Table Tennis and Baseball Events I Attended

This was the match right in front of the front row seats that we had. The only problem with the seats was the railing in front of us that was at eye level. It was there to prevent anyone from falling into the pit. We had to watch the games between the middle and top railings.

These are just 2 of over one million Chinese volunteers at the Games.

There were beautiful sculptures outside most of the venues. This is table tennis doubles.

Steps leading to and from the table tennis venue.

Dereck and I attended table tennis. We saw men's and women's singles, doubles, and team competitions.

I call this the ping pong pit. There were 8 matches occurring simultaneously.

This was an amazing match. German vs. Poland. The gal in the aqua blue who is serving, had only one hand. Her right arm only went just below her elbow. She was an inspiration to all. Unfortunately she lost by the slimmest of margins. She however won her doubles games.

It was at this venue that I realized that the Chinese crowds could "will" their countrymen to win. In the Chinese vs. Australia men's singles team matches the Australian team seem to jump out in the lead only to lose by 2. One Chinese man was behind 1-7 and came back to win 11-9 after the Chinese began cheering for him. They wouldn't all cheer at the same time, they were take turns cheering from different sections of the gym. This always gave the Chinese competitors that extra boost of positive energy. It was something to see and feel.

I attended a baseball game for Chinese Taipei and The Netherlands. This was a hit for a double.

Chinese Taipei won 5-0. This is the traditional high five's after the game.

There are 2 baseball fields just next door to the basketball gymnasium.

After each game, there is an army (about 20) of grounds keepers that were preparing for the night game in which the USA was scheduled to play.

They shovel up the chalk lines and then re chalk them.

View of basketball venue from the bleachers in the baseball stadium.