IOC boss hails 'awakening of Asia'

The powerful performance at Athens by China, Japan and their neighbours marked the "awakening of Asia" that heralds a strong showing by Asians at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, IOC chief Jacques Rogge said yesterday.

"This really is the Games where Asia has awakened and I believe that this is a very strong sign that Asia will be at full strength for the Beijing Games in four years," Rogge told a news conference.

He hailed the "major progress of China", which had captured their best-ever 31 gold medals by Saturday and held second place in the medals table throughout the Games.

Rogge lauded the "extraordinary success" of Japan who tripled their haul of titles at Sydney.

Rogge also acknowledged the "excellent scores" of South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia as further signs the world's most populous continent and home to some of the world's fastest-growing economies was a force to reckon with in the Olympic movement.