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| 2002: A year of highs and lows for Chinese sport |
| CCTV.COM 2002-12-27 18:12:58 |
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2002 has been a year of ups and downs for Chinese sport. There's been much for fans to cheer about: China proved the dominant sporting force in Asia； the men's football team made it through to the World Cup； and Yao Ming became the NBA's number one draft pick. But they are also fully aware of the challenges ahead.
One hundred and fifty golds, 300 medals in total. China again dominated the Asian Games. Over the 16 days from late September, Chinese athletes made a strong showing in almost all the sporting events and were high on top in the medal tally. Japan and South Korea were a distant second and third respectively. While China kept its advantage in its traditionally strong events, challenges from other countries are obvious, particularly in women's weightlifting, badminton and table tennis. Midway through the Games, China was handed a shocking upset by the DPRK in the women's table tennis team final. All these are a reminder that no advantage can be taken for granted.
Meanwhile China also made a historic breakthrough in the 19th Winter Olympics held in the US city of Salt Lake City in February. The Chinese delegation won gold, silver and bronze. Veteran Yang Yang captured two gold medals in the 500－meter and 1,000－meter short track speed skating events, marking the milestone in China's skating history. With the two golds, China successfully broke the zero record for the gold medal and ranked 13th, its best showing ever.
It is not only the winter sports fans who have had cause for optimism, Chinese football enthusiasts have also been lucky enough to witness another historic breakthrough. After years of efforts, China finally kicked its way into the World Cup finals co－hosted by Japan and South Korea. Reaching the finals was a dream coming true, but China's first showing turned out to be nothing more than a learning experience. Matched against Costa Rica, Turkey and Brazil, China proved easy pickings with three straight losses.
Although the national football team returned from the World Cup empty handed, the fans' enthusiasm was ignited again when the Chinese football players became recruitment targets for overseas clubs. So far nearly a dozen Chinese footballers have played in overseas clubs, mainly in Europe. Among them, Sun Jihai, who was bought by the Manchester City Football Club for 2 million pounds, is a good example. He has so far scored two goals.
Football is not the only sport that exports players to other countries. Basketball is also a hot ticket item. The representative is the Chinese sensation Yao Ming. In June, the NBA's Houston Rockets used their first round of the draft to pick the first international player to be the number one draft choice, Yao Ming.
Yao is the third Chinese player in the NBA after Wang Zhizhi and Menk Bateer. So far the Chinese sensation has been worth every cent spent on him. Less than two months into his NBA career, the 7－foot－5 center has already shot his seventh twin－double－digit and is already on track to becoming an NBA "All－Star" starter to be the starting center in the Western Conference. Few could have any doubt that Yao Ming will become yet another NBA legend.
Having Chinese players competing overseas is just one side of the exchanges that have been going on between China and the rest of the world. Some major international sports organizations have already been attracted to China. Shanghai has become one of the hot spots in recent years. In October, the International Automobile Federation chose Shanghai to be a host city for the Formula One Championship series racing between 2004 and 2010. From November 12 through 19, the ATP's Tennis Masters Cup kicked off in Shanghai. The year's eight best players gathered in the bund city to compete for the prestigious title. The successful organization of the Masters Cup has won applause from the ATP, players, fans and journalists. Also in the years to come, more top international competitions will be coming to China. There's the Women's World Cup in 2003, the Table Tennis World Cup in 2005 and the Special Olympics in 2007, not to mention the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And with the hosting of the Olympics in China, one fifth of humanity will embrace the Olympic Spirit on their home soil.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang CCTV.com
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