Bets, other coaches, press and soccer experts were wrong in their predictions. They awarded Spain with a medal even before competition started, and now the Spanish have to set aside any hope of bringing home a medal even before the group stage has finished.

Against all odds, Spain lost on July 29th against Honduras by 0-1. This loss, along with the first stumbling block against Japan in the initial game (also 1-0), removes all the possible chances of passing through to the next stage for the “Rojita” -remember that during the Olympics the soccer squads play with their under 21 teams.

The loss against Honduras seems inexplicable, especially taking into account the superiority shown by Spain during the 90 minutes. But everything was against the “Rojita”: They hit the post in three different occasions, and referee Juan Soto did not whistle two penalties that seemed pretty clear. Honduras goalkeeper Jose Mendoza also played an incredible game, and flew from post to post in different occasions to save the Spanish onslaughts.

Spain started losing soon and could not do anything to fix it. Honduras’ goal came at minute 7 when striker Jerry Bengston headed a precise cross from Roger Espinoza. It is Bengston third goal in the Olympics, after the two goals he scored against Morocco, which so far leads him to the top score first position from this Olympic Games.

Once it was hit, Spain had a lot of chances to equalize the game, but whether it was goalkeeper Mendoza or the posts it did not happen. Best chances came from Juan Mata’s boots, who could have changed Spain’s destiny three different times. Munian, Rodrigo and Adrian also had great chances to invert the game situation.

Therefore, after yesterday’s loss against Honduras the Spaniards have to pack before time and will play the last group stage game against Morocco without any chance on passing through to the next stage. On the other hand, if Honduras ties against Japan in next game, they will make history, since it would be the first time that they played on quarter finals.

The Rojita, -Olympic champion in Barcelona-1992, conceded the greatest failure of Spanish football in recent years, especially after the contrast with the historic treble that the Absolute achieved just a month ago in Kiev (Euro – WorldCup).

Image Courtesy of   Solovyova Lyudmyla / Shutterstock.com

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The first two Olympics have been set before the opening ceremony even began. South Korean Im Dong-hyun, 26, made the new world record in archery early Friday, July 27 and even more amazing is that Im Dong-hyun is legally blind.

On July 27 the Olympic preliminary rounds for archery began, several sports’ preliminary rounds have already started to ensure that all of the sports are gone through in time. During the competition Dong-hyun, who has 10% vision in his left eye and 20% vision in his right, scored 699 points in the 72-arrow mark. He beat his own world record that he had set in Turkey a few months prior by three points.

Dong-hyun’s reaction was more than humble. “This is just the first round, so I will not get too excited by it.”

Not only did Im Dong-hyun set an individual world record but he and his fellow teammates, Kim Bub-min and Oh Jin-hyek, set the team world record as well with a total of 2,087 points. The team world record they beat was set by a South Korean team as well at 2,069 points. With these scores the team as well as the individual rounds should go very nicely for all three of the members of the South Korean team.

Im Dong-hyun also won the gold in the team events at the Olympics in Beijing and Athens in 2008 and 2004 respectively. However, his teammates are certainly able to hold their own being in second and third place in the individual competition.

Britain’s Larry Godfrey is in fourth place with his own personal best of 680 points. Godfrey reported that he was “very happy.” “I thought I would be a bit lower than fourth. I’ve shot similar scores and finished much lower.” The British team came eighth out of twelve.

Im does not wear glasses when he competes. Instead he says that he looks at the difference in the bright colors of the target to decide where to shoot.

In South Korea, archery is one of the most popular sports. Most elementary school children are taught archery in school and there is a lot of government funding and training available. The current world champion of archery, a South Korean named Kim Woo-Jin, did not make the Olympic team.

According to the Telegraph the weather was favorable for archery on the morning of July 27 with no cross breeze and cool temperatures. Many people were disappointed, however, when they showed up to watch the preliminary rounds only to be told that no tickets are sold to watch them.

Image Courtesy of   Bill Hails

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