> Cycling
Guo remains upbeat for 2012
By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-20 08:32

China's sprint cyclist Guo Shuang believes she can win gold at the 2012 London Olympics despite being disqualified this time around.

The 21-year-old from Inner Mongolia beat Australian ace Anna Meares 2-1 in the semifinal, but was disqualified a few minutes later for cutting off her opponent.

Guo, who had crashed in the third and deciding race against Meares but was allowed to start the race over, eventually crossed the finish line barely ahead of the Australian. But the judges ruled that the Chinese cyclist had illegally entered Meares' lane and awarded the win to her opponent.

Despite the setback, Guo pushed hard to win the bronze, beating Willy Kanis of the Netherlands 2-0.

"It's not the end of the world for me. Winning a bronze medal in my first Olympics is pretty good, isn't it?" said Guo. "I tried all that I could. I'm still young and I believe I will have more chances in future Olympics.

"I might be a little better than Meares but I think she is more experienced than me. Committing the violation means I am still short of international experience."

China's best show in Olympic cycling came in 2004 when Jiang Yonghua won silver medal in the 500m time trial, axed to give way to BMX.

(China Daily 08/20/2008 page10)