https://www.scmp.com/rss/325786/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3281524/singapores-sprint-queen-blazes-trail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3281524/singapores-sprint-queen-blazes-trail?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000 Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3167212/how-beijing-winter-olympics-are-being-made-green-visually?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3167212/how-beijing-winter-olympics-are-being-made-green-visually?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Feb 2022 06:45:18 +0000 Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3165780/sealed-winter-games-closed-loop-system-explained?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3165780/sealed-winter-games-closed-loop-system-explained?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Feb 2022 04:00:27 +0000 Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3164877/visual-guide-beijing-winter-olympics-2022-map-venues-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/china/article/3164877/visual-guide-beijing-winter-olympics-2022-map-venues-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Jan 2022 06:00:26 +0000 The International Olympic Committee does not offer cash prizes because the organisation believes the glory of winning a medal is reward enough. However, some participants offer their athletes mouth-watering incentives to bring home a gold medal. Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3144708/biggest-gold-medal-cash-prize-italy-no11-hong-kong-no-3-whos-no1?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3144708/biggest-gold-medal-cash-prize-italy-no11-hong-kong-no-3-whos-no1?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Aug 2021 05:00:17 +0000 Explore our visual story to see all the athletes' profiles and history of Hong Kong at the Games. Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3141690/who-are-46-hong-kong-athletes-competing-tokyo-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3141690/who-are-46-hong-kong-athletes-competing-tokyo-olympics?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jul 2021 04:00:19 +0000 Our visual story analyse China’s most successful Olympic sports and 20 Chinese athletes who are the gold medal contenders. Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3141789/tokyo-olympics-top-20-chinese-gold-medal-contenders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3141789/tokyo-olympics-top-20-chinese-gold-medal-contenders?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jul 2021 05:00:13 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/infographics/hong-kong/article/3134214/visual-story-who-asias-football-king-lee-wai-tong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/hong-kong/article/3134214/visual-story-who-asias-football-king-lee-wai-tong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 May 2021 07:00:07 +0000 A popular Chinese comedy show said on Sunday that it would suspend a highly anticipated episode roasting two famous Chinese basketball players after viewers criticized it for being uncomfortably harsh.  The decision from Tencent’s Roast! also highlights the push and pull between China’s state-led sports system and private industry.   On March 14, the show aired the first half of a series roasting Chinese National Team basketball players Guo Ailun and Zhou Qi. The two players were part of a team... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-comedy-show-pulls-episode-after-it-dunks-too-hard-basketball-players/article/3126623?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-comedy-show-pulls-episode-after-it-dunks-too-hard-basketball-players/article/3126623?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Mar 2021 11:54:23 +0000 An image of poor young rural Chinese boys swinging baseball bats in a bid for a better life has moved a nation to tears with the release of a new documentary that sheds light on the lives of the country’s “left-behind” children. The documentary, Tough Out, opened last week to critical acclaim and is a devastating reflection of the reality faced by seven million children who have been left behind in rural China by parents forced to move to the cities in search of work.  Named best documentary in... https://www.scmp.com/sports/baseball-boys-movie-portrays-struggle-chinas-growing-number-left-behind-children/article/3114368?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/baseball-boys-movie-portrays-struggle-chinas-growing-number-left-behind-children/article/3114368?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Dec 2020 11:59:19 +0000 There are various reasons a soccer team loses a match, but the color of its players’ hair is certainly a new one.  A women’s soccer team in China was banned by officials from taking the field because their players’ hair was “not black enough.”  