Athens game olympics

In modern times, efforts to imitate the ancient Olympics date back to the 17th century. They have since been revived. It was the first time the metric system was used in sport. Efforts in Greece to revive the Olympics began after independence from the Ottoman Empire in He funded the restoration of the ancient Panathenaic Stadium so that it could host all future Olympic Games.

Events were held in and Baron Pierre de Coubertin, father of the modern Olympic Games. The first meeting of the Olympic Congress was held from 16 to 23 June at the University of Paris and the decision was made to create an internationally rotating event which would be held every four years.

Athens was chosen as the first host of what was to become the modern Olympic Games. Evangelos Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas had left the Greek government a trust to fund future Olympic Games. Greek businessman George Averoff and the Greek government provided the remainder of the funding. The Games brought together 14 nations and athletes who competed in 43 events.

The people of Greece were enthusiastic about the event and it was deemed a great success. Both events were seen as little more than sideshows and the Olympic revival was in danger of grinding to a halt.

It was decided to host the Intercalated Games in Athens in an effort to reverse the decline. Although officially recognised at the time, it is no longer classed as an official Olympic Games. This event did however revive interest and the next Olympics in London in were a huge success. As the centenary of the modern Olympic Games approached in , many believed Athens to be the natural choice to host the event.

However, it was Atlanta in the USA that would be declared the winner, a surprise to many, especially those in Greece. Atlanta had been deemed by some to be somewhat of an underdog given its confederate past and being coined a second-tier city by the American media. Their bid included a revenue sharing package and support from local companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta. This led some media outlets to suggest that Coca-Cola had paid to host the Olympics in their home city. Large scale infrastructural projects were undertaken across Athens including improving airports, roads, hospitals and access to archaeological sites.

A number of sporting venues had to be built from scratch. The Aquatics Center ran into problems and in an effort to finish on time, it was decided not to construct the retractable roof which had been planned. Despite a popular and successful Olympic Games, Athens left its mark on Greece. As the country began to struggle during the financial crisis of the late s, the debt used to pay for the games began to weigh heavily on the Greek tax payers.

As the financial situation deteriorated, the venues began to fall into a state of disrepair. Hellenic Olympic Properties, the company tasked with managing the Olympic venues portfolio, struggled to find investors for the venues. Plans to turn the judo hall into an arts academy stalled, as did a plan to convert the weightlifting hall into university accommodation.

The hockey and baseball stadiums were left abandoned and rotting. The canoeing and kayaking slaloms dried up. The velodrome and aquatic centre were abandoned. Most of the Athens Olympic venues were abandoned and left to decay. Plans to turn the slalom course into a water park never materialised. The Olympic Stadium itself had already been in use as home to soccer teams AEK and Panathinaikos and so it continued to be used after the Olympics.

It hosted a number of large concerts over the years. The Olympic Indoor Hall continued in use as a concert venue and basketball arena. World Championship has it's own special significance.

To play final of such a major event, I am very happy. There is no time to celebrate this win. Because, India Open is starting from January In March, All England is there. Then Commonwealth Games. Then world championship, Asian Games.

So many big events lined up. From September, when I started playing tournaments, I slowly started improving. Match by match, I could see the difference. He had a stellar run in , securing four super series titles in five finals. However, the year ended with Srikanth suffering a knee injury during the French Open in November, and he aggravated it at the national championships.

I am just very happy with my physical state. I am feeling confident about the way I am moving on court. At the moment, it will be about improvement. Asked what was the best part of his campaign in Spain," he replied: "Overall, everything. I think I just loved the way I played. My physical condition. What I loved the most was I was able to be aggressive throughout the tournament. That is something that gave me immense confidence. Talking about his semifinal match against younger compatriot Lakshya Sen, Srikanth said, "It has been four, five years since I played a match with Lakshya.

I have been watching his progress. He has been playing exceptionally well. So, it was new for me. I gave everything I have got. That was one of the reasons for getting so tired in the match. It was a long match. We both were kind of aggressive throughout. Srikanth said he had his chances in the edition of the world championships but this time around, he was not expecting much.

I thought I will definitely come back with a medal. It didn't happen. In this tournament, I was on the opposite side. I was feeling , I didn't have any expectations on myself. It was only about playing my best. I know that if I can play really well, I can beat anyone. Share Via. PTI , Hyderabad. Topics kidambi srikanth.