'Big ball' events big headache for the host
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China midfielder Wang Xuanhong (11) fights for the ball during the Group A match against Kyrgyzstan at the Asian Games on Wednesday. China won 2-1. Yang Shizhong / China Daily |
Although there is little doubt China will top the medal tally of the upcoming Guangzhou Asian Games, its sports officials still have concerns.
Soccer, basketball and volleyball - the three "big ball" sports - are still headaches for the country's sports authorities. Senior officials have played down expectations in the events while vowing to strive for better development.
"Frankly speaking, our teams in the three 'big ball' events face an uphill battle here at the Guangzhou games," said Xiao Tian, deputy chef-de-mission of the Chinese delegation and also China's deputy sports minister.
"But as long as they try their best and go all out in the competitions, we can accept whatever their results are."
Those sports are considered the reflection of real sports power. As a rising sports powerhouse, though, Chinese teams still fail to meet the expectations of home fans, especially recently.
Chinese soccer has been mired in bribery and match-fixing scandals since last year, and its national teams have struggled to make headway. The men's Under-19 team, which normally achieves good results at its level, lost 3-0 to Thailand at the Asian Youth Championships, and the U-17 team fell 2-1 to Australia in its Asian championship.
In Monday's opening match of the Asian Games, China's U-21 team lost 3-0 to rival Japan in Group A.
China's women's volleyball team used to be a national icon, especially after claiming Olympic Games, World Championship and World Cup titles in successive tournaments in the 1980s. It reclaimed Olympic gold at the 2004 Games in Athens.
It has recently fallen on hard times, though. China missed out on the top eight at the ongoing World Championships in Japan, needing two late victories to even qualify for the ninth-place playoff.
The men's basketball team also faces a difficult time in Guangzhou. The defending Asian Games champion enters the tournament under the shadow of an ugly brawl with visiting Brazil last month.
Xiao said China fell behind because it used to focus on individual sports that require fine skills, such as gymnastics and diving, but the development of "big ball" events depends on more professional club systems.
"In the recent two decades, the sports industry has developed quickly and the sports leagues of basketball, soccer and even volleyball developed very fast in other countries," he said. "China used to depend more on the whole-nation system, so it's a new topic for us to transform to such a new system to help develop those 'big ball' sports."
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