The team from Fuzhou University was scheduled to play Jimei University in the south-eastern province of Fujian as part of a two-week tournament, but was told by officials beforehand it was in breach of the rules that ban jewelry, “strange hairstyles” and... https://www.scmp.com/sports/soccer-team-china-forfeited-match-because-hair-not-black-enough/article/3113336?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/soccer-team-china-forfeited-match-because-hair-not-black-enough/article/3113336?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Dec 2020 10:46:31 +0000 When Diego Maradona died on Wednesday, it was a moment of nostalgia for many soccer fans in China, who were reminded of childhood memories of watching the World Cup with their parents. Maradona is often mentioned as the greatest soccer player in the history of the sport. While he retired from professional-level soccer in 1997, millennials remember watching him as kids, when he played for the Argentinian national team in the 1980s and 1990s.  “When I was younger, most of my memories with my dad... https://www.scmp.com/sports/death-soccer-god-sparks-nostalgia-among-chinese-fans/article/3111649?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/death-soccer-god-sparks-nostalgia-among-chinese-fans/article/3111649?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Nov 2020 12:07:01 +0000 Cen Xiaolin is bashful when people bring up his nickname—“world’s strongest thigh.” “That’s so dramatic,” Cen says with a chuckle. Dramatic though it may be, there is some truth to it. At the 2019 World Jump Rope Championship in Oslo, the then-17-year-old teenager skipped 1,141 times in three minutes. That’s 6.3 jumps per second. He went on to smash four other records at the competition. Cen is the result of a rigorous jump rope program at Qixing Primary School in Guangzhou, a city in southern... https://www.scmp.com/culture/school-china-was-failing-then-it-discovered-jump-rope/article/3100095?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/school-china-was-failing-then-it-discovered-jump-rope/article/3100095?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Sep 2020 23:05:17 +0000 Most boxers who turn professional have already spent years sharpening their skills on the amateur scene. Not China’s Xiong Chaozhong. When Xiong turned pro at the age of 23, the only grind he had come to know was pushing carts out of the coal mines for 13 cents a day, working 10-hour shifts.  He is a member of the Miao (Hmong) ethnic minority, and he started laboring at 17. He had dropped out of school to help support his family, who lived in the countryside of Wenshan, in the south of Yunnan... https://www.scmp.com/sports/how-coal-miner-became-chinas-first-world-boxing-champion/article/3080035?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/how-coal-miner-became-chinas-first-world-boxing-champion/article/3080035?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Apr 2020 11:46:42 +0000 Explore our infographic to see which of our athletes will represent Hong Kong, and which are close to securing their spot in Tokyo Tap here to launch this special feature https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3075826/tokyo-2020-olympics-hong-kong-olympic-team-takes-shape-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/sport/article/3075826/tokyo-2020-olympics-hong-kong-olympic-team-takes-shape-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Mar 2020 08:10:13 +0000 Mixed martial arts fighter Zhang Weili made history last August when she became the first Chinese UFC world champion. And on Saturday in Las Vegas, she successfully defended her title against former champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk. If it seems like Zhang has been preparing for this moment her whole life, it’s because her hometown of Handan in northern China is famous for producing fighters. The city of 9.5 million is steeped in martial arts history. People here regularly practice tai chi 太极, wushu 武术,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/ufc-zhang-weili-china-hometown/article/3074724?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/ufc-zhang-weili-china-hometown/article/3074724?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2020 12:28:11 +0000 “He’s very cute,” remarks Dong Xiaobo as he feeds a pigeon he’s been raising for several years. “Ever since he was little, he’d always eat grain from my mouth. We’ve built a very close relationship.” Dong is a pigeon enthusiast in Beijing who raises the birds for racing. Throughout history, pigeons have been used to carry messages, and the sport of racing them evolved from their uncanny ability to sense direction across long distances. Races involve releasing trained pigeons and seeing who can... https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-racing-pigeons/article/3073944?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/china-racing-pigeons/article/3073944?