A viewer’s guide to Olympic events

Table tennis
One of the hottest tickets in Beijing is for table tennis, where the always-dominant Chinese team is aiming for a gold medal sweep. Pingpong is China's national sport and it's nothing like the game Americans play in the basement on rainy days. Shots break crazily over the blue table as fleet-footed athletes slap the little white ball to speeds up to 60 mph. Led by the world's top players, Wang Hao and Zhang Yining, the Chinese squad will be cheered on by a raucous home crowd at the Peking University Gymnasium. Wang will be looking to avenge his loss to South Korea's Ryu Seung Min in the men's singles final four years ago. China's dominance extends beyond just its own team — Chinese natives fill the rosters of other countries. Four Chinese-born players represent the U.S., and they're joined by other former Chinese nationals playing for countries as varied as Spain, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic and Republic of Congo.

Taekwon do
Think Lopez. There will be three of them — Steven, Mark and Diana — and they are all gold medal contenders for the United States. Steven, the eldest, is the most decorated, having won his fourth-straight world championship last year with Olympic gold in Athens and Sydney under his black belt. The trio made sports history in 2005, when they each won world championship titles in their divisions, the first time that has ever happened in the same sport in the same year. Their eldest brother, Jean, is the team coach. The U.S. team is rounded out by Charlotte Craig. South Korea, where the sport originated, is also sending its quota of four athletes. No South Korean has failed to get at least a bronze since the sport was put on the official Olympic roster in 2000.

Team handball
This fast-paced sport remains a mystery to many Americans, but it's not for lack of action. Players pass and dribble a melon-sized ball with their hands. Each team has seven players on the court, including the goalie. In 2004, Croatia beat Germany 26-24 to win the men's title. Croatia will try for a third title in four Olympics, but there will be a new winner on the women's side — three-time defending champion Denmark isn't one of the 12 teams competing in Beijing. The U.S. failed to qualify a handball team for Beijing, meaning this event will likely remain below the radar for American fans.

Tennis
The motivation of the top men has been questioned at past Olympics, where such long shots as Nicolas Massu and Marc Rosset emerged as gold medalists. But there's no doubting Roger Federer is eager to do well in Beijing. He has been shut out in the medal chase in two Olympic appearances, and he arrives in China mired in his worst slump since becoming No. 1 in February 2004. He hasn't won a Grand Slam title this year, and since a five-set loss to Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, Federer has lost in the second round in Toronto and the third round in Cincinnati. Nadal and Novak Djokovic, this year's winners of major titles, are also eager to become first-time medalists. On the women's side, former gold medalists Venus and Serena Williams will play doubles together as well as singles. The U.S. team also includes 1996 gold medalist Lindsay Davenport, who mounted a career comeback from a maternity leave in part because she wanted to play at Beijing.

Special feature Slide show: The thrill of the spill NBCOlympics.com: Images of falls from the U.S. track and field trials. NBCOlympics.com

Track and field
The men's 100-meter dash is always a big deal at the Olympics, and Beijing could have one of the best fields ever, with U.S.-record holder and reigning world champion Tyson Gay taking on world-record holder Usain Bolt and former world-record holder Asafa Powell, both from Jamaica. If Gay is healthy, that is — he hurt his hamstring at the U.S. Olympic trials. China's Liu Xiang is the reigning Olympic and world champion in the 110-meter hurdles, making him the host nation's best chance for a gold medal at the track stadium dubbed "The Bird's Nest." One catch: Liu's world record was broken by Cuba's Dayron Robles in June, setting up a showdown. Others to watch include Jeremy Wariner, the sunglasses-wearing defending Olympic champ boasting about breaking the 400-meter record set in the 1990s by Michael Johnson — who just happens to be Wariner's manager now; rival U.S. runners Allyson Felix (favored in the 200) and Sanya Richards (favored in the 400), who are expected to be relay teammates; and Bernard Lagat, a distance runner who earned medals for Kenya at the past two Summer Games and now will try to win his first gold — this time competing for his new home, the United States.

Triathlon
Spain's Javier Gomez won the men's world championship in June and is a clear favorite. He can finish the event's 10-kilometer run in under 30 minutes, making him a formidable presence in the swim-cycle-run competition. New Zealand's Bevan Docherty, who finished second at the Athens Olympics in 2004, was second to Gomez at the world championship. Brothers Matt Reed of the United States and Shane Reed of New Zealand will compete against each other. Matt Reed was the top U.S. finisher at worlds, coming in fifth. On the women's side, Kate Allen of Austria is back after rallying to win the gold medal in a dramatic finish in Athens. Allen had a bicycle accident in April and then finished eighth at worlds. Helen Tucker of Britain won the world championship, and American Sarah Haskins finished second.

Volleyball
As passionate as he is skilled, Giba leads the top-ranked Brazilian men, the defending gold medalists who are favorites in Beijing. The wing-spiker injured his left ankle in June, but returned to play in the recent FIVB World League Competition. The third-ranked U.S. men won the event, giving the team momentum heading into the Olympics. Brazil's women are also ranked No. 1 in the world, but the most intriguing aspect of the competition will be the reaction to U.S. coach "Jenny" Lang Ping, who led the Chinese to the gold medal in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Lang is considered a sports icon in her native country and it will be the big story when the U.S. women face China in poll play. China is the defending Olympic champion.

Water polo
U.S. men's water polo coach Terry Schroeder, who led the Americans to silver medals in 1984 and 1988 and a fourth-place showing in 1992, is trying to get the program turned around after three consecutive poor finishes. And after some surprising showings this summer, Schroeder believes his team could be a medal threat in Beijing. World No. 1 Croatia, two-time defending gold medalist Hungary and perennial powers Spain, Serbia and Italy could have something to say about that. The U.S. women are considered the favorite to win gold. The Americans won silver in 2000 — the debut of the women's Olympic competition — and bronze in 2004, and they pretty much dominated the world circuit in 2007 behind goalkeeper Betsey Armstrong and all-around Lauren Wenger. The Americans should face tough competition from more experienced teams like Australia, Russia and Italy.

Weightlifting
Look for China to boost its overall medal count in the weightlifting competition. The Olympic hosts could grab as many as 10 medals when the world's strongest athletes load the bar with plates at the Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics. Only Russia has a team of comparable strength. First up is the women's 48-kilogram (106-pound) weight class, in which world record holder and world champion Chen Xiexia of China is the big favorite. The men's competition lost two big names with the withdrawals of double Olympic super heavyweight champion Hossein Rezazadeh of Iran and Turkey's triple Olympic gold medalist Halil Mutlu in the 56-kg (123-pound) category. Weightlifting officials are hoping new profiles will emerge in Beijing to shift the focus from the perennial doping scandals that continue to plague the sport. Greek and Bulgarian weightlifters were barred from the games after testing positive for steroids.

Wrestling
What to watch? The U.S. kids, three rapid risers who might ordinarily have waited their turn until 2012. Ben Askren, known for his wild hair styles and unorthodox moves, is a year removed from winning a second NCAA title at Missouri. Jake Deitchler, only 18, is the youngest American Olympic wrestler in 32 years and made the team by knocking off an Olympic medal favorite in the U.S. trials. Henry Cejudo, only 21 but already a national champion, is being hailed as the future of U.S. amateur wrestling. All are colorful, fun to watch and virtually unknown to their opponents and, should they get on a roll in Beijing, are bound to generate spectator buzz.

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