One world, one healthy sports dream
- By Joergen Lindgren Hansen
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China Daily, August 9, 2011
The success of the Beijing Olympics shows that China has no longer to prove itself. During a recent visit to Shanghai, Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said Shanghai, too, has the capacity to host the Games. Interestingly, Chinese people seem unmoved by the compliment. In fact, a majority of Chinese netizens have said the inconvenience associated with hosting such events outweighs the benefits. The increased confidence of the international community in China's ability and correspondingly Chinese citizens' skepticism over such events show how power and agency have shifted hands in merely three years.
In the run-up to the 2008 Games' anniversary, other seminal moments in Chinese sports history were created. Just two weeks ago, the flag-bearer of the 2008 Games Opening Ceremony, Yao Ming, retired from the NBA. Even though Yao is a veteran, he is only 30 years old, a shockingly young age for retirement for anyone outside of the sports world. In less than a decade, Yao's accomplishments have been nothing short of a miracle. His fame and popularity made him the most successful cultural ambassador for China.
At a time when Sino-Western relations remain complicated, Yao's modest affability challenged the West's long-held stereotype views about China. Yao's seemingly impossible burden fueled early doubts about his ability to adapt to the aggressive pace and egocentric culture of the NBA. The young star, however, quickly quelled doubters by handling himself gracefully on and off court.
The end of Yao's era reminds us that individuals cannot carry the burden of Chinese sports, not even other sports stars like Li Na, who seems poised to take over Yao's torch as the next Chinese sports icon. As reflected by the successes of Yao and Li, and China's record medal haul at the 2008 Olympics, the centralized Chinese sports training system produces brilliant talents in many other games as well, such as swimming, badminton and gymnastics, not to speak of table tennis.
But the lack of Chinese team's victories in games such as basketball and men's soccer indicates that different strategies have to be adopted for success in different events. Many Chinese and foreign commentators have said that China's rigid system of recruiting athletes from childhood is the source of problem. I have to agree.
In my commentary on the Football World Cup, I advocated the fostering of a Chinese sports culture that places the love of sports, not the love of winning, at the core. As I reflect on my memories of the 2008 Olympics and speculate on Yao's legacy, what emerges is not moments of victories but the human connections inspired by sports.
The author is a media consultant based in Paris, France.
