Beijing to mark countdown with 10,000 paddlers

BEIJING: Ten thousand Beijingers will play table tennis on 1,000 tables in Tiananmen Square to mark the one-year countdown to the 2008 Olympics on Aug 8, local media reported yesterday.

After trials held in each of the city's districts and counties, the chosen players will compete in front of the electronic countdown board outside the China National Museum, Municipal Sports Bureau chief Sun Kanglin told Beijing Radio.

Table tennis, known as ping pong, is China's national ball sport with participation levels far outstripping those of soccer or basketball.

Beijing Olympic organisers have not yet revealed their plans to mark one-year before the opening ceremony but a million Beijing citizens performed traditional Tai Chi morning exercises in the city's parks to mark the two-year countdown last year. – Reuters