From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Although China has long been associated with the
martial arts,
sport in China today consists of a variety of competitive
sports played in China, including
mainland China,
Hong Kong and
Macau. Traditional
Chinese culture regards
physical fitness
as an important aspect, and, since the 20th century, a large number of
sports activities, both Western and traditionally Chinese, are popular
in China. The country has its own national quadrennial multi-sport event
similar to the
Olympic Games, the
National Games of the People's Republic of China.
Cuju, an ancient form of football from China
Badminton, football, basketball and table tennis are the main sports
in China. Prior to the 1990s, sport in China, as in some other
countries, was completely government-funded. Some top athletes had quit
at the height of their careers because they were uncertain about life
post
retirement.
The situation began to change in 1994 when Chinese football became the
first sport to take the professionalization road and in its wake similar
reforms were carried out in
basketball,
volleyball,
ping pong and
weiqi.
The process brought with it commercialization; sport associations
became profit-making entities and a club system came into being;
professional leagues formed, improving China's sports environment; and
commercial management systems took shape. The professionalization of
sports has encouraged the emergence of a sports management market and
business-structured systems.
Sports club
operations now cover ticket sales, advertising, club transfers,
commercial matches, television broadcasting and other commercial
activities. Another aspect of the reform is that some Chinese athletes
have joined foreign professional leagues. For instance, basketball star
Yao Ming entered the NBA in the 2002 draft.
[1]
China led the
gold medal count (51) at the
2008 Summer Olympic Games, which were held in
Beijing from 8 August to 24 August 2008.
[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China
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