It was Day Seven of the Olympics yesterday, 08 14 08, as China surged ahead of the gold medal tally with 26 total golds with the USA staying at 12 golds behind with 14. The overall medal count shifted back to the USA after a very strong medal run today shooting them up to 46 overall medals as opposed to China’s 41. Germany solidified their standing in 3rd place with 8 golds, while Korea is still tied with Italy at 4th and 5th place with 6 golds each.
The Men’s Semifinals matches were all three-setters, and still had the most consistent player this year reach yet another final. 2nd seeded Rafael Nadal of Spain continued
his unbelievable streak of great performances by beating 3rd seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia in 3 sets 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. Again, Djokovic fails to beat Nadal and it is beyond any doubt that this will be Rafael’s year and inevitably be able to overtake Roger Federer as the World’s number 1 in Tennis. He will be meeting 12th seeded Fernando Gonzales of Chile in the Finals, as he beat out Roger Federer’s conqueror, 8th seeded James Blake of the USA in a riveting match 4-6, 7-5, 11-9. It’s a bitter-sweet end to Blake’s inspiring performance in the Olympics as he failed to follow through on his monumental victory yesterday over the top seeded Federer. And in the lone remaining Women’s Quarterfinals match today, 7th seeded Dinara Safina of Russia upset 2nd seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to move into a Semifinal date with the tournament’s surprise, China’s Li Na, who upset Venus Williams of the USA yesterday. The other semifinals match is between two Russians, the 11th seeded Vera Zvonareva will go up against the very consistent 6th seeded Elena Dementieva.
The Semifinals of Badminton started today for the men’s and women’s singles events as well as the mixed doubles event, while the Bronze and Gold medal games for women’s doubles concluded today
with two hometown pairs on top. In the Women’s semis, top seeded Xie Xingfang took 3 sets to defeat fellow Chinese and 3rd seed Lu Lan 7-21, 21-10, 21-12 to advance to the gold medal match. Her opponent will be another Chinese as 2nd seeded Zhang Ning defeated Indonesia’s Maria Kristin Yulianti 21-15, 21-15 to set up an all-Chinese gold medal matchup. And in the Men’s semis, the top two seeds will meet in the finals tomorrow night. Number 1 seed Lin Dan of China needed only 2 sets to beat his fellow countryman and 4th seed Chen Jin 21-12, 21-18. His opponent will be the favorite to win the gold, and 2nd seeded Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who needed 3 sets to beat my darkhorse Lee Hyun-il of Korea 21-18, 13-21, 21-13 
In Men’s doubles Semifinals action, my favorite pair of Cai Yun/Fu Haifeng of China beat the Korean pair of Lee Jaejin/Hwang Jiman 22-20, 21-8 to set up a gold medal match date with the top seeded pair from Indonesia. Markis Kido/Hendra Setiawan fought off the determined pair from Denmark in Lars Paaske/Jonas Rasmussen 21-19, 21-17. The gold medal match will be tomorrow. In the Women’s doubles medal round, 3rd seeded Chinese pair of Wei Yili/Zhang Yawen beat the unseeded Japanese pair of Maeda Miyuki/Suetsuna Satoko 21-17, 21-10 to take the bronze. And in the gold medal match, 2nd seeded Du Jing/Yu Yang of China needed only 2 sets to beat the 4th seeded Korean team of Lee Hyojung/Lee Kyungwon 21-15, 21-13 to take the coveted gold.
Highlights: DAY 8: Thursday 08 15 08 (697MB)
Tennis Day Seven: Semifinals/Quarterfinals Results Summary
Tennis Event: Complete Schedule and Match Stats
Badminton Event: Olympic Seedings List
Badminton Day Seven: Semifinals and Women’s Doubles Medal Results
Badminton Event: Complete Schedule and Match Stats
