men's Platform Sascha Klein of Germany fell to the bottom of the field after he missed three of six dives.
Diving specialist in synchronized 10m Platform Huo Liang overwhelmed the field with six near-perfect dives, five of which were awarded more than 90 points. Huo Liang clinched the gold medal in the synchronized platform event with Lin Yue earlier in the Games.
World No. 3 Matthew Mitcham came back from a one year break to wrap up his semifinal with a 5255B, which got 106.40, the highest point of the semifinal. He won the first place in this year's FINA Diving Grand Prix in USA.
Huo's compatriot, Zhou Luxin, world No. 2 in this event, entered this event as a hot favorite. Zhou led the preliminary round. And he finished in first after the fifth round. But he missed his last dive because of bad entry, falling into third.
World No. 1 Sascha Klein, who is expected to be the biggest threat to China's aim for a gold sweep in all eight Diving events, failed to make the final because he missed three out of six dives.
Twelve of the eighteen divers qualified for the final, which takes place tonight at 8:00 p.m.
Men's 10m platform, 12 final qualifiers
1.Huo Liang 549.95
2 Australia -- Matthew Mitcham 532.20
3 China -- Zhou Luxin 526.20
4 Russia -- Gleb Galperin 508.95
5 US -- David Boudia 491.55
6 Australia -- Mathew Helm 485.20
7 US -- Thomas Finchum 474.95
8 Great Britain -- Thomas Daley 458.60
9 Mexico -- Rommel Pacheco 453.80
10 Germany -- Patrick Hausding 453.30
11 Cuba -- Oliva Jose Antonio Guerra 438.80
12 Columbia -- Juan Guillermo Uran 436.10
Diving specialist in synchronized 10m Platform Huo Liang overwhelmed the field with six near-perfect dives, five of which were awarded more than 90 points. Huo Liang clinched the gold medal in the synchronized platform event with Lin Yue earlier in the Games.
World No. 3 Matthew Mitcham came back from a one year break to wrap up his semifinal with a 5255B, which got 106.40, the highest point of the semifinal. He won the first place in this year's FINA Diving Grand Prix in USA.
Huo's compatriot, Zhou Luxin, world No. 2 in this event, entered this event as a hot favorite. Zhou led the preliminary round. And he finished in first after the fifth round. But he missed his last dive because of bad entry, falling into third.
World No. 1 Sascha Klein, who is expected to be the biggest threat to China's aim for a gold sweep in all eight Diving events, failed to make the final because he missed three out of six dives.
Twelve of the eighteen divers qualified for the final, which takes place tonight at 8:00 p.m.
Men's 10m platform, 12 final qualifiers
1.Huo Liang 549.95
2 Australia -- Matthew Mitcham 532.20
3 China -- Zhou Luxin 526.20
4 Russia -- Gleb Galperin 508.95
5 US -- David Boudia 491.55
6 Australia -- Mathew Helm 485.20
7 US -- Thomas Finchum 474.95
8 Great Britain -- Thomas Daley 458.60
9 Mexico -- Rommel Pacheco 453.80
10 Germany -- Patrick Hausding 453.30
11 Cuba -- Oliva Jose Antonio Guerra 438.80
12 Columbia -- Juan Guillermo Uran 436.10
Spitz powers over hills to gold
Sabine Spitz celebrates her victory.
(BEIJING, August 23) -- Sabine Spitz of Germany attacked in the first of six laps to open a winning gap and grab gold in Women's Cross Country Mountain Bike on Saturday, August 23. A world champion in 2003 and bronze medalist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the 36-year-old stopped at the finish line and carried her bike over her head to win in 1:45:11.
Twenty-four-year-old Maja Wloszczowska of Poland, pulled away from a four-rider chase group in the second lap and narrowed the gap between Spitz with a final-lap attack, but settled into silver 41 seconds off the pace in 1:45:52.
Irina Kalentyeva of Russia won bronze in 1:46:28, just nine seconds ahead of Catharine Pendrel of Canada after the pair battled over the last two laps for the final medal.
Spitz held off a late surge from Wloszczowska to become the first German to win gold in Mountain Biking since it was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1996.
Heat and the endless series of drops, climbs and technical rock sections on the 4.5-kilometre loop wreaked havoc on the 30-rider field. Only 18 riders of 30 starters finished; eight riders were lapped and four did not finish.
