Beijing is fantasic, and the Olympic Village is by far the best, Irish badminton team leader told Xinhua Monday.

Irish badminton team is the first team to visit the Olympic badminton training hall located in Chao Yang Gymnasium and they were warmly welcomed by venue staffs and volunteers.

"The training venue is perfect," said Donal O'halloran, team leader of the Irish badminton squad. "And I was told that the competition venue is even better. That's just fantasic."

When asked of the first impression of Beijing, Donal heaped lots of compliments, saying that they arrived on Sunday morning and were stunned by the phenomenal beauty of Beijing and the Olympic Village.

"Setting foot in the Olympic Village, we all exclaim that it's by far the best one," Donal said, expressing hopes to visit all the attractions in Beijing during the Games.

Irish badminton team has one men's singles player and one women's singles shuttler with a humble goal to advance into the second round.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)