Former IPC President Confident of China at 2004, 2008 Paralympics

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 28, 2002

Former IPC President Confident of China at 2004, 2008 Paralympics

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"I am confident that China could do well when hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2008," Robert Steadward, the immediate former president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said Sunday in Busan.

IPC is the governing body for sports of disabled athletes worldwide.

Steadward, who handed over the IPC presidency to Briton Phil Craven at the organzation's General Congress last December in Athens, praised Chinese for their impressive performance on the first day for the week-long event's competition. China has won 10 gold medals up to now.

"It's a very good start for China at the Games here and it is also a good stepping stone for the Chinese for their preparations for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens and the 2008 Games when they will be the hosts," he told Xinhua.

"If I am Chinese, I would be quite optimistic to do well and win at the Beijing Games," he said.

He said that Australia had made great efforts and put a lot of money in hosting the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. "They didreally well in the competitions as well in Sydney when they played hosts to the Games," he said.

When asked about the 2004 Games in Athens, the former IPC chief admitted that worries still remain on the issue. "There'd been worries about the preparations in Athens as they were not up to the schedule. There are not much time left and they had a lot of work to do," he said.

"I hope they could find ways to sort things out and get ready before the Games," he added.

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