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2020 08:12:59 +0000 Japan has far more at stake than its athletes picking up medals in the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games and Paralympics, which explains the government’s single-minded commitment to going ahead with the event in the face of the threat posed by the novel coronavirus. The Japanese government on Wednesday reiterated that the Games would go ahead in July as scheduled, with chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga declaring that preparations were continuing despite the spread of the virus worldwide. The... https://www.scmp.com/sports/why-japan-wants-2020-tokyo-olympics-go-ahead-planned-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/article/3065130?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/why-japan-wants-2020-tokyo-olympics-go-ahead-planned-amid-coronavirus-outbreak/article/3065130?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Mar 2020 10:24:50 +0000 “I am the king,” Sun Yang said at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He was referring to his position in the 1,500m freestyle and his rivalry with Australian swimmer Mack Horton, but he could have been talking in general. Much like the other “Sun King,” Louis XIV of France, China’s superstar swimmer has surrounded himself with a court of flatterers and sycophants. That is why Sun, 28, only talks to state-run media Xinhua and CCTV, plus two or three Chinese print journalists, as he knows the coverage... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/sun-yangs-doping-ban-ends-swimming-career-defined-tears-taunts-and-tantrums/article/3064717?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/sun-yangs-doping-ban-ends-swimming-career-defined-tears-taunts-and-tantrums/article/3064717?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2020 11:10:07 +0000 “I love China” was among the few Chinese phrases Kobe Bryant uttered at a Nike basketball camp in Shanghai in the summer of 2009. A decade later, after his untimely death at 41, we’re beginning to see how much China loved him back. Bryant was the inspiration of a global generation of basketball fans, the man who, more than any other, would be the face of the NBA, nowhere more so than in China. Yao Ming might be the country’s most famous NBA export, but it was Bryant who would end up selling... https://www.scmp.com/culture/what-kobe-bryant-meant-china/article/3047965?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/what-kobe-bryant-meant-china/article/3047965?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:20:46 +0000 A German soccer club and one of the country’s star players are feeling the heat from China.  News emerged over the weekend that Bundesliga side Cologne lost a deal with a Chinese gambling sponsor. Meanwhile, state-controlled Chinese media are still blacklisting Arsenal star and former German international player Mesut Özil. According to Cologne newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, the loss for the postponed deal was about $1.66 million.  The club did not offer comment but confirmed that the sponsors... https://www.scmp.com/sports/mesut-ozil-and-fc-cologne-are-still-counting-cost-criticizing-china/article/3045840?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/mesut-ozil-and-fc-cologne-are-still-counting-cost-criticizing-china/article/3045840?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jan 2020 12:11:39 +0000 “Roller derby is the exact opposite of the female oppression,” says Snooky Wong, co-president of the Hong Kong Roller Derby team. Started in 1930s Chicago, the rush and spectacle that is roller derby has crossed over to Asia. From the outset, the sport—which involves players circling each other on roller skates—allowed men and women to compete on equal grounds. And today, that egalitarian message is resonating with people halfway across the world. Wong has been leading Hong Kong Roller Derby for... https://www.scmp.com/identity/hong-kong-roller-derby/article/3044846?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/hong-kong-roller-derby/article/3044846?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Jan 2020 12:04:40 +0000 Some elderly men in Beijing in China were filmed showing off their amazing street workout. They can rotate on a bar, and use just two fingers to hang. https://www.scmp.com/china/grandpas-china-show-their-amazing-street-workout/article/3044426?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/grandpas-china-show-their-amazing-street-workout/article/3044426?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2020 09:43:49 +0000 David Stern liked to tell the story of travelling China in 1990 when a local guide in Xian revealed her favorite team. “You know, I am a great fan of the team of the red oxen,” she told Stern and his wife, Dianne.  Cue confusion then smiles on realizing it was the Chinese translation for the Chicago Bulls. Nowadays, the whole of China knows the Zhijiage Gongniu, as they are known in Mandarin, and Stern is as more to credit for that than anyone – even their star player. “Without David Stern, the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/david-stern-was-man-who-brought-nba-china/article/3044442?