sighhhh....we are pinning our only China Olympic medal hope on a
China FT 
...xia suey
ahhh.... Singaporeans!
Olympics: Team Singapore leaves for Beijing to begin
medal quest
By Patwant Singh, Channel
NewsAsia | Posted: 02 August 2008 1555
hrs
SINGAPORE: Team Singapore's mission at the Beijing
Olympics is to break Singapore's 48-year-old medal drought.
The contingent representing Singapore at the Olympic Games left for
the Chinese capital on Saturday morning. Despite the very early
hour, hundreds of students and cheerleaders greeted the VIPs and
athletes at Changi Airport's Terminal 3.
Those taking part in table tennis, shooting and swimming were part
of the official send-off.
Singapore's sailors are already in China, while the rest of the
contingent who are taking part in badminton and athletics will
leave later in the week.
Singapore is confident of returning with a medal
as it believes it is sending the best prepared contingent to the
Games.
The republic's top female paddler, Li Jiawei, showed up with dark
shades at the airport as she was suffering from a sore eye that
would heal in two or three days.
The sportswoman said she is ready for the challenge ahead.
"It's normal to have pressure. After all these years, I am used to
it. This is due to people's expectations of me. I hope I won't
disappoint this time round," she said.
And Singapore officials are wary of raising expectations.
Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also the president of the
Singapore National Olympic Council, said: "We must hope for the
best and put our support behind them. As you know in any
competition, what happens on that day is what counts. Many, many
things come together – the temperament of the athletes, how the
other athletes are doing...
"What we want to do is to put our support behind them. All the team
officials are behind them, Singaporeans are behind them and we just
want to cheer them on."
- CNA/so
