DID YOU KNOW…

Yao Ming is an Chinese professional basketball player who plays for the Houston Rockets of the NBA (National Basketball Association). Like Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of Congo), Tracy Mc Grady (United States) and Luis Scola (Argentina), he is one of the best players in the world.

Liu Xiang won the gold medal in the men´s 110 meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He was the first Asian man to win an Olympic gold medal in track, and his victory in Greece was hailed in his country as a cultural leap forward because it ran counter to the stereotypes of what makes a great hurdler.At the medalist´s press conference following the men´s 110-meter hurdlers, Liu said: “My victory has proved that athletes with yellow skin can run as fast as those with black and white skin”. He was born on July 13, 1983 in Shangai, China.

The Chinese delegation participated in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney (Australia), and won 28 gold medals in such events as athletics, badminton, diving, gymnastics, judo, shooting, taekwondo, table tennis and weightlifting.

Kuoshu is the national sport in the People`s Republic of China.

Lang Ping played volleyball at the 1984 Summer Olympics for China. In the 1980s, she was the best volleyball player in the world. In 2004, she became the head coach of the USA women`s national volleyball team. “Lang Ping is an individual who has been uncommonly successful in every phase of her career as a player and a coach, and her accomplishments are unequaled,” USA chief executive officer Doug Beal said. “She won every major event as a player for China during her career and was clearly the dominant player in the world in the 1980s.” And she transitioned more seamlessly than almost anyone in volleyball history to her role as a coach, leading China to a silver medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and successfully coaching professionally in Italy for many years.”

China sent 246 athletes to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona (Spain). It participated in gymnastics, athletics, boxing, cycling, fencing, diving, judo, shooting, swimming, table tennis, archery, badminton, sailing, weightlifting, wrestling, modern pentathlon, basketball and volleyball. The People´s Republic of China finished 4th in the medal count, with 54 (16 gold), trailing the Unified Team (112), United States (108) and Germany (82).

The Chinese metropolis has hosted the 11th Asian Games in 1990. Over 6,122 athletes from more than 35 countries participated, along with 1,000 coaches. It was the largest multi-sport event in the Third World in 1990.

Beijing has hosted the 1990 FIVB Volleyball Women´s World Championship. It is the capital city of China.

The Asian country has had many famous sportswomen in the past century: Kuo-tuang Jung (table tennis), Lu Li (gymnastics), Chen Yueling (track and field), Fu Mingxia (diving), Zheng Meizhu (volleyball), Gao Min (diving), Haixia Zheng (basketball), Yang Xilan (volleyball), Zhuang Xiaoyan (judo), Hong Qian (swimming), Gu Jun (badminton), Chuang Tse-tung (table tennis), Wang Huifeng (fencing), Hsie-ting (table tennis), Wei Qiang (softball), Yong Zhuang (swimming), He Ying (archery), Ge Fei (badminton), Le Jingyi (swimming), Wang Junxia (track and field), Xu Yanmei (diving), Sun Fuming (judo), Li Duihong (shooting), Mo Huilan (gymnastics) and Qu Yunxia (athletics).

Zhu Jianhua was one of the most famous athletes in China and in Asia. He was an Olympic bronze medalist and former world record holder in the high jump.

The Chinese team won the women`s volleyball World Cup by defeating Cuba (3-1) in 1985. It was the 2d World Cup victory for the People`s Republic of China.

China did not participate at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, URSS (currently Russia).Many Chinese athletes -notably hurdler Tsu Lin, high jumper Ni Chih-chin, long jumper Hsia Chieh-ping, runner Sung Mei-hua, and volleyball players Liang Yan, Zhang Rongfang, Zhou Xiaolan and Zhu Ling- lost their Olympic opportunities.

Li Ning won three gymnastics gold medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California (USA). Like Nadia Comaneci (Romania) and Vitaly Scherbo (Belarus), he was one of the best gymnasts of the 20th century. Li Ning was born on September 8, 1963 in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China.

From 1993 to 1996, Wang Junxia was one of the greatest runners in China and Asia. She set three world records in 1993 (3,000- metre and 10,000-metre events). This year she won a gold medal in the 10,000 m at the World Championships in Stuggart (Germany). At the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (Georgia,USA), she notified the world of her championships capabilities by winning the gold medal in the 5,000-meter race.

The Asian country won the silver medal in softball at the 1996 Olympic Games in the United States.

Diver Fu Mingxia won 5 gold medal at three successive Olympic Games: Barcelona (1992), Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000). She is an idol in her natal city of Wuhan, China.

Chuang Tse-tung was one of the best-known players in the history of table tennis (also known as ping pong). In the 1960s, she was an idol in the People´s Republic of China.

China has competed in the Winter Olympics 8 times and has won a total of 33 medals. It has more Olympic medals that Iceland, Hungary, Australia and Poland combined.

Michael Chang, who had won a Grand Slam, plans to open an academy for young players in China. He once said, “I have a wish, which is to contribute my experience accumulated from playing in world tournaments to the development of tennis in China”.

China sent 219 athletes to the 1984 Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Chinese delegation had athletes competing in 16 sports: archery (6), athletics (22), basketball (22), canoeing (4), cycling (7), fencing (17), gymnastics(14), handball (15), wrestling (10), rowing (9), shooting (17), swimming (35), tennis (1), volleyball (22),weightlifting (10) and sailing (4).