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Nation's students groomed for sports stardom
By Chen Xiangfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-31 06:10
While the nation hails its gold medal winners at the 23th University Games in
Turkey, Tsinghua, one of China's most prestigious universities, is determined to
raise more stars from its college sports teams.
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| Hu
Kai, China's first ever 100-meter-dash champion in any international
events. [Xinhua] | Two of the 11 competing students from the university stole the show from
China's big names like diving queen Guo Jingjing and women's swimming star Qi
Hui, after winning two of the nation's three track and field gold medals at the
Turkey Games.
Hu Kai, nicknamed the "Flying Spectacles Man" for his gold-rimmed glasses,
grabbed an amazing gold from the men's 100m, the nation's first 100m title in
any international event while Wang Ying was crowned in the women's triple jump.
The duo, like most athletes from Tsinghua have no professional background and
are cultivated and developed under the school's sports training system.
With most of the athletes from other universities under the auspices of the
State General Administration for Sports the governing body of China's
professional sports and having years of professional training, athletes like
Wang and Hu have had a different experience growing into star athletes.
"There is a difference between 'student athlete' and 'athlete student'. As a
'student athlete', the first identity is student. We are achieving good results
without sacrificing education. Other elite athletes have established themselves
before being admitted by universities," said Chen Weiqiang, director of Tsinghua
sports education and research office.
According to Chen, who is also in charge of track and field team, the
university established two ways to develop its college sports from grassroots
level.
The first one is "speciality class", which was initiated in 1984.
The athlete-to-be selection started from such classes whose members were
selected by Tsinghua affiliated primary or high schools nationwide. Class
members undergo about 2-3 hours of training everyday.
The students all have to take part in the national College Entrance
Examination if they want to study at Tsinghua University. They do however, have
relatively lower requirements compared to other students.
Triple jumper Wang, now a senior in Tsinghua, is typical of the class after
coming from an affiliated high school seven years ago.
The other way to scout potential in various sports, is to organize different
winter training camps.
To better instruct youngsters, Tsinghua invites high-level coaches to coach
the students.
Yu Fen, former national diving head coach and Zhang Heng, former head coach
of the national shooting team, are among the most notable.
The university's efforts have led to success in many sports apart from
athletics, with diving and shooting among the best.
Olympic diving champion Fu Mingxia and shooting veteran Wang Yifu used to be
the students of the University.
Thanks to the influence of those sporting legends and with help from famous
coaches, Tsinghua boasts a group of high-level divers and shooters.
The university also has established itself as a powerhouse in rowing.
The latest achievement was made last Tuesday in Zhejiang Province, where
eight students from Tsinghua won the championships of the China College Rowing
Open and were then awarded a chance to compete in the Asian Championships
representing China.
The annual Tsinghua-Peking University Boat Race, which made its debut in 1999
and resembles the world-known Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race, has
drawn nationwide attention and has helped inspire the development of rowing.
Academic course
Chen said that it is equally important for those students to finish their
studies.
"Apart from daily training and summer and winter's month-long out-door
training, they have a similar campus life to other students and have to pass all
their examinations too," Chen said. "They have to make up for all the missing
classes because of competitions."
Thanks to the combination of education and sports, more than 85 per cent of
students enter non-sports related employment after graduation, Chen said.
It is a sharp contrast to previous Chinese athletes, who used to spend most
of the time training and competing.
While only a few athletes are able to make big money after making notable
sporting achievements, many of them struggle, especially after retirement.
Because of the lack of education and injuries, it is reported at least 20 per
cent of the retired athletes in China are jobless.
(China Daily 08/31/2005 page15)
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