The Beijing spectators seemed a little bit more calm than players were used to at the International Goalball Tournament, said an International Paralympic Committee (IPC) official in Beijing on Thursday.

Jim Leask, technical delegate from goalball committee of the IPC, said he was interested by this phenomenon.

"It is interesting. The Chinese crowds have been good, but appeared a little bit more calm than we were used to," said the Canadian on the first day of the "Good Luck Beijing" goalball tournament, a test event for the Paralympics in Beijing next year.

"When the Chinese team came on, they were louder," he added.

Leask's question was somewhat given an answer when a retired university staff talked her feelings about the game.

"I didn't know a single thing about goalball. I had thought it was like what my husband plays everyday with his friends," she said.

"So when I got the tickets, I was also given a book of rules about the game, which told me that the spectators must be very quiet during the games or the players will be interfered," she said in a low voice during the interval.

Goalball is a group event for the blind or visually impaired people at the Paralympic Games. During the game, the spectators are required to remain absolutely silent so that players can follow the direction of the ball, which has bells inside.

But players appreciated the respect they get from the over-careful Chinese spectators.

"The Chinese spectators are good. They know how to appreciate the game," said American player Christopher Dodds after his team beat Japan 10-8 in a Group B match.

China, directly qualifying for the Paralympics as host, staged a major upset for world champions Lithuania, winning 8-4 in a match of Group A where Canada defeated Denmark 6-5.

United States clinched their second win of the day by breezing past Finland 12-2 and Sweden dismantled Finland 12-2 in the morning before beating Japan 9-4 in the afternoon.

Eight men's teams were invited to take part in the four-day tournament which takes place in Gymnasium of Beijing University of Technology, also the competition venue for Beijing Olympics volleyball event.

(Xinhua News Agency September 14, 2007)