Sports
HOT
Tianjin Teda
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Former Benfica junior Yu Dabao proved the hero after his 63rd-minute goal helped Tianjin Teda lift the Chinese FA Cup, their first in more than 25 years, after a 2-1 victory over Shandong Luneng in Saturday's final in Hefei.
Tianjin claimed a spot in next season's Asian Champions League with their triumph in the first edition of the competition to be played since 2006.
Wilson Chandler
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Among the star-studded list of former NBA player who fled to China to seek their fortune during the league's lockout, Wilson Chandler shone the brightest in the first round of Chinese Basketball Association league. In Zhejiang Guangxia's CBA season home opener, he dominated on both ends of the floor with an astonishing 43 points and 22 rebounds, helping Guangxia edge Tianjin Ronggang 118-115. In Wednesday's game he continued the magnificent performance with 28 points and 12 rebounds in the team's easy road 111-94 win over Qingdao Double Star.
Lin Dan
Lin Dan was in the hot category in our previous issue, and the in-shape ruling Olympic Champion makes the list again after toppling compatriot Chen Jin to grab the men's singles title in the 2011 Hong Kong Open Super Series Sunday. The day before, he managed to stop the top-seeded Lee Chong Wei in two straight sets at the semifinal, clinching his second victory over the Malaysian in eight days.
For what it's worth, this time Lin Dan did not withdraw from the game.
Shanghai Shenhua/ Nicolas Anelka
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Chinese Super League (CSL) club Shanghai Shenhua is seeking a coach as well as a handful of star players for next season. Zhu Jun, the club's chairman, flew to France to meet Jean Tigana and Jacques Santini on Monday. According to multiple sources, the talk with Santini did not go well but did with Tigana, as the latter showed interest in coaching in China and will probably come to Shanghai to inspect the team. On the other hand, Shenhua authorities admit they asked about the availability of Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka. However, his salary (probably exceeding 10 million euros) could be a barrier for Shenhua.
Hou Yifan
Seventeen-year-old Hou Yifan retained the women's World chess title after completing a 5.5-2.5 dismissal of challenger K. Humpy following the 29-move draw in the eighth clash of their 10-game match in Tirana, Albania, on Thursday. (Agencies)
NOT
Men's volleyball team
Fresh from the hilarity of the Chinese women's volleyball entry to the London Olympics, their male counterparts are also holding the futility record at the world cup with not even a single set win.
"Do the Chinese men have a chance for a set at the world cup?" - the question poked fun at the team after four consecutive 0-3 losses to the US, Russia, Egypt and Italy as the coming foe for tournament underdog is Olympic runner-up Brazil.
The US is the Olympic champion while team Russia is ranked world number two. Italy is the European runner-up. It is excusable to lose to the former three but it is not to Egypt, which is, the reigning African champion though, considered to be the one to take advantage from.
It seems that the Chinese men, at least within this Olympic cycle, have to play as ladder players on international court.
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Wang Meng's hope of returning to the national short track team is close to being shattered, as a person-in-the-know from China's winter sports administrative center reveals that her name will not be on the list of players to compete in the Shanghai leg of the 2011–12 ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup, which will be held on Dec 9. Wang Meng was expelled in August for a notorious brawl with the team manager and was suspended indefinitely.
JR Smith
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Instead of a magnificent performance on the court, JR Smith served up constant drama outside the arena in 48 hours in the wake of his first game with Zhejiang Golden Dragons in CBA on Sunday. He twisted his right knee during the fourth quarter, and refused medical attention from the team. The next day he took a sudden flight to Beijing without the team's permission and confronted the team's manager on Weibo. He saw a doctor there on Monday and reportedly took tips from Stephen Marbury (another former NBA player in CBA), and then flew back to Yiwu for the team's home opener that night. He even did a live broadcast on Weibo of his rush to the arena. But to whatever end, in my opinion, he displayed poor taste.