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/david-stern-was-man-who-brought-nba-china/article/3044442?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2020 09:43:42 +0000 As Jeremy Lin tears up the Chinese Basketball Association this season for the Beijing Ducks, he’s returned to form in many ways. One of the most notable – aesthetically speaking – is his haircut. With shaved sides and a short, straight top, his Beijing styling looks somewhat similar to his hair during the “Linsanity” craze, when the Taiwanese-American first shot to fame in the NBA in 2011. Lin has long been a style icon off the court, setting trends with his fashion sense and his eclectic,... https://www.scmp.com/sports/linsanity-beijing-wild-weird-and-wacky-hairdos-jeremy-lin/article/3044431?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/linsanity-beijing-wild-weird-and-wacky-hairdos-jeremy-lin/article/3044431?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jan 2020 09:43:39 +0000 Australian flyer Scott Paterson has emerged the victor at a wingsuit tournament in Yunnan, China. He was among 15 flyers from 11 countries who joined the three-day event. Chinese state media reported that the prize money will be donated to poor local children. https://www.scmp.com/china/australian-flyer-wins-wingsuit-tournament-china/article/3043349?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/china/australian-flyer-wins-wingsuit-tournament-china/article/3043349?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:45:52 +0000 It’s 5.50am, with just a faint purple light glowing on the horizon, when a group of children aged six to 15 march diligently towards their classrooms.  At 6.15am, they begin lessons in Chinese, English and math. At 7.50am, they stop for breakfast.  There’s no time to linger, students must be clean and dressed by 8.30am, when they head upstairs to two spacious rooms on the first floor of an L-shaped building near the center of Liaoning’s provincial capital, Shenyang.  Here the real training... https://www.scmp.com/arts/chinas-acrobatics-schools-once-ticket-world-are-struggling-survive/article/3043409?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/arts/chinas-acrobatics-schools-once-ticket-world-are-struggling-survive/article/3043409?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 10:45:51 +0000 German soccer club FC Cologne has pulled out of a $2 million deal to run a football academy in northeast China, as a member of the club council said they should not support “such a totalitarian and brutal dictatorship.” Cologne’s president, Werner Wolf, told the local paper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger on Wednesday that the Bundesliga club had decided not to proceed with the project. Stefan Müller-Römer, a member of the club council, told the paper: “I understand that the Federal Republic of Germany... https://www.scmp.com/sports/german-soccer-club-fc-cologne-pulls-out-academy-deal-board-member-criticizes-dictatorship/article/3042926?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/german-soccer-club-fc-cologne-pulls-out-academy-deal-board-member-criticizes-dictatorship/article/3042926?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Dec 2019 10:45:37 +0000 A six-year-old girl in eastern China’s Shandong province has inspired many with her determination to master table tennis. She has become an online star after the training school shared clips of her sessions online. After training for a year, she won her age group at her first official competition. https://www.scmp.com/sports/young-table-tennis-hopeful-battles-tears-become-pro-china/article/3041927?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/young-table-tennis-hopeful-battles-tears-become-pro-china/article/3041927?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2019 09:53:54 +0000 Streetball is the raw and raucous—some say purest—form of basketball. Taking a relaxed approach to the sport’s rules and regulations, streetball prioritizes style and entertainment value. Games run short and sharp, players sub in and out from the crowd, and trash-talking is endorsed. Generally, there’s no money involved, and players sweat it out for street cred and bragging rights. It’s loud, rough, and physical. In China, this freestyle form of basketball has taken hold among the country’s... https://www.scmp.com/videos/wu-you-china-street-basketball/article/3039235?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/wu-you-china-street-basketball/article/3039235?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Nov 2019 14:10:30 +0000 Wang Jiachao was born in a remote village in the tropical Chinese province of Yunnan. When he was five, he lost his left arm at the shoulder in an accidental electrocution. Now 27, he is a bonafide star — having won one gold, four silvers and one bronze medal in swimming in three Paralympic Games. Having retired from swimming, he got a bachelor’s and a master’s degree and reinvented himself as a professional triathlete. Now Wang is preparing to fulfill his dream of another Paralympic gold at... https://www.scmp.com/sports/tokyo-2020-chinese-paralympic-swimming-star-finds-new-challenge-triathlon/article/3036524?