NAIROBI vans sk8 hi bianche pelle , Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya made the bold announcement it will bid for the 2023 IAAF World Championships in Athletics on Tuesday but closer home, preparations for the 2018 Africa Home Nations Championships (CHAN) have stalled.


In just over six months, 15 African nations are expected to land in the country to take part in the biannual continental football event but there is nothing on the ground to suggest Kenya will be ready for a tournament of such nature.


Buoyed by the successful hosting of the last edition of the Nairobi 2017 IAAF World Under 18 (WU18) Championships in July and the resounding performance of the country's team at the London 2017 IAAF Worlds, Kenya's Sport Minister Dr. Hassan Wario announced the bid.


"Our delegation from London reported that stakeholders in athletics worldwide are still talking about our fantastic reception during the World Under-18 Championships at Kasarani. It is also very encouraging to see our athletes fly high our flag even in the so competitive London event. We will therefore bid to host the 2023 championship," Wario told the media on Tuesday when welcoming back part of the Kenyan team that won five gold, two silver and four bronze in London.


However, with the final inspection team from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to arrive in the next fortnight, Kenya will once again find itself scrambling to get ready with massive works on the five earmarked stadiums yet to start.


During the Extraordinary General Assembly of CAF held in Rabat, Morocco last month, Kenya was set an Aug. 28 deadline to guarantee they will host the CHAN set to kick-off in January 2018.


Only the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani stadium that hosted the WU18 is ready to stage the football tournament open to home grown players with renovation and repair works yet to start at Nyayo (Nairobi), Kinoru (Meru), Dr. Kipchoge Keino (Eldoret) and Kenyatta (Machakos).


The chief accounting officer at the ministry and Wario's deputy, Principal Secretary for Sports, Kirimi Kaberia, stepped in to calm fears Kenya will not be ready for the CHAN.


"We are on the last stage of evaluating tenders, and within the next few days the successful bidders will be notified. We have checked the bids and identified people who have the capacity to deliver what we want within the set timelines," Kaberia said while announcing the process would be done by the end of the week.


Successful bidders will be required to lay grass turf at all facilities earmarked for the competition, installing seats and repairing the dilapidated structures such as changing rooms and media centres besides laying the IT infrastructure needed.


In mid June, CAF gave Kenya the nod to host the CHAN to quell rumours the event would be moved to countries such as Morocco, South Africa and Ethiopia but gave a withering statement on the state of the stadiums allocated.


"We wish to put to an end to rumours that Kenya will not host CHAN. Yes, there are challenges but the positives are more. We are impressed with the progress made towards the hosting of the games.


"The progress has been good from the inspections. We hope the Government continues the work in fast tracking the areas lacking," CAF Second Vice-president, Constant Selemani Omari from Congo said at the time.


The 2018 CHAN will be the first continental football competition for Kenya to host after their bid for the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations collapsed due to political intrigues that saw retired President Daniel arap Moi's administration decline to guarantee the event.


By Xu Yanyan and Song Dan


MELBOURNE, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The cabin door opened when the green light was flashing, Liu Kang moved forward to sit at the edge of the door with his tandem master. Everyone was pretty scared, and they stepped out of the plane after someone behind Liu was shouting "embrace the fear".


With a 60-second free fall from 4,500 meters high at a speed of 200 kmhour, an amazing world with spectacular views of lakes and snow mountains surrounded Liu.


"The world has never been so clear, this ultimate experience opened a significant chapter of my life," Liu told Xinhua shortly after he landed at the NZONE Skydive company's drop zone in New Zealand, when at least 10 more brave Chinese waiting behind him to board the next available aircraft for skydiving.


Australia and New Zealand are famed for their great nature beauties and agriculture products with splendid quality, attracting hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists to visit annually. According to recent local researches, some Chinese tourists' taste for traveling has significantly changed in the past years due to improvement of their living standards, many of whom have increasingly participated in the extreme and outdoor sports which are also popular among locals and foreign tourists in the two South Pacific countries, like bungee jumping, skydiving, surfing, jet boat and trekking, rock climbing as well.


"My daughter said I was a little freaky for choosing diving and hiking when travel in Australia, which is quite different from other Chinese tourists," Zhang Xiaoyu, a 38 years old clerk from Shanghai told Xinhua with a smile. This is her second time to visit Melbourne, with a two-week plan filled of hiking and hot balloon tour, differing a lot from her first visit full of shopping.


"I would like to try the paragliding and some more special things this time," she said.


Australia provides the planet's best environment for outdoor sports. The mountain Arapiles located in Victoria state is recognized as one of the most ideal rock climbing areas in the world. The southern island state of Tasmania also offers hundreds of world class bush walking trails, including the 65 km-long "Overland Track", which usually needs one week to finish and has been awarded as one of the twenty hiking tracks that. Wholesale Custom MLB Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Free Shipping Wholesale NBA Jerseys China Wholesale Sports MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Online Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Football Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap College Football Jerseys Wholesale NBA Jerseys