Top 10 stories of China sports in 2009

We take a look back at the big ten of China sports in 2009 as well as the year’s leading sports movers and shakers.

(1)Swimming: Historymaker

Zhang Lin became China’s first male swimming world champ in Rome this summer

Freestyle swimmer Zhang Lin made an historic breakthrough for China when he won the 800m freestyle at the World Championships in Rome in July, demolishing Australian great Grant Hackett’s world record in the process.

His victory made him the first Chinese male swimmer to win a World Championships title.

“My biggest goal is the 2012 London Games. I hope I won’t miss the gold by another 0.58 seconds,” said Zhang, who settled for silver in Beijing last August, beaten by Park Tae-hwan of South Korea by that slim margin.

“I hope through my years of effort I can make up for my regrets at the Beijing Games.”

Zhang was not the only Chinese swimmer to stir up the pool this year. Women’s butterfly swimmer Liu Zige, the Beijing Olympic champion, set a world record of 2:01.81 at China’s National Games in October and broke the short-course record with 2:00.78 in Berlin, Germany, a month later.

(2)Athletics: What a comeback

Liu Xiang reclaimed the spotlight with a strong comeback

After being absent from competition for 13 months, China’s star hurdler, Liu Xiang, reclaimed the spotlight with a strong comeback.

The country’s biggest track-and-field star racked up three victories and a runners-up finish in the four events he participated in over the past three months.

A surprising time of 13.15 started Liu’s comeback run at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix in September, where he was narrowly beaten by US veteran Terrence Trammell.

A month later, he clocked 13.34 to win his third China Games title and continued his good form at the Asian Championships last month with a victory in 13.50. The former Olympic and world champion capped his return with an easy victory at the East Asian Games in Hong Kong in December.

“After undergoing surgery in December last year, I didn’t think this year could be so smooth I didn’t know what kind of results I could gain,” Liu said.

What’s was just as pleasing to China’s track-and-field fans this year was that even without Liu, the country performed well at the Berlin World Championships in August. Spearheaded by a gold medal from women’s marathoner Bai Xue, the Chinese team exceeded expectations, earning one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

(3)Diving: Falling angel

China’s diving diva, Guo Jingjing, consolidated her status as the most successful woman in the sport’s history by claiming two titles at the World Swimming Championships in Rome.

She won the double on the 3m springboard in the individual and synchronized events. It was the fifth straight time she had accomplished the feat at the Worlds and took her world title tally to 10.

Her Rome deeds added another chapter to a glorious career. At the Beijing Games, Guo claimed her third and fourth gold medals, making her the most decorated diver, along with Fu Mingxia, in Olympic history.

Guo has surpassed Fu in terms of records at major international tournaments. She is likely to compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where one more gold would be enough to make her the undisputed No 1 diver of all time.

(4)Basketball: Shanghai surprise

China’s NBA All-star Yao Ming has a new title in his hometown of Shanghai – Boss Yao.

After buying the Shanghai Sharks for 20 million yuan ($2.93 million) in July, Yao became the new head of the basketball team and has vowed to help it back to the top. “In the coming years our team will work hard to win more games. Looking into the eyes of our young players, I feel Shanghai will soon rise to the top again, ” Yao said..

Before heading off to the NBA in 2002, Yao led the club to its only CBA championship that season. Since then, the Sharks have struggled and even lost their main sponsor at the beginning of this year due to poor results which saw the side finish second last in the league.

Yao is not the only prominent person interested in the rapidly-developing CBA. China-born businessman Huang Jianhua took over the Jilin team in October.

(5)Doping: Cheating or cheated

Sprinter Wang Jing tested positive for epitestosterone and testosterone after winning the women’s 100m final at the National Games in October in Shandong province, becoming the highest-profile Chinese athlete to fail a test this year.

Wang and her coach, Chen Hua, could face lifetime bans although they claim they don’t know how the drugs got into her system.

Wang, 21, is among China’s brightest sprint prospects. She finished fourth at the 2006 Junior World Championships in the 200m and was a key component of the 4x100m relay team which claimed gold at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

Wang’s doping case was one of three at the Games in Shandong. Guo Linna, a rower from Henan province, and Li Jie, a shooter from Inner Mongolia, were also found to have taken banned substances.

They were both kicked out of the meet.

(6)Volleyball: ‘Hammer’ strikes again

The “Iron Hammer” Lang Ping continued her legendary career by signing on to coach Guangdong Evergrande Women’s Volleyball Club, the sport’s first privately-funded club in China.

Within two months, Lang put together a star-studded cast for the newly-established team, including Feng Kun, an ex-captain of the national team and setter, current US national team libero Nicole Davis and Christa Harmotto.