Several pre-race favorites quickly fell out of contention. Marie-Helene Premont of Canada, silver medalist at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, was an early withdrawal followed by defending Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa of Norway and Margarita Fullana of Spain, the three-time world champion and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games bronze medalist.
Local favorite Liu Ying crashed in the first 50 meters and lost her chain. She battled back to join Kalentyeva and Pendrel to forge a chasing threesome at 1:15 behind Spitz after three laps, but later faded to 12th.
Ren Chengyuan, the only Chinese rider to have won a World Cup event, battled to finish fifth at 2:29 back with a strong final loop.
Sabine Spitz competes.
Sabine Spitz poses with the gold medal.
Ma Lin will meet Wang Hao in Men's Table Tennis Singles final
Ma Lin celebrates after defeating Wang Liqin.
Ma Lin beat teammate Wang Liqin 4-2 to enter the Table Tennis Men's Singles final. Ma will face Wang Hao in the gold medal match.
Ma Lin reacts after a rally.
Ma Lin serves a ball during the match.
Ma Lin gestures during the match.
Ma Lin smashing a ball
Wang Linqin returning a ball
Saei wins gold medal in Men's -80kg Taekwondo
Hadi Saei celebrates his victory.
(BEIJING, August 22) -- Iranian veteran Hadi Saei won his second Olympic gold medal on Friday by defeating Italian fighter Mauro Sarmiento in the final of the Men's -80kg division in the Olympic Taekwondo competition.
Sarmiento earned four points in the first round with a two-point offensive kick and a two-point defensive kick, while Saei only managed two points.
In the second round, Saei's two defensive kicks helped him tie the score at 4-4, while Sarmiento failed to score a single point.
In the third round, Sarmiento still could not find a way of getting points from Saei, who scored two points to secure his 6-4 victory and the gold medal.
Cuban and Mongolian boxers to contest final of bantamweight class
(BEIJING, August 22) -- The gold medal bout of the Olympic Boxing competition's bantamweight class will be between Yankiel Leon Alarcon of Cuba and Badar-Uugan Enkhbat of Mongolia after both boxers won their semifinal bouts.
Leon Alarcon defeated Bruno Julie of Mauritius 7-5. Despite the loss, Godavarisingh Rajcoomar, the President of the Mauritian Boxing Association, was happy about Julie winning a bronze medal.
"It's great because this is the first ever Olympic medal for Mauritius in any sport. We came here with just two boxers, and it's a great achievement for such a small country, like Mauritius, which is in the middle of the Indian Ocean," said Rajcooma.
In the other semifinal, Enkhbat became the second Mongolian boxer to enter a gold medal bout when he defeated Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova 15-2.
The first Mongolian boxer to enter a boxing final was Serdamba Purevdorj, who will compete in the final of the light-flyweight class against China's Zou Shiming.
After the bout, Enkhbat's coach Bandi Damdinjav warned that Leon Alarcon would be a tough opponent in the final.
"He (Enkhbat) will have a tough fight because the Cuban boxer is a very good attacker and a tough defender," said Damdinjav.
As a loser of a boxing semifinal, Gojan will also be awarded a bronze medal.
Leon Alarcon defeated Bruno Julie of Mauritius 7-5. Despite the loss, Godavarisingh Rajcoomar, the President of the Mauritian Boxing Association, was happy about Julie winning a bronze medal.
"It's great because this is the first ever Olympic medal for Mauritius in any sport. We came here with just two boxers, and it's a great achievement for such a small country, like Mauritius, which is in the middle of the Indian Ocean," said Rajcooma.
In the other semifinal, Enkhbat became the second Mongolian boxer to enter a gold medal bout when he defeated Veaceslav Gojan of Moldova 15-2.
The first Mongolian boxer to enter a boxing final was Serdamba Purevdorj, who will compete in the final of the light-flyweight class against China's Zou Shiming.
After the bout, Enkhbat's coach Bandi Damdinjav warned that Leon Alarcon would be a tough opponent in the final.
"He (Enkhbat) will have a tough fight because the Cuban boxer is a very good attacker and a tough defender," said Damdinjav.
As a loser of a boxing semifinal, Gojan will also be awarded a bronze medal.
Chinese Guo wins Table Tennis bronze
Guo Yue of China competes.
