Keeping track of the sports world in China
Interesting blog post at the Guardian (UK) today about sporting rivalries. The Davis Cup final between Russia and the United States will be played this weekend - but how long will it be before China is considered a bona fide major sports nation, when measured by real athletic success? The piece below brings up some interesting points.
Taming of the Feuds (Guardian Unlimited, UK)
From ESPN.com, a report that Justine Henin, the defending Olympic gold medalist in women’s tennis, may not go to Beijing because the pollution there aggravates her asthma.
The BALCO scandal (European version) continues…
Greek sprinters and coach deny BALCO links (Reuters India)
News links today include a report on the progress of a major venue for the Olympics, boating, and the Special Olympics World Games being hosted in Shanghai. In F1 action, the Chinese Grand Prix was held on Sunday in Shanghai as well…news on that event to come.
Special Olympics:
Behind the scenes with Philip Bromwell at the Special Olympics World Games (RTE News, Ireland)
All for sport and life with Healthy Athletes Program (People’s Daily Online)
New Zealand Special Olympians win 17 medals and still going (Stuff.co.nz)
Impressive show from Pakistani cyclist helped grab one more gold for the country (Associated Press of Pakistan)
Olympic Venues:
Curvy Beauty (Editor’s Note: The National Indoor Stadium - 国家体育馆) all set for the Olympics (The Star, Malaysia)
Boating:
Peng Linwu, China’s first F1 power boatman (People’s Daily Online)
So many news clips, so little time.
World University Games (Universade):
The Chinese team had a great Universade, winning the medal count with 32 golds and 87 total medals.
A year out from the Beijing Olympics, China wins University Games gold race (International Herald Tribune)
A memorable Universade for hosts (The Nation - Thailand)
Universade concludes, China topping medal standings (China View)
Involvement of colleges leads China sports to sustainable development (People’s Daily Online)
China on way to sports system transformation (People’s Daily Online)
Nice haul for Canada at Bangkok Universade (Winnipeg Free Press) Editor’s note: This article isn’t about China, but I’m feeling a little guilty at not having posted more news of the World University Games (Universade) while they were being contested, so this is the CSB’s attempt at a touch of penance…it’s a great event, one that China has hosted in the past, and one well worth paying attention to.
World Badminton championships:
Trio of medals for China (SportingLife.com)
Tennis:
Report on Yan Zi in Montreal (Edmonton Sun) It’s old news now - Yan Zi lost after this article was posted - but it’s worth reading about how China’s stellar doubles player made it all the way to the singles semifinals against Justine Henin in Montreal from the qualifying rounds.
World Track and Field Championships (Starts Saturday August 25 in Osaka, Japan):
Sweet and sour taste of reality (The Herald) Coverage of the British national track and field team that will compete in Osaka, with some thoughts about 2008.
China hoping a strong comeback in athletics (Sri Lanka Daily News)
Yen for running (Times Online) Not a Chinese story, but a great feature on Britain’s Mara Yamauchi, her country’s top entry for the marathon at the world championships (fellow Briton and world record holder Paula Radcliffe had a baby in January and will not be competing in Osaka).
2008 Olympics:
Summer Games are coming, but U.S. dominance is over (SportingNews.com)
Beijing sees Olympics as China’s shot at gold (Hollywood Reporter)
Olympic sailing test event: Report on the British team (SportingLife.com)
IT at Beijing Olympic Games to cost US$400 million (Washington Post)
Beijing’s weekend smog experiment (Blog entry at The Lede, New York Times)
More important than gold medals (Japan Times)
Olympic education for 400 million young people in China (International Olympic Committee)
IOC still believes in Beijing (BBC: Sport Editors’ Blog)
State Councilor urges better implementation of anti-doping regulation (People’s Daily Online)
WADA asks China to increase doping tests for athletes (Voice of America)
Smog casts a cloud over Beijing (BBC)
Coastal city pulsates with Beijing (People’s Daily Online)
It’s not a China thing, and honestly, it’s not even a basketball thing - it’s bigger than that. Every CSB reader deserves to check out this story. It’s must-read stuff: the New York Times’ story on Utah Jazz guard Derek Fisher and how he and his family are dealing with his ten-month-old daughter’s cancer diagnosis, right in the middle of the biggest Jazz postseason in a decade. Kudos to the Times for excellent, in-depth reporting on a rare form of eye cancer and Fisher’s struggle to make the right decision for his daughter.
Fisher is a father first, and a Jazz player later (NYTimes.com)
Took a little while for me to realize that the clock showing the time of blog postings had never been changed from my previous location in mainland China. Now that I’m on the U.S. west coast, I’ve set the clock to reflect the change. Just one of those housekeeping moments in the blogosphere…and how cute that the blog is “smart” enough to post this on February 11, when my two previous posts (on basketball and figure skating) were posted for February 12, China time…
It’s a hodgepodge right now, but the blog will be updated on a more regular basis going forward now that the China Sports Blogger is finally settled into a wonderful new home in the great Pacific Northwest. Rain? You betcha. Chinatown? Just down the street. Gotta love it.
Anti-piracy: Pirated goods in China run the gamut, including sports equipment. The UK’s Times Online reports on China’s latest efforts to crack down on counterfeiters ahead of a trade meeting with the United States.
I know you do. I really do. It’s the most-searched phrase that leads readers to the China Sports Blog: “CCTV-5 schedule.” Everyone in the world watches CCTV-5, China Central Television’s all-sports all-the-time television channel. And everyone wants to read an English-language schedule, and none exists. It’s a shame because the miracle of satellite television makes it possible for ping-pong fans in Germany and women’s volleyball fans in the United States to watch great coverage from China, where both of those sports are a very big deal. (I know, ping pong is big in Germany too, but still.) Anyway, here’s what I’ve got: links to the CCTV websites, which of course are in Chinese. As much as I’m able (very helpful if you email me with specific requests), I’ll keep an eye out for coverage of big events and will post it here on the CSB.
In China they have a term - 国球 (guoqiu, pronounced “gwoh-chee-oo”) - which literally means “country ball,” as in, the country of China. It’s the term for “national sport,” and in mainland China, the national sport is most assuredly ping pong.
Not so, necessarily, in Taiwan, where baseball has really taken off. Taiwan has several representatives in the major leagues, and the Los Angeles Times is reporting today on Taiwanese Heritage Day at Mets Stadium in New York last night at Shea Stadium.
Taiwanese players have made great inroads in MLB and the fans have been there to support them all the way. When the Yankees came to Safeco Field in Seattle recently to play the Mariners, there were national flags everywhere in the stands to support Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang.
[By the way, the CSB makes no distinction between the various Chinese-speaking areas of Asia when it comes to commentating on Chinese sports culture. The focus of this blog is the sports cultures of ethnic Chinese populations in Asia, so Hong Kong and Taiwan sports culture are as much fair game as mainland China. I'd prefer to leave the politics to the politicians and let the athletes play their games, regardless of whether they live in Beijing, Taipei, or the New Territories. For the record, all three of these areas compete separately in the Olympics: the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, known in the Olympic movement as Chinese Taipei.]