It has been awhile since I last blogged and unfortunately, my first posting since the end of the Beijing Olympics is on what seems to be the demise of a badminton pair who Malaysians thought would end  our wait for Olympic gold.

Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong crashed out of the China Masters today, bowing to the "superiority" of China's back-up pair Xu Chen-Sun Junjie 25-23, 21-19.

It is the latest in a string of defeats and, as reported in the NST last Saturday, coach Rexy Mainaky has virtually given up on Kien Keat.

If Kien Keat's flamboyance is the reason for the pair's troubles, it is a pity really for he came across as quite a level headed athlete when I first met him during the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

The BA of Malaysia has to act fast before Kien Keat wastes away.

BAM should  consider splitting Kien Keat-Boon Heong for a while and see how they perform with other partners.

With Zakry Latif-Fairizizuan Tazari also failing to live up to the hype with back-to-back defeats in the Japan Open and China Masters, BAM could experiment and who knows, Malaysia may have winning pairs again.

Zakry-Fairizizuan won the Singapore and Indonesia Opens  - in the absence of the top pairs it must be said - in June but last week's Japan Open defeat was followed today by losing to Indonesia's Hendra Gunawan-Joko Riyadi 21-12, 19-21, 8-21.

After all, the Olympics are over and the next major assignment for the players is next year's World Championships and with the year drawing to a close, now is the time for experiments.

MALAYSIA's interest in the Beijing Olympics ended the moment Che Chew Chan lost her first repechage bout today.

It was a sad end to what had been a highly anticipated day as hopes were high that Chew Chan would be able to add a second medal to the silver won by Lee Chong Wei.

But it was not to be and as Malaysia reflects on what it could have been, the fact that we won a silver after 12 years should be appreciated.

Still, sport is a continuing journey and Malaysian sights should already be on the 2012 London Olympics.

For me, it is goodbye to Beijing and the Olympics and time to start preparing for the journey home.

Cheers.

UPDATED

TAEKWONDO exponent Che Chew Chan failed to take advantage of a second chance as Malaysia's hopes of closing the Beijing Olympics campaign with a second medal crashed at the BTU Gymnasium today.

Chew Chan, eliminated in the quarter-finals, got a chance to fight in the bronze repechage when conqueror Nina Solheim of Norway advanced to the final.

Chew Chan, who won her first round bout by beating Uzbekistan's Evgeniya Karimova 4-3, faced Egypt's Noha Abd Rabo in the first round of the repechage and a win looked within reach.

But the Asian silver medallist was surprisingly slow as Noha's sharper counter attacks saw her winning 5-1.

"The pressure of wanting a bronze got to me," said Chew Chan.

Chew Chan was the last of the 33 national athletes to see action and her defeat means shuttler Lee Chong Wei's men's singles silver is the nation's only medal at the 29th Olympiad.

ANOTHER SEGMENT OF WHAT NST PIXMAN HASAN ISMAIL HAS CAPTURED SINCE ARRIVING IN BEIJING.

Lee Chong Wei after his semi-final triumph over South Korea's Lee Hyun Il.

Centre would have been the best position.

Rain hasn't stopped fans from flocking to the venues.

Heavy rain adds more colour to the Bird's Nest Stadium.

Malaysia's Yuan Yu Fang shortly before stomach cramps forced her to withdraw from the 20km walk on Thursday.

Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim in action in the 56kg.

Roslinda Samsu clears 5.30m in qualifying but failed to advance.

Elaine Teo in her first round bout against Azize Tanrikulu of Turkey.

The speed on the velodrome is unbelievably fast.

British fans celebrate another of cyclist Chris Hoy's gold medal wins.

THEY have been at the forefront of the Beijing Olympic Games and their smiles have made the lives of athletes, officials, fans and the media so much easier.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of every major sporting event and how they execute their role actually determines the fate of a Games like the Olympics.

And the 20,000 volunteers, including a fair amount from abroad, have not once shirked their responsibilities and given the Olympics a real personal touch.

A volunteer helping a fan find her way (Pictures courtesy of official Games website)

Many thought that language would be a barrier and it has, to a certain extent, but the effort China put in training the volunteers means it wasn't that bad at all.

Most volunteers speak only Chinglish but know and understand enough to receive and get messages across.

And they are all over Beijing - at taxi stands, stadiums and shopping complexes - and always on the alert for a foreigner in distress.

A volunteer attends to a foreign official.

Most are university students and their tasks include cleaning tables, mopping floors and clearing rubbish but all have been done with a smile.

Some volunteers meet former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

It has, as the penultimate day of action unfolds, been a strain as the hours have been long but one suspects that the smiles are disappearing more because the end is near and not because of tiredness.

