04.11.06
Haier and the NBA
Here’s the Chinese way to say it: “High-R.” Just like that. The air conditioner/heating unit in my Shantou apartment was made by Haier, and so are a whole lot of other household and electronic goods. Big, big company with a big future, and in today’s news, they’ve signed a sponsorship agreement with the NBA. By the way, Haier is also a named sponsor for the 2008 Olympics.
Sports Business: Reuters has the story on the Haier/NBA sponsorship deal.
Track and Field: Liu Xiang is back on the track, according to the China Daily, which reports today that he’s recovered from the ankle injury that kept him out of the 2006 indoor world championships in Moscow last month. No surprises in this article: Liu’s coach Sun Haiping says that Liu is curtailing his 2006 schedule in order to peak for the 2008 Olympics.
Golf: The Volvo China Open begins on April 13, and China has a bona fide contender in Liang Wenchong. The 27-year-old recently won the Hainan stop of the 2006 Omega China Tour. The Electric New Paper of Singapore has the story. On a slow news day I’ll write more about the phenomenon of golf in China. Jeopardy quiz question: What city houses the world’s largest golf resort? Answer: Shenzhen, China, with 180 holes of golf over a piece of real estate that’s larger than two Manhattans back to back, according to this article from Cybergolf.
Football Scandals: In Chinese, soccer is called 足球 - pronounced “zoo-chee-oo” - and it sure seems like a zoo at times with all the scandals sprouting up around it. From the “Black Whistles” (corrupt referees) to gambling scandals, it almost (almost) makes European football look tame by comparison. Today Xinhua writes about an attempt to crack down on football gambling, including online betting. Wishing the authorities good luck with this one - this is one sport in China that can use all the cleaning up it can get.
India vs. China: Rediff.com writes today about India’s desire to fight doping in Indian elite sports. The fast-developing nation sees itself on a par with China in many ways, and with New Delhi angling for a chance to host the 2016 Olympics, it makes sense that now is the time for them to become a strong anti-doping force, much the same way that China has become one in the past few years after a series of drug scandals in the 1990’s.