Women's Singles bronze medal in the Olympic Table Tennis tournament on Friday, August 22. Wang Nan, 2000 Olympic Singles champion, will take on defending Olympic champion Zhang Yining in the all-Chinese final late Friday night.
Guo Yue of China competes.
Guo Yue of China competes.
Li Jia Wei of Singapore plays a shot.
Li Jia Wei of Singapore plays a shot.
Guo Yue of China celebrates.
Hadi Saei of Iran wins Men's 80kg Taekwondo gold
Mauro Sarmiento (blue) fights with Hadi Saei.
Hadi Saei of Iran claimed the Men's 80kg Taekwondo title at the Beijing Olympics, beating Mauro Sarmiento of Italy in the final.
The bronze medals went to Steven Lopez from the United States and Zhu Guo from China.
Hadi Saei celebrates his victory.
Hadi Saei performs a somersault to winning the gold medal.
Table Tennis Day 11 Preview: China seeks clean sweep of Table Tennis gold
(BEIJING, August 22) -- China starts as the clear favorites to add to their gold medal tally as the final places in the Men's Singles competition in the Table Tennis events are decided.
The only man standing in the way of China's clean sweep of all three medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. He has rolled back the years to reach the final day of action in the Peking University Gymnasium.
Persson had a chance of winning an Olympic medal eight years ago in Sydney. But he lost in the bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
Yet again, Liu Guoliang will be trying to cause the Swede's downfall. He will be sitting courtside as the coach to Wang Hao, World No.1, who Persson will face in the semifinals.
In the lower half of the draw it is an all China contest with Ma Lin, seeded No.2, facing Wang Liqin, seeded No.3. The meeting of these two is a callback of the Men's Singles final at the 2007 World Championships where Wang Liqin recovered from a 3-0 deficit to claim victory over Ma Lin. Wang has won more of their previous world ranking tournaments over Ma.
The two losing semifinalists will compete for the bronze medal, for the winners it is gold or silver.
The only man standing in the way of China's clean sweep of all three medals is the 42-year-old Jorgen Persson of Sweden. He has rolled back the years to reach the final day of action in the Peking University Gymnasium.
Persson had a chance of winning an Olympic medal eight years ago in Sydney. But he lost in the bronze medal match to Liu Guoliang of China who is now the head coach of the Chinese Men's Table Tennis team.
Yet again, Liu Guoliang will be trying to cause the Swede's downfall. He will be sitting courtside as the coach to Wang Hao, World No.1, who Persson will face in the semifinals.
In the lower half of the draw it is an all China contest with Ma Lin, seeded No.2, facing Wang Liqin, seeded No.3. The meeting of these two is a callback of the Men's Singles final at the 2007 World Championships where Wang Liqin recovered from a 3-0 deficit to claim victory over Ma Lin. Wang has won more of their previous world ranking tournaments over Ma.
The two losing semifinalists will compete for the bronze medal, for the winners it is gold or silver.
Women's 4 x 400m Relay first round
Christine Ohuruogu (R) of Great Britain competes with Indira Terrero of Cuba.
The Women's 4 x 400m Relay first round was held at the National Stadium on August 22, 2008.
The Russian team (R) competes with the team from Great Britain.
German runners celebrate.
China's Wang Jinping (R) competes.
Hwang of ROK wins Women's -67kg Taekwondo gold
Karine Sergerie (blue) fights with Hwang Kyung-seon.
Hwang Kyung-seon from the ROK beat Karine Sergerie of Canada to win gold in the Women's -67kg Taekwondo at the Beijing Olympics. The bronze medals went to Patience Gwladys Epangue of France and Sandra Saric of Croatia.
Karine Sergerie (blue) fights with Hwang Kyung-seon.
Hwang Kyung-seon celebrates with her coach.
Hwang Kyung-seon waves to spectators.
Greece beats Germany in Water Polo semifinal
Moritz Oeler of Germany attempts a shot on goal against goalie Alexander Tchigir of Germany.
The Water Polo semifinal between Germany and Greece took place at the Ying Tung Natatorium on day fourteen of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Greece beat Germany 13-9.
Georgios Afroudakis (R) of Greece fights for the ball against Tobias Kreuzmann of Germany.
Andreas Schlotterbeck (C) of Germany fights for the ball against Dimitrios Mazis (L) and Dimitrios Miteloudis of Greece.
Marko Savic (R) of Germany looks to move the ball against Christos Afroudakis of Greece.
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