An Olympic women's soccer quarterfinal match between the United States and Canada will resume at 8 p.m. Friday after a nearly-two-hour interruption by a thunder and lightning weather, according to FIFA and Games officials.
The match was suspended in the 21st minute with the Americans leading 1-0, as the stadium seemed to be frequented by thunder and lightning amid a strong thunderstorm.
The suspension was approved by Shan Xuewei, security officer of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), based in Shanghai, the co-host of the Olympic soccer tournament.
"Rain doesn't affect a lot, but lightning is dangerous," said Olivier Huc, an official with FIFA. He added that usually a suspension lasts 45 minutes at most.
But the actual suspension lasted one hour and 40 minutes, before the BOCOG officials decided to let the match resume.
Angela Hucles scored in the 12th minute to establish an early lead for the Americans.
On Friday afternoon, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau forecasted heavy rainfall along with thunder and lightning in most parts of the city. The area where the soccer competition venues are located will also be affected, according to the forecast.
Some parts of the city may face torrential rains on Friday, the forecast said.
The thunder shower weather is expected to continue over the weekend, but may feature less rainfall as of Sunday, it added.
Heavy rainfall also haunted the main Olympic host city Beijing on Thursday, forcing several baseball and softball games, including one softball match also between the United States and Canada, to suspend. The competition of some events, such as the finals of two rowing events, were postponed due to the rain.
(Xinhua News Agency August 15,2008)