London 2012: Amazing Stars of Underrated Events

When the 2012 London Olympic Games get underway on July 27th most of the world's attention will be tuned to well-known stars such as Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, American swimmer Michael Phelps, and Brazilian soccer star Neydal.

However, every Olympic event has its' stars, including this handful of standouts in some of the Games' lesser known events.

Vincent Hancock, Skeet Shooting (USA)

It may appear fairly easy while watching it on TV, but as anyone who has ever tried skeet shooting can tell you blasting one of those clay pigeons out of the sky is a heck of a lot harder than it looks.

23 year-old Vincent Hancock of the United States has been a fixture at international skeet events since winning his first world championship in 2005 at the ripe old age of 15. Hancock reached the pinnacle of his sport at the 2008 Beijing Games, setting an Olympic record and bringing home the gold medal.

Hancock, who is a member of the U.S. Army's Marksmanship Unit, will attempt to become the first competitor ever to win two gold medals in men's skeet shooting.

The significance of that isn't lost on the Columbus, Georgia resident but Hancock recently told The Bayonet that there are bigger motivators in play as he heads to the UK.

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“It’s not just me and my family that I am competing for,” Hancock said. “Knowing that my brother and other service members are overseas rooting for me and it gives them a sense of pride when they see one of us medal is very special.”

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Sofia Velikaya, Fencing (Russia)

Russian sabre fencer Sofia Velikaya narrowly missed medaling at the 2008 Olympics, losing the bronze medal match by one point to American Becca Ward.

However, since that time the 27-year-old has been on the rise, and Velikaya's career hit its' apex last October when she defeated American Mariel Zagunis to capture gold at the World Championships in Catania, Italy.

Velikaya appears set to carry that success over to the London Games. While the women's team sabre event will not be featured in London Velikaya and the Russian women are ready to shine as individuals according to team coach Christian Bauer, who called them "athletes [that] are really made for fencing" in an interview with rt.com last year in Italy.

Lee Chung Wei, Badminton (Malaysia)

Granted, most of badminton's popularity in the United States lies in backyard barbecues and tipsy uncles who have very little idea what they're actually doing. However, in Southeast Asia the game is taken much more seriously, and one of the kings of the sport on the men's side is Malaysia's Lee Chung Wei.

Wei took home the silver at both the Beijing Games in 2008 and last year's World Championships in London. Wei's medal in Beijing was his nation's first in any event since 1996, and it earned the 29-year-old the title of Datuk and status as something of a national hero in his homeland.

Wei faces an uphill battle in London, where his biggest challenge likely lies in China's Lin Dan, who is a four-time world champion who thrashed Wei in the Olympic final in Beijing and downed him in London last year.

With that said Frederick Tan, who served as Lee's sports psychologist, believes that Lee has grown from those losses. Tan recently relayed to TODAY online that Lee will be ready to try to bring home Malaysia's first ever badminton gold medal in London.

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"I was by his side after the loss to Lin. He was shattered," said Tan, 50, who worked with Lee until last year. "All he could say was 'I am so tired'. The mental strain was evident. So in a way, the defeat in Beijing will prepare him for the battle in London. "Now he knows what it takes to rise to the occasion. He is more matured now as a person and player, and it will serve him well."

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Ding Ning, Table Tennis (China)

To say that the Chinese dominate international table tennis competition is something of an understatement. The Chinese swept all six individual medals in Beijing four years ago and a Chinese woman has captured the gold medal at every Olympics since table tennis became an event in 1988.

The latest Chinese woman to ascend to the top of the sport is 22-year-old Ding Ning, who won the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

The southpaw is the world's top ranked player and the prohibitive favorite to win gold in London.

In fact, the Chinese have so ruled the world of ping pong (sorry, couldn't be helped) that according to Firstpost Sports the Olympics are actually considered "easier" for other countries since each nation gets only two singles spots on the men's and women's sides.

Unfortunately for such competitors as Kasumi Ishikawi from Japan and American Ariel Hsing one of those spots went to Ding, and she appears set to continue China's stranglehold on table tennis at the Olympics.

Tony Azevedo, Water Polo (USA)

I still have no idea why it's called water polo since there isn't a horse to be seen anywhere near the pool, but of all the events that are "unique" to the Olympics few are as much fun to watch as this sport that combines team handball and swimming in a show of power and endurance.

The American men's team that won the silver medal in Beijing four years ago is anchored by Tony Azevedo, a Brazilian-born Stanford graduate who has been nicknamed "The Savior".

The 30-year-old U.S. team captain is considered by many to be one of the finest water polo players in the world and will be competing in his fourth Olympics.

As Azevedo recently relayed to CBS 2-TV in Los Angeles both he and the rest of the American squad are more determined than ever to bring the United States its' first gold medal in water polo since 1904.

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“We all decided to stay home for 8 months and train non-stop, full-time, and forgo big contracts overseas just to stick together because we want to make sure we were the most prepared team in the Olympics,” said the 3-time Olympian Azevedo. “Being captain is a great thing for myself, but mostly I try to lead by example. I have played with these guys my whole life, but most importantly is training as hard as I can, showing them my desire, my heart, my work ethic is always at the top and hopefully they follow and I lead them to a gold medal.”

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