The only attacks.. ..that could happen in today's Finals Rd. are some "heart attacks" from BCers (INA, KOR or DEN supporters) watching the matches..
I think August 15th (India's Independence Day?) was the target day. But thanks to the ENG team which pulled out much earlier citing inadequate security arrangements, the Indian authorities then beefed up the security to enable the WC to continue smoothly without any incidents.
Persoanlly I think they would have beefed up the security even if England had not went home, just for the press/media/concerns.. England just overeacted imop, and to me it seems like a case of predjudism against the host country (not beleiveng they can provide adequate security measuers). If everyone acted like England I am sure there would be an encouragement for more Terrorism, and threats around the globe!! /Twobeer
Well India will have a chance to check on ENG's security arrangements when the time comes for the London Olympics 2012. If IND is unhappy then, they can do likewise. Let's hope ENG will not lend themselves to criticisms just as they criticized India on this WC. But I think ENG will fortify their security since they had experienced the terrorist bombing on the same day (?) of their successful bid for hosting the Summer Olympics. Can't remember the details.
erm no, badminton isn't as popular in china. soccer and basketball still dominate., esp among the younger demo. most chinese would gladly exchange all 4 world championship gold for a gold medal in mens basketball.
Popularity is so hard to measure... Most Chineese I have talked to has rated Basket as no.1 Badminton as no.2 and Ping Pong no.3 all in front of soccer.. But it is of course hard to "measure" "popularity".. is it no of amateurs, recretaional players?!? No. of registered competing playes? No. viewers in the olympics??!? THe popularity of stars/athletes of the game? etc..etc.. But of course if you ask differnent people/organistaion/institutes to come up with a "popularity" list they will most likely come to different results /Twobeer
2002 Estimates of Badminton Participants Worldwide . twobeer ... Perhaps you have been talking mostly to Chinese who play Badminton, and/or Chinese from southern China, where Badminton is more popular. Try talking to other Chinese who do not play Badminton, and they would tell you that Badminton cannot be included in the top 3 popular sports played/watched in China. Talking about worldwide, the best way to determine how popular each sport is, is to get the estimates from their International Sports Federations. Here are some statistics (but don't know how true they are). Source: johann-sandra.com Sport 2002 Estimates of Participants Worldwide [FONT=Eras Medium ITC, Verdana](Number of Affiliated National Federations)[/FONT] Volleyball [FONT=Eras Medium ITC, Verdana] 998 Million[/FONT] (218) Basketball 400 Million (211) Table Tennis 300 Million (186) Soccer 242 Million (204) Badminton 200 Million (147) Tennis 60 Million (191) Baseball 60 Million (110) Dragon Boat Racing 50 Million (51) Team Handball 18 Million (147) Hockey 3 million (118) Judo 2.5 Million (187) Rugby 2 Million (97) Cycling 600,000 (160) Cheers... chris@ccc .
Hi Chris! As you point out is is different to whom you ask.. That is why I think it is hard to make any bold claims . It is just estimates.. The sport federations own numbers are to be taken with a grain of salt imop. The list is ovisously quite ridicilous.. Volleyball no. 1 ..yeah right.. and pigs may fly . It is obiviosu that they made the calculation in self interest to "boast" their perceived popularity IF I was a head of the Cycling federation.. I am sure I could get to the top by calculating the number of people cycling in the world.. ansd so on.. The figures from the federations are quite meningless as I see it.. The problem is that there really isn't a single definition of how to measure "popularity", but even so a question like. Which sport do you like to play the most? Which sport do you find most exciting to watch? or which sport do you spend most money on? Does not necessary produce the same results in a poll /Twobeer