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/tokyo-2020-chinese-paralympic-swimming-star-finds-new-challenge-triathlon/article/3036524?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2019 09:46:58 +0000 If there was ever any uncertainty to the question of whether sports could be separated from politics, there was no clearer answer than the NBA’s debacle last week in China. Hours before the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers were set to go head to head in an exhibition game in Shanghai on Oct. 10, it was still unclear whether the match would happen at all—and it was because of a single tweet. Chinese fans, who have long been basketball crazy, were looking forward to the so-called China Games,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/game-over-nba-china-some-fans-just-want-watch-basketball/article/3033656?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/game-over-nba-china-some-fans-just-want-watch-basketball/article/3033656?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Oct 2019 15:57:58 +0000 The subtropical city of Guangzhou is hot all year round. Here, the temperature rarely falls below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. But indoors, they’ve built a winter wonderland. Sunac Snow Park, located in hot and humid southern China, is the world’s second-largest indoor ski resort, measuring over 800,000 square feet. That’s equivalent to seven soccer fields. Despite the hot weather—or perhaps because of it—there’s an appetite here for winter sports. The Chinese government has been heavily investing in... https://www.scmp.com/travel/sunac-snow-park-guangzhou-indoor-skiing/article/3024042?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/sunac-snow-park-guangzhou-indoor-skiing/article/3024042?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2019 06:58:31 +0000 Jeremy Lin, currently an unrestricted free agent, says he’s considering playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. “Of course I am thinking about the CBA,” Lin told reporters in the Chinese megacity of Guangzhou on Friday. “I don’t know where I will be next year, so I don’t have expectations. I know what level I can play at, so if I don’t get that I won’t settle.” Lin, who left the Toronto Raptors this summer after winning the NBA championship with them, was speaking at a press conference to... https://www.scmp.com/sports/jeremy-lin-says-hes-open-moving-china/article/3022163?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/jeremy-lin-says-hes-open-moving-china/article/3022163?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2019 09:41:24 +0000 China is taking soccer into 3,000 kindergartens this year as part of efforts to dominate the sport by 2050.  The Ministry of Education said this week that kindergartens will be selected to foster the country’s future soccer talents.  Two hundred kindergarten heads and 200 teachers are being trained this month by staff from England's Football Association as the first batch of specialists for the program, the ministry said. Since 2015, China has nominated more than 24,000 “football-featured... https://www.scmp.com/sports/china-introduces-soccer-kindergartens-xi-jinping-world-cup-ambitions/article/3019871?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/china-introduces-soccer-kindergartens-xi-jinping-world-cup-ambitions/article/3019871?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jul 2019 09:34:19 +0000 When you think of surfing, China is hardly the first destination that comes to mind. Most cities are landlocked and have no access to the ocean. But there’s a growing number of indoor surf shops popping up across the country, inspired by the surfing centers of Los Angeles. At the Wavorhouse Urban Surf Club in Beijing, young people can be seen riding a 10-foot-high wave on a surf simulator in between drinking beer and chatting. Indoor stand-up surfing, or flowboarding, is quickly becoming... https://www.scmp.com/travel/beijing-china-indoor-surfing-flowboarding/article/3018865?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/travel/beijing-china-indoor-surfing-flowboarding/article/3018865?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:22:54 +0000 As China targets a place at the 2022 World Cup, London-born Nico Yennaris recently became the first foreign player to join the men’s national soccer team as a naturalized citizen. On his identity card he is listed as Han, the main ethnic group in China. Several foreign soccer players and other sportspeople have become Chinese citizens in recent years, many of them drawn by the huge financial rewards on offer. Naturalization has a long history in many countries, but it is a new concept in... https://www.scmp.com/sports/can-china-win-world-cup-handful-naturalized-players/article/3017841?