Youths from Asia/Pacific most optimistic about Olympics medals

SINGAPORE, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Young people in Asia/Pacific have the highest medal expectations of their home teams at the Beijing Olympic Games in August, said a Visa survey here on Thursday.

Of the 4,556 people from the region who were asked about their local team's chances of winning more medals at this year's Olympics compared with previous years, 48 percent of those aged under 40 say they are optimistic about the prospects of their Olympians winning more medals while 32 percent of those aged over 40 who felt their team would win more medals.

Indians are the most optimistic of better performances, with seven in ten Indians expecting the Indian Olympic team to go home this year with a higher medal count than from previous Games, followed by those who live in Chinese Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Singapore and Malaysia.

In the survey by Visa in China, 70 percent of those interviewed say they believe China's medal tally is likely to increase at the Beijing Olympics.