>> ASIAONE / NEWS / LATEST NEWS / SPORTS / STORY
China's dominance: Good or bad for sport?
Mon, May 18, 2009
AFP

GUANGZHOU (China) - ANOTHER tournament, another world crown for China.

Having won every title going at the world table tennis championships earlier this month, China - as widely predicted - wrapped up the Sudirman Cup world team badminton championships on Sunday in equally emphatic fashion.

That after Chinese athletes pocketed 51 gold medals at last year's Olympics to finish top of the medals table for the first time.

Outside China, players, coaches and fans agree that, as the Asian country grows richer, it is likely to increasingly dominate sports such as badminton and table tennis, in which it has traditionally been strong.

But what they cannot agree on is whether this is good for the sports themselves, while even the Chinese are beginning to wonder if, in some disciplines at least, they have become just too good.

'It's dangerous,' Cai Zhenhua, the country's most senior table tennis official, said after seeing China secure yet another clean sweep at the world table tennis championships, in Yokohama, Japan this month.

'If one association keeps winning everything, it's good for that association but it's not good for the sport.'

Even before China saw off South Korea 3-0 to win badminton's biennial Sudirman Cup - they have now won the prestigious trophy three times in a row - there was disquiet about their supreme domination in that sport as well.

'I don't think anybody thinks that domination's a good thing,' said Tom Bacher, president of Badminton Europe. 'I believe it would be beneficial for the sport for there to be a better spread.'

But Bacher said he did not think China's rapid development would automatically lead to further sporting success, saying that the rising standard of living could lessen the incentive to pursue a sporting career.

 
 
STORY INDEX
 
  China's dominance: Good or bad for sport?
   
 
  The inside scoop on luxury boating
   
 
  Babes of the Lingerie Football League
   
 
  Phelps ends comeback on a losing note
   
 
  Beauty plays the beast in lingerie football
   
 
  Don't tarnish our Olympic silver
   
 
  Hiddink admits second thoughts over Chelsea exit
   
 
  Ferguson's title win leaves bitter taste in Benitez' mouth
   
 
  Basketball: Lakers thump Rockets to advance in NBA playoffs
   
 
  Athletics: Bolt runs fastest 150m in history
   
>> RELATED STORY
China's dominance: Good or bad for sport?
Political jitters put damper on China's concert biz
Ziyi's rude antics exposed
China says US spy accusation 'totally made up'
China criticised for overreacting to swine flu

Elsewhere in AsiaOne...

Investor Relations: Four Singapore firms invest $127m in Tianjin

Wine,Dine&Unwind: Finding oneself in the shadow of a monk

Travel: Sex-theme park closed prematurely

Health: HFMD outbreak in China

Motoring: Automakers of the world vie to tap China market

Digital: Skype's China spying sparks anger

Business: China's ICBC eyes big rise in consumer loans

Multimedia: 16 killed in China ahead of Games

 

We welcome contributions, comments and tips.
a1admin@sph.com.sg