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/can-china-win-world-cup-handful-naturalized-players/article/3017841?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2019 10:58:16 +0000 Behold the power of the Force. Donnie Yen, whom you might recognize from big box-office franchises like Star Wars and the Ip Man series, just raised the bar for the #BottleCapChallenge, arguably the biggest social media stunt right now. The 55-year-old martial arts pro demonstrated his serious skill and precision by flicking open a bottle with one smooth kick—all while blindfolded.         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Donnie Yen 甄子丹... https://www.scmp.com/culture/donnie-yen-bottle-cap-challenge/article/3017245?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/donnie-yen-bottle-cap-challenge/article/3017245?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2019 07:17:57 +0000 Over four decades, Jinjiang in China’s southeastern province of Fujian transformed into a sportswear-production powerhouse, specializing in shoes. Today, the companies based in China's "shoe capital" are aiming big, hoping to expand beyond the domestic market. The South China Morning Post traveled to Jinjiang to find out how local brands are becoming big names in China, poised to take on industry leaders like Nike and Adidas. https://www.scmp.com/business/inside-jinjiang-chinas-shoe-capital-and-brands-taking-nike-and-adidas/article/3016152?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/inside-jinjiang-chinas-shoe-capital-and-brands-taking-nike-and-adidas/article/3016152?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2019 11:17:54 +0000 Jeremy Lin is the first Asian-American winner of the NBA. But he’s not the first player of Chinese heritage to do so. Sun Yue wasn’t the first either. That honor belongs to Mengke Bateer of the San Antonio Spurs, who rode the bench all the way to his ring in 2003. But this is the winding, bizarre story of how Sun, the “Chinese Magic Johnson,” won a ring in 2009 with Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers without playing a minute. His tale starts in 2007, when Sun entered the draft – something that... https://www.scmp.com/sports/sun-yue-dubbed-chinas-magic-johnson-worst-player-ever-win-nba-title/article/3015344?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/sun-yue-dubbed-chinas-magic-johnson-worst-player-ever-win-nba-title/article/3015344?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:43:17 +0000 Liu Jiaming, 22, is in his most natural state on the skateboard. Every day for five hours, he practices jumps, flips, and spins in a park in Nanjing, the official home of China’s national skateboarding team. Liu joined the team after winning a national championship in April. At the time, China was assembling a team of skateboarders—six men and six women—to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where the sport will be an event for the first time. “I was the oldest among the trainees,” Liu says.... https://www.scmp.com/culture/2020-olympics-china-skateboarding-team/article/3015062?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/2020-olympics-china-skateboarding-team/article/3015062?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2019 12:04:26 +0000 A Hong Kong gym is taking a unique approach to fighting Parkinson's syndrome, with Muay Thai kickboxing. The KF1 gym in Mongkok runs classes for people with Parkinson's in order to help them deal with the disease, strengthen their body, and socialize. Michael Leung wasn’t sure what to make of the offer he was given to take part in today’s Muay Thai training session. Aged 49, he has spent the past 12 months coming to terms with being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His body is still adapting... https://www.scmp.com/health/how-muay-thai-helping-parkinsons-patients-stand-disease/article/3013889?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/health/how-muay-thai-helping-parkinsons-patients-stand-disease/article/3013889?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Jun 2019 11:06:27 +0000 They used to be farmers and factory workers in rural China. Now, they are world champions in the sport known as dragon boating. Meet the dragon boat “aunties team.” They got their nickname because many of its members are women over the age of 40. When they were growing up, women weren’t allowed to touch dragon boats because it was considered bad luck. But now, they are beating teams half their age in competitions around the world. “We’re not athletes to begin with,” says Dong Aili, one of the... https://www.scmp.com/culture/sports-china-why-worlds-best-dragon-boaters-are-women-farmers/article/3013640?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/sports-china-why-worlds-best-dragon-boaters-are-women-farmers/article/3013640?