China

Top 10 stories of China sports in 2009

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-31 09:35

(5)Doping: Cheating or cheated

Sprinter Wang Jing tested positive for epitestosterone and testosterone after winning the women's 100m final at the National Games in October in Shandong province, becoming the highest-profile Chinese athlete to fail a test this year.

Wang and her coach, Chen Hua, could face lifetime bans although they claim they don't know how the drugs got into her system.

Wang, 21, is among China's brightest sprint prospects. She finished fourth at the 2006 Junior World Championships in the 200m and was a key component of the 4x100m relay team which claimed gold at the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

Wang's doping case was one of three at the Games in Shandong. Guo Linna, a rower from Henan province, and Li Jie, a shooter from Inner Mongolia, were also found to have taken banned substances.

They were both kicked out of the meet.

(6)Volleyball: 'Hammer' strikes again

The "Iron Hammer" continued her legendary career by signing on to coach Guangdong Evergrande Women's Volleyball Club, the sport's first privately-funded club in China.

Within two months, Lang put together a star-studded cast for the newly-established team, including Feng Kun, an ex-captain of the national team and setter, current US national team libero Nicole Davis and Christa Harmotto.

Not surprisingly, the team has claimed seven straight victories in the women's second division.

"Lang has always been my idol as a player and a coach," said Feng.

"I wanted to learn more from her and accumulate more experience, so I joined her club. I believe what I can learn here will benefit my future career and life."