The much awaited event of the year, The Olympics, has finally arrived with China as the host and the inauguration ceremony kicked off at 8:08:08 on 8/08/08 in the Bird's Nest stadium in a remarkable way with a spectacular display of fireworks and acrobatics. Olympics is the right occasion for the world class sports person to show case their skills and to set new world records. It is where one could see the stars in different fields in a single ground. It is the period when patriotism is at its high in the hearts of both the participants and the spectators. Games like this, really help in developing team spirit and establish a good relationship between the participating countries.

With Beijing being the host city, along with Shanghai and Hong Kong as the co host, every thing has been set up and the time to test the China's organisational skills has come and its a golden opportunity for China to add feather to its cap if it successfully hosted the event, which is stated to be the highest budget Olympics. And whether China could top the medal tally surpassing US also remains as a matter of concern to most of the people.

Nothing begins without stirring controversies and Beijing Olympics is of no exception. There were violent protests in Tibet, which is seeking autonomy from China, and it tried to get the attention of the countries world wide. And then followed the disruption of the torch relay in various cities including major cities like London and Paris by the supporters of Tibet.. It was the turn of some political leaders to snub the invitation for the opening ceremony, stating lack of freedom and rights to the people of Tibet as the reason for their refusal of the invitation.

Then the earthquake in Sichuan province of china burdened the already tough job and China has showed resilience and now it has made a good, if not the best opening. Now the bell has rung and the games and the track events has begun, now what bothers people is the medal tally of their country. It is really sad when we think whether our country, Mother India, with 100 crore people could bag atleast a single medal. With the senior athletes already expressing their views that it is hard to expect any medal in track events as such. Can Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi pair bring laurels to our country by springing a surprise win over their top seeds? Or will Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore repeat his magic and secure one more medal? Of course, our men's hockey team failed to qualify to the Olympics. We shouldn't forget that hockey is our national game and it has once brought home a handful of gold medals.

When people dreaming to set new world records in the Olympics, participating in Olympics remains a dream for most of us. It is easy to point out the fault at the government for the inadequate funds for the games and the lack of infrastructure and the facilities available and the poor and biased selection procedure in our country. But people should also know the importance of games and the pride it gives when we win a game. We have a long way to go and several changes in the administration of the sports board has to be made and the children be encouraged to get into sports field from their budding stage.

Lets remain optimistic as of now and hope that our players bring home a couple of medals. Well I am ending my post with yet another dream, a dream day when we have a decent medal tally in the Olympics.. Hopefully my dreams will get realised one day.