Gold fingers

Want to see the local players win? Check out the events in which China might get their hands on a gold medal, and where you also might get your hands on a ticket

The final round of ticketing has been and gone, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find tickets from now on. If you want to see the big events, the only real options left are schmoozing friends who have tickets or buying them yourself at excessive prices like those offered at international ticketing website www.beijingticketing.com . Time Out used that website to pay US$500 for two tickets to see the athletics on the night of the men’s 110m hurdles final – we haven’t received them yet, but the site seems legitimate and they assure us there won’t be any problems.

But if you want to see smaller events, you probably won’t need to do that. There will be official BOCOG ticket booths around major venues, and the chances of finding someone willing to sell a ticket will be much higher. If you want to see Chinese gold medals, we’d recommend the following days and venues. We’ve also found some tickets online if you really don’t want to turn up without one (sadly, we can’t vouch for any of the websites – we’ve just looked for the cheapest ones available).

Monday 11, Weightlifting at the Beijing University of Aeronautics And Astronautics Gymnasium
A chance to see two reigning world champions and hot tips for gold medals. In the afternoon session, Qiu Hongmei goes for gold in the women’s 58kg, and in the evening session Fan Yang is favourite in the men’s 62kg.
Tickets: www.ticketluck.com for one session, US$79.
Women’s 58kg final, 3.30pm-5.30pm; Men’s 62kg final, 7pm-9pm.

Tuesday 12, Shooting at the Beijing Shooting Complex
Get on down to the Beijing Shooting Complex for a decent chance to get tickets and a very decent chance to watch some Chinese shooters win gold medals. Lin Zhongzai, Zhu Qinan and Gao E are among the favourites in the men’s 50m pistol, men’s 10m air rifle and women’s trap respectively. All three are comfortable at the Beijing Shooting Complex, having taken gold medals here in April’s World Cup, which drew the world’s best shooters.
Tickets: www.westsideseats.com for US$55.
Men’s 50m pistol, Men’s 10m air rifle and Women’s trap all held between 9am and 4.15pm.

Saturday 16, Rowing at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Park
This day is packed with finals, like the men’s and women’s pairs and the men’s fours. China has never won a rowing medal, but watch out for the final of the women’s double sculls, where Qin Li and Liang Tian (pictured) are world champions.
Tickets: www.cheappremiumtickets.com for US$129.
Event 18 of 23, session 2pm-6pm.

Sunday 17, the Women’s Marathon
OK, so you’ll get to watch this one either way, and China’s Zhou Chunxiu is in with a real shot at winning, especially if Britain’s Paula Radcliffe fails to recover from injury. We’d recommend heading to Peking University’s beautiful Yan Yuan campus, with its imperial architecture and peaceful lake. By this stage, the frontrunners should be well away from the pack and you’ll get a good sense of who looks like winning.
The women’s marathon starts Tiananmen Square, around 7.30am and finishes at the Bird’s Nest around 9.45am. The runners should run through Peking University around 9am, but get there earlier.

Friday 22, Beach volleyball at Chaoyang Park
Even without any sporting interest, beach volleyball would be fun for the cheerleaders and players in skimpy outfits alone. But China’s Wu Penggen and Xu Linyin are in with a real chance of a gold medal, and are ranked second in the world behind Brazil’s Harley Marques and Pedro Salgado.
Tickets: http://independent.viagogo.co.uk for GBP132.91.
Bronze medal match and final from 9am-12.30pm.

Toby Skinner