A Mixed Bag

After the pot Boyler of an opening ceremony, the competitions are in full swing at London. The results haven't followed the script to the T but haven't digressed too much either. While the South Korean men wilted in the archery semis after shattering world records in the ranking rounds, the women justified their status as the top team in the world. Lochte got  better of Phelps in the 400m individual medley while the French pipped the US at the post for the 4X100m freestyle relay. The initial results have given China a head start with the the Asian giant surging ahead in swimming and shooting, the women's 10m pistol and rifle golds going to them. They however had to face reverses in the men's 56 kg weightlifting where North Korea's Om set an Olympic record to stun the favorite Wu Jingbiao. No such problems in the women's 48 kg division where Wang Mingjuan left the others behind comfortably. The British had their own heartbreak when Mark Cavendish couldn't bring home a medal in the cycling road race. The judo spoils were equally distributed with Brazil, North Korea and Georgia bagging one each. Hungary looked to maintain their hold on the fencing after claiming the sabre gold. The US seemed to be on its way to gymnastic glory with both the men and women leading the way in qualifying. Russia looked to be lagging behind with just the solitary gold while Italy surged with archery and fencing golds. If the first two days of jostling are anything to go by, surprises may not be so difficult to find.