RIO DE JANEIRO www.odysseyreactaustralia.com , March 20 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's top-ranked golfer Adilson da Silva says the Rio 2016 Olympics can help kickstart the game's development in his homeland.


"We need to awaken the public's curiosity in golf and bring fans closer to the sport, and the Olympic Games will certainly help with this," he told Rio2016.


"I have no doubt that interest will grow because of the Games and the sport will get the attention of many people."


Silva, who plays on the Sunshine Tour in southern Africa, is the firm favorite to secure Brazil's only slot in the men's tournament.


His nearest rival for the berth is Rafael Becker, currently ranked 662nd.


"It would be very special," said the 43-year-old. "Representing my country has always been very special, but the Olympic Games would be even more thrilling. It would be an honor and a dream for me, and I'm really focused on this."


Silva represented Brazil in the World Cup of Golf in 2011 and 2013 but has played in Brazil just once since leaving the country more than 20 years ago.


The world's top 60 male and female golfers - as per the rankings on July 11, 2016 - will qualify for the Rio Games.


It will be the first time the sport is played at the Olympics since the 1904 Games in St. Louis.


TIANJIN, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's economic growth for the full year of 2014 may not reach 7.5 percent and is even possible to fall below 7.3 percent given its continued downward pressure, said a Chinese economist.


The growth slowdown is inevitable as the country's economy is on a major shift from speed to quality, said Xiang Songzuo, chief economist at the Agricultural Bank of China, at an international mining meeting in the northern port city of Tianjin.


The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.3 percent from a year ago in the third quarter, compared with 7.5 percent in the second quarter and 7.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.


For the first nine months, the GDP rose 7.4 percent year on year to reach 42 trillion yuan (6.84 trillion U.S. dollars).


China's economy faces the overcapacity and investment slowdown in its manufacturing and real estate sectors, increasing risks of non-performing loans and private financial defaults and the weak recovery of global economy, which are all "bad news", said Xiang.


But he warned against any large-scale stimulus policies.


Despite downward pressure, Xiang said China's economy still has great potential for growth and big opportunities.


More capital is going to the service sector from manufacturing industries, an optimized allocation of resources, he said, adding the rapid growth of Chinese investment overseas has made the country one of the major exporters of global capital.


Meanwhile, the Internet is bringing about profound changes to traditional industries at an unprecedented speed, said the economist.


And good prospects can also be seen from the economic reforms which the country is pushing, he said.


The Chinese government eyes a full-year GDP growth target of "around 7.5 percent" for 2014, vague wording that allows room for deepened reforms amid slower growth.


ACCRA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Ghana's debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio for year-end 2013 to be 56 percent, a release received from the fund on Saturday stated.


It said the projection by the fund was consistent with the figures released by the Bank of Ghana, the country's monetary authority.


On Wednesday, some media houses referred to the latest edition of IMF's report dubbed the Fiscal Monitor which had put Ghana's debt-to-GDP ratio at 71 percent, describing it as unsustainable.


The release however explained, the 71 percent mentioned by an IMF official at a press briefing, was a projection for the end of 2015.


"The number corresponds to the level projected at end-2015 under our baseline scenario published in the World Economic Outlook, which assumes the continuation of current economic policies," the statement added.


Ghana accessed 1.0 billion U.S dollars in Eurobonds last month, while the country's cocoa regulator, the COCOBOD also raised 1.7 billion dollars in a forward-trade of the country's cocoa stock for next year