李娜依然难以企及小威的高度

在被幸运女神眷顾了三个月之后,中国网球“一姐”李娜2014年开年以来的好运最终走到了尽头。在今年的迈阿密索尼公开赛决赛之前,李娜的2014赛季已取得了21胜2负的骄人战绩。但是她的成功却建立在从未与世界前10交手的基础上,这不得不说是一件很奇特的事。不过,北京时间3月30日,李娜还是迎来了她本赛季第一位“世界前10”的对手,而这个人就是李娜此前已连负9次的世界第一——塞雷娜•威廉姆斯(小威廉姆斯)。

Li Na Serena Williams Continue reading 李娜依然难以企及小威的高度

Star swimmer waxes lyrical in Beijing

Waxworks in China can either be good – like this one of Li Na in Wuhan – or very, very bad – like this one of Vladimir Putin in Fuzhou. Fortunately, Madame Tussauds’ latest creation of swimmer Ye Shiwen falls into the former category and gets a solid 8 out of 10 on the official China Sports Insider waxometer.

Ye Shiwen waxwork in Beijing Madame Tussauds Continue reading Star swimmer waxes lyrical in Beijing

Li Na’s painful streak continues, Marbury wins 2nd CBA title

Li Na has probably never before been compared to the Xinjiang Flying Tigers, but there’s a first time for everything. Both are on losing streaks they just can’t do anything about.

As usual, Li Na holds the smaller trophy
As usual, Li Na holds the smaller trophy

Continue reading Li Na’s painful streak continues, Marbury wins 2nd CBA title

NCAA欲夺NBA在华风头

随着美国大学生篮球联赛(NCAA)疯狂三月篮球锦标赛如火如荼的进行,美国大学体育总会的官员宣布,美国两支大学的非职业性的球队将会在中国进行常规赛的揭幕战。

预计在2015年11月13日,华盛顿大学队和德克萨斯大学队将在中国进行对抗。同时在今年夏天,一支来自太平洋12校联盟的全明星球队将会在中国打上一系列比赛。这些全部是新创意的一部分,原本意在展示篮球竞技的同事,尽量多地实现外交和文化交流。

Georgetown Hoyas and Bayi Rockets brawl Continue reading NCAA欲夺NBA在华风头

China’s Group Of Death

Wednesday’s Asian Cup draw paired China with Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and North Korea. Given those countries’ reputations, expect global headlines about a literal Group of Death:

  • Group of DeathChina – estimated to execute far more people than the rest of the world combined
  • Saudi Arabiano. 4 in the global list with 79 executions in 2013
  • Uzbekistan – has what the IHF called a “wide-scale violation of virtually all basic human rights”, with the current government blamed for massacring hundreds in 2005. Continue reading China’s Group Of Death

B’ball Bonanza: Marbury, CBA, NCAA & NBA

Stephon Marbury’s Beijing Ducks lead the Xinjiang Flying Tigers 2-1 in the CBA Finals, with all three wins so far going to the road team. Games 4 and 5 of the best-of-seven series are in Beijing on March 26 and 28 respectively. Marbury scored 21 and 16 points in the two wins and was even better in a losing cause at home. As per Basketball Buddha:

Stephon Marbury CBA Finals Continue reading B’ball Bonanza: Marbury, CBA, NCAA & NBA

Is Xi Jinping’s love of soccer a double-edged sword?

There’s a particular official within Chinese soccer circles who has developed a habit of starting each press conference or meeting with the words “I don’t know anything about football, but…” The intent is clear: if (when) this all goes south (again), it’s not my fault.

Xi Jinping at Croke Park in Feb 2012
Xi Jinping at Croke Park in Feb 2012

The state’s control of Chinese football is a large reason for its poor performance over the years: what is needed is a long-term plan, but Chinese officialdom rewards short-term thinking.

Having a man in charge of the country who loves the game would appear to be a positive, but this week’s Sports Talk column looks at how Chinese President Xi Jinping’s love of soccer may not actually be such a good thing for the sport after all…

Continue reading Is Xi Jinping’s love of soccer a double-edged sword?

New Zealand PM tries sports diplomacy in China

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has long been a fan of sports diplomacy, having taken international rugby and cricket players with him on previous trips around the Asia-Pacific region. On his current trip to China, rugby was once again at the fore.

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Photo credit: NZ Herald

Continue reading New Zealand PM tries sports diplomacy in China

The world’s best team?

Teams considered to be the best in the world by the Laureus Academy over the past decade have included FC Barcelona, the European Ryder Cup team and China’s Olympic squad.

Peng and Hsieh continue their perfect partnership
Peng and Hsieh continue their perfect partnership

But you would be hard pushed to find a more dominant team in world sport right now than the women’s doubles partnership of China’s Peng Shuai and Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei. In winning the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells last weekend, the pair moved to 11-0 in finals. I’ve searched high and low to find some comparable dominance – in tennis and elsewhere – and I’m still looking.

Continue reading The world’s best team?

Sports business news and analysis in China and Asia