- Title: JAPAN: Football machine eager to beat Cristiano Ronaldo
- Date: 25th January 2010
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 25, 2010) (REUTERS) "FREE KICK MACHINE" APPEARS ON STAGE CAMERA CREWS MACHINE ON STAGE MACHINE'S STEEL LEG MACHINE'S NAME "CASTROL ICHI-GO" ON MACHINE'S BODY FORMER JAPANESE FOOTBALL PLAYER MASAKIYO MAEZONO KICKING BALL SPEED METRE READING 96 KILOMETRES PER HOUR MACHINE LIFTING UP AND GETTING READY STAFF PLACING BALL STEEL LEG AND BALL MACHINE KICKING BALL BALL ENTERING GOAL SPEED METRE READING 206 KILOMETRES PER HOUR CHAIRPERSON OF BP CASTROL JAPAN, CHARLES POSTLES, LOOKING SURPRISED CAMERA CREWS (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRPERSON OF BP CASTROL JAPAN, CHARLES POSTLES, SAYING: "Cristiano Ronaldo kicks at about 130 kilometres per hour and this machine manages to get up over 200 kilometres per hour so a new world record." LOGOS OF CASTROL AND FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 SOUTH AFRICA (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHAIRPERSON OF BP CASTROL JAPAN, CHARLES POSTLES, SAYING: "I'm not sure Ronaldo would like to stand next to the machine and have his speed compared with the machine, because i think the machine is going to beat Ronaldo." MACHINE GETTING READY, KICKING THE BALL AND DETACHING MANNEQUIN LEG DETACHED MANNEQUIN LEG
- Embargoed: 9th February 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky,Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA89JEHWGAA2MMP5O2P5BM13GQS
- Story Text: A football machine, which can kick a ball at a speed of more than 200 kilometres per hour, is ready to take on football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2010 World Cup.
With this year's football World Cup in South Africa coming up in less than six months, one company on Monday (January 25) introduced a high-tech kick machine that it says could even beat Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo and other international football stars.
Lubricants giant Castrol, an official sponsor of the 2010 World Cup, unveiled the world's first engine-driven "free kick" machine in Tokyo, which could smash a soccer ball into the goal with its "steel leg" at a speed of more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour.
Castrol said that it came up with the idea of creating the bulky football gadget after receiving inspiration from Ronaldo, who serves as a global ambassador for the London-based company until 2011.
After former Japanese national team football player Masakiyo Maezono kicked a ball that registered 96 kilometres (60 miles) per hour at the event, the machine, named "Ichi-Go," fired a shot that travelled at 206 kilometres (128 miles) per hour.
"Cristiano Ronaldo kicks at about 130 kilometres per hour and this machine manages to get up over 200 kilometres per hour so a new world record," Charles Postles, Chairperson of BP Castrol Japan, told Reuters.
"I'm not sure Ronaldo would like to stand next to the machine and have his speed compared with the machine, because I think the machine is going to beat Ronaldo," he added.
The machine will be joining sporting events across Japan for demonstrations this year, but won't be used for the purpose of actually training football players with its high-speed kick partly for safety reasons.
The company hopes that the machine will make its way to South Africa before the World Cup finals so it can appeal to a bigger audience. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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