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Kalla praises China for 'perfect' Olympics
Mon, 08/25/2008 11:18 AM | Sports
Indonesia Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping here Sunday and praised China's success in hosting the 2008 Olympic Games.
"Indonesia congratulates China for successfully holding the Olympic Games. Of all the Olympics, this is the best and the grandest of all," Kalla told Xi during a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
"The Olympics have been conducted perfectly."
While China ended the Games with a whopping 51 gold medals, Indonesia had to be content with a single gold.
Indonesia, which sent 24 athletes to the Games to compete in seven sports, also won a silver and three bronzes, thanks to its shuttlers and weightlifters.
World No. 1 men's badminton doubles pair Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan delivered Indonesia's only gold by defeating Chinese duo Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in the August 16 final.
Mixed doubles pair Nova Widianto and Lilyana Natsir brought home silver, while women's singles shuttler Maria Kristin Yulianti and weightlifters Eko Yuli Irawan and Triyatno each won a bronze.
Kalla, who watched Argentina's 1-0 victory over Nigeria to claim the men's soccer gold on Saturday, said Indonesia could learn a lot from China.
Xi said hosting the Olympics was China's century-old dream.
"The Beijing Olympics' atmosphere is felt in the whole of Asia. The Olympics is our century-old dream and it is our commitment to the Olympics Family in the whole world. This is the third Olympics in Asia," he said.
Previous Olympics held in Asia took place in Tokyo in 1964 and Seoul in 1988.
"This Olympics should serve as a platform to develop sports throughout the world and to spread different cultures from around the world," Xi said.
Kalla attended the closing ceremony on Sunday evening, which also saw the handover of the Olympic flag from Beijing to London as the British capital prepares to host the next Games in 2012.
-- JP/Primastuti Handayani, from Beijing
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