Not surprisingly, the team has claimed seven straight victories in the women’s second division.

“Lang has always been my idol as a player and a coach,” said Feng.

“I wanted to learn more from her and accumulate more experience, so I joined her club. I believe what I can learn here will benefit my future career and life.”

(7)Figure skating: Gold the goal

Winning the Grand Prix finals title for the sixth time in Tokyo early this month topped a fine comeback for China’s veteran figure skating pair of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. Now, the Olympic gold medal is the only thing on their minds.

After more than two years in retirement, the three-time world champion pair burst back on to the skating scene this year in a bid to claim Olympic gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games in February.

The pair has won all three competitions it has participated in this season and upped its personal best scores each time. At the GP Finals in Tokyo, Shen and Zhao won gold with a record 214.25 points.

“The Olympic gold medal has always been our dream and we will strive for it step by step,” said 36-year-old Zhao.

Led by Shen/Zhao, the other two top Chinese pairs, Pang Qing/Tong Jian, the 2006 world champions and runners-up at the Grand Prix final this season, and Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao, will also strive for glory in Vancouver.

(8)Match fixing: Finally …

Match fixing has been an open secret in China’s professionsal soccer leagues but it was not until March this year that the nation’s cabinet started to take is seriously.

For the first time, a high-profile committee was set up by 12 ministry-level organs to clean Chinese soccer of its evils. So far, at least seven executives, including two from China’s only English-backed soccer club Chengdu Blades, have been arrested and detained for match-fixing and gambling, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Meanwhile, dozens of former players and officials have been questioned with some of them being accused of gambling through foreign websites.

Nan Yong, deputy chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), said the association would cooperate with the security bureau.

(9)Cue sports: World in pocket

It was a superb year for China’s cue sports.

Star snooker player Ding Junhui announced his comeback by winning his second UK Championship title on Dec 13. It was also the 22-year-old’s first major tournament victory since claiming the 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy.

On the women’s side, 16-year-old Liu Shasha became the youngest player to win the World Women’s 9-ball Championships in Shangyang, Liaoning province, in November, the second Chinese winner of the event after Pan Xiaoting in 2007.

Also, Liang Wenbo reached the quarterfinals at the UK Championship. He was also only the second Chinese player and fourth Asian man to reach a ranking final at September’s Shanghai Masters.

(10)National fitness: Sports for all

After topping the gold medal tally at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games for the first time, China has expanded its focus from competitive sports to mass sports, calling on and helping more and more people to take part in and benefit from daily exercise.

August 8, the opening date of the 2008 Beijing Games, has been named National Fitness Day and various activities were held all over the country to mark the anniversary, including fitness lectures, table tennis competitions and a chance to seek help from sports scientists.

“The Olympics were not only the show of elite athletes but also the embodiment of sport’s general values, which inspired more and more Chinese people to join sports enthusiastically,” said Liu Peng, China’s sports minister.

National Fitness Regulations came into effect on Oct 1. The regulations emphasize the rights of students to practise sports and encourage the opening of sports facilities to the public after school and on holidays.

While the athletes fought for medals at the 11th National Games in October, the organizers chose “Harmonious China, People’s Games” as the motto to promote physical fitness nationwide rather than the Games being a mere a demonstration of the country’s sports strength.

2009年中国体育十大新闻：
一、8月8日，我国首个全民健身日启动；8月30日，国务院颁布《全民健身条例》；10月1日，《全民健身条例》施行。
二、7月30日，张琳在罗马游泳世锦赛男子800米自由泳决赛中以7分32秒12夺冠并打破世界纪录，实现中国男子游泳历史性突破。
三、10月16日至28日，第十一届全运会在山东举行。刘子歌创造女子200米蝶泳世界纪录。
四、中国足球打假行动引起社会高度关注，打击赌球、假球的风暴波及国内部分省市。
五、8月12日，郎平签约恒大女排，执教国内第一家真正由企业出资、实行企业化管理的排球俱乐部。
六、中国田径频传利好，9月20日，刘翔以13秒15完美复出，随后蝉联全运会三连冠。 8月23日，白雪在柏林田径世锦赛以2小时25分15秒夺得中国马拉松世锦赛历史首金。
七、2月18日至28日，第二十四届世界大学生冬季运动会在中国哈尔滨举行。中国代表团以18金、18银、12铜的佳绩笑傲群雄。
八、3月29日，中国队在2009年女子冰壶世锦赛上首夺世界冠军。
九、7月15日，姚之队正式签约收购上海东方男篮，姚明成为昔日母队的老板。
十、11月13日至23日，首届全国智力运动会在四川举行。