But they have impressed and Sebastian Coe, who heads the 2012 London Olympics Organising Committee, said in a press conference that there is so much to learn from China's volunteers.

High praise indeed for the unsung heroes of the Beijing Olympics.

PIXMAN Hasan Ismail, despite having to service three newspapers - New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Harian Metro - has been having the time of his life in the Beijing Olympics.                         

Never far from his cameras, Hasan has been busy capturing the different sights that are all part and parcel of the Olympics.

Below is part one of some of the pictures Hasan has snapped since arriving on August 5.

The fans are just as important as the athletes for without them in the stands, who would athletes impress?

Just some of the hundreds of thousand of fans who have filled the stadiums, making the Olympics a huge success.

Watching can be as tiring as competing as these ladies take a break outside the Bird's Nest.

Watch out, I am the next Yao Ming!

Pin traders have been a common sight outside the Main Press Centre since the Games began on August 8.

The Games have not only been about competition as cheerleaders have livened up the atmosphere in stadiums.

These structures outside the Bird's Nest will remind China of the great Olympics it has hosted.

One of the five mascots of the Olympics at the Games Village.

Learning some Chinese skills to take back home.

South Korea has not lacked support at the Games.

COMING SOON - PART TWO

USAIN Bolt added the 200m gold yesterday to the 100m he won on Saturday with yet another world record at the Bird's Nest and the question now is can anybody stop the Jamaican?

It doesn't look like it for Bolt, only 22 today, is in a class of his own.

There have been snide remarks, though, that if other sprinters can't catch him, the drug testers will but I, for one, hope that this is just a case of sour grapes.

The 1.96m athlete doesn't look like a typical sprinter as he doesn't have the strapping muscles that most have but his speed is phenomenal.

Surprisingly, the media tribune for yesterday's final was not packed to the brim as it was for the 100m but those who stayed away missed seeing Usain create history with his 19.30s.

And this is a time recorded with a slow start, no doubt because of his height, but if he can improve in this aspect, then Bolt will rule for years.

                                        UPDATED

WALKER Yuan Yu Fang and taekwondo exponent Elaine Teo endured contrasting fortunes but with the same end result in their respective events today.

Yu Fang, aiming for a national record in the 20km walk, suffered stomach cramps and was one of two walkers who failed to finish the race.

"After training so hard, I didn't expect my Olympics to end like this," said Yu Fang, in her third Games appearance.

As expected, world champion Olga Kaniskina of Russia added the Olympic title to her trophy cabinet by finishing in an Olympic record time of 1:26.31s.

Silver went to Norway's Kjersti Tysse Platzer and bronze to Elisa Rigaudi of Italy.

Elaine, also as predicted, lost her -57kg first round bout to former European champion Azize Tanrikulu 7-4.

But she got a chance to compete in the repechage for the bronze when Azize advanced to the final.

However, former world champion Diana Lopez of America proved too strong for Elaine, who was forced to compete in a heavier category after a foul-up in her registration for the Asian Qualifying Tournament last December.

IN what is sure to attract the wrong kind of attention, table tennis' international governing body is calling for its players, women especially, to don more attractive clothing.

Alarmed by half empty seats at the Peking University Stadium, the China Daily newspaper reported today the federation reckons a change in clothing will help attract more fans to the matches.

Table tennis is a passion in China and it is a common sight for the young and old to be playing the game all over Beijing and the last thing the International Table Tennis Federation expected was a half empty stadium.

With every sport fighting to stay on the schedule and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adamant that it won't increase the number from the present 28, international federations are willing to try anything to maintain their status.

Former Badminton World Federation deputy president Datuk Punch Gunalan had also asked for the same several years ago and, understandably, he was not a very popular person among those who believe in equal rights.

If you ask me, sport is not about attire but about excitement and table tennis is not as interesting as badminton.

China dominate both but at least, other countries are giving them a fight in badminton and the Beijing University of Technology saw packed crowds everyday.

Basically, people want to see contests, not massacres in the world of sports and they don't go to stadiums to see scantily clad athletes.

BEIJING Olympics silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, 26,  is not looking beyond the 2010 Asian Games.

His victor Lin Dan, a year younger, has vowed to carry on.

So has British marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, 34, whose latest attempt for gold ended in tears yet again as she came in 23rd.

While Chong Wei may have his reasons for not looking at extending his career beyond the Asian Games, he should not make hasty decisions.

What the silver medal won in Beijing should do is spur him to aim higher and a good example is British cyclist Chris Hoy.

At 32, the fire in him still burns and moments after he won his third gold of the Games yesterday, Hoy said the message he wants to send to kids back home is that hard work brings rewards.

Chong Wei must also strive to be an icon, an Olympic champion, and dispense the same advise.