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2019 15:15:02 +0000 An American skier has decided to compete for China in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, prompting a wave of cheering on Chinese social media. Eileen Gu, 15, changed her national affiliation from American to Chinese this month, according to the International Ski Federation. While the Olympics allow athletes with dual citizenship to choose which country to represent, Gu is required by Chinese law not to keep her American nationality because China doesn’t recognize dual nationality. “I feel that... https://www.scmp.com/sports/eileen-gu-acquires-chinese-citizenship-compete-2022-beijing-winter-olympics/article/3013557?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/eileen-gu-acquires-chinese-citizenship-compete-2022-beijing-winter-olympics/article/3013557?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2019 10:01:13 +0000 China is crazy about basketball, and if there’s any way to gauge just how basketball-crazy China is, look no further than the NBA’s account on Weibo, China’s Twitter. The account has over 33 million followers, six million more than the NBA’s account on actual Twitter. And last June, when the NBA playoffs were streamed on Weibo, the account had more than two billion views. “Basketball has never been more popular in China,” NBA China chief David Shoemaker said during a 2017 announcement to open... https://www.scmp.com/videos/nba-basketball-chinas-favorite-sport/article/3007773?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/nba-basketball-chinas-favorite-sport/article/3007773?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Apr 2019 04:39:43 +0000 These athletes train for years in order to take down a bull, but the sport is not without controversy. https://www.scmp.com/videos/inside-bullfighting-school-china/article/3000235?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/inside-bullfighting-school-china/article/3000235?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2018 09:55:11 +0000 This annual Tibetan horse race is a longstanding tradition that brings together a community to celebrate culture. The riders compete in both speed and agility. The festival was banned during the Cultural Revolution and is still subject to sudden cancellation by the government today. https://www.scmp.com/videos/rare-look-inside-tibetan-horse-racing-festival/article/3000146?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/videos/rare-look-inside-tibetan-horse-racing-festival/article/3000146?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Sep 2018 08:54:02 +0000 Once banned by the Communist Party as a decadent capitalist pursuit, horse racing could soon become a moneymaker for China’s Hawaii. The Chinese government has just announced that it will encourage horse racing and explore various sports lotteries in the southern island of Hainan. The goal is to boost domestic tourism spending in the beach resort, which will be built into a free-trade zone by 2025, according to an official development plan released on Friday. Horse racing has a long history in... https://www.scmp.com/sports/hainan-island-develop-horse-racing-and-sports-lotteries/article/2142096?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/hainan-island-develop-horse-racing-and-sports-lotteries/article/2142096?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Apr 2018 10:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s three-day Rugby Sevens tournament drew to a close on Sunday evening, with Fiji beating Kenya 24-12 to mark a record fourth straight win – their 18th overall in the 43-year history of the tournament. “The Hong Kong Sevens is like the World Cup in Fiji and four years in a row is like winning the World Cup,” Fiji captain Jerry Tuwai told the South China Morning Post. The seven-a-side game is a fast, running-dominated version of the sport, and matches last just 14 minutes. But the rugby... https://www.scmp.com/sports/costumes-rugby-sevens-south-stand/article/2140862?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/costumes-rugby-sevens-south-stand/article/2140862?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Apr 2018 10:30:15 +0000 Soccer players on China’s national team were seen concealing their tattoos with bandages during matches last week, amid news about a forthcoming ban. The sport’s governing body in China, the Chinese Football Association, will issue guidelines on tattoos to football clubs in order to promote a “healthy culture,” according to media reports. Soccer players will not be allowed to participate in matches if they don’t cover up their ink. Foreign players will be exempt from the restriction. News of... https://www.scmp.com/sports/cover-chinese-soccer-players-apparent-tattoo-ban/article/2138924?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sports/cover-chinese-soccer-players-apparent-tattoo-ban/article/2138924?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Mar 2018 09:30:15 +0000