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Top 5 Chinese Athletes

The Chinese love sports just like the next country. They have both traditional and modern sports that they actively participate in.

One popular sport, martial arts, is largely associated with China. The Chinese participated in traditional sport because of the physical fitness aspect of it. The Chinese culturally view this as an important distinction that builds one’s character.

China has a national quadrennial multi-sport that is comparable to the Olympic games and national games.

Football has gained popularity among the Chinese in the recent decade and the largest crowd to ever watch a football match in China was at the Tianhe Stadium in Beijing.

At least 23,700 spectators attended a Chinese super league in 2017. Other sports that are popular in China include badminton, table tennis, volleyball and track and field.

Some successful athletes have excelled in sports both locally and internationally. Let us now look at the top five athletes.

1. Yao Ming

By Keith Allison – wikimedia

Yao is the most popular Chinese and basketball player, standing tall at 7 ft 6 in, Yao, a Chinese-American, has played for local Chinese clubs and American clubs.

He announced his retirement from professional basketball in 2011 at a press conference in Beijing. He had suffered injuries on his foot and ankle, he also had a fractured left foot from an injury in 2011.

His first club was the Shanghai sharks under the Chinese Basketball Association. He is one of China’s athletes that has many sponsorships with several major companies both in China and globally.

He has also played in the NBA for Houston Rockets. Yao was selected for the start of the western conference in the NBA all-star game 8 times. He was also named the all-NBA team, 5 times.

He remains as the only player from outside the United States to lead the NBA in the All-star votes.

His life and basketball career inspired a documentary film titled the year of the Yao. He wrote his autobiography alongside Ric Bucher, an NBA analyst.

The book is known in China as the Yao Ming Phenomenon and in America as the Ming Dynasty.

His success in the NBA inspired many young Chinese fans and he was regarded as a Chinese symbol of modernity and confidence.

Yao was voted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 alongside successful basketballers like Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson.

2. Lin Dan

By Ian Patterson -wikimedia

Lin Dan is a professional badminton player. He holds a two-time Olympic championships title, five world championships titles and is also a six-time all-England champion.

He is highly regarded as the greatest badminton player of all time and when he was 28, he finished the Super Grand slam and won all the nine major titles in badminton championships and world cups. He was the first and only player to achieve all that.

In 2004, Lin won the All England open finals beating Peter Gade who nicknamed him supper Dan.

He has been referred to by that nickname by both his fans and the media in their reporting.

Lin was the first to win the men’s singles and retaining the Olympic gold medal won in 2008 and then in 2012.

He was voted as the best male player of the year in 2008 and the most valuable player in 2010 after the Asian Games in Guangzhou.

His best year was in the 2017 Malaysian open. He won the game and was another major title won in a consecutive row in badminton games.

3. Sui Wenjing

By David W. Carmichael -wikimedia

Sui Wenjing is the next top athlete, she is a pair skater. Her partner on the rink is Han Cong.

The pair won a silver medal at the 2018 and 2019 world Olympics.

Other competitions that she has excelled in include; Grand Prix Final champion, is a six-time Four Continents champion, three-time World Junior champion, Junior Grand Prix Final champion and two-time Chinese national champion.

She has been a consistent winner in all of her competitions displaying discipline and great mastery while with her partner in competitions.

The duo was the first Chinese team to win the Grand Prix final eleven years after the last victory experienced by their coach Zhao Hongbo and his partner Shen Xue.

Their training for the 2020 Four Continents Championships after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that halted all major sports globally.

4. Liu Shiwen

Liu Shiwen is known for her 5-time world cup championship win in table tennis.

She is won the ITTF world tour Grand finals three times, and the Asian cup championship four times.

She is regarded to be among the fastest players in the world. She has been very successful in her table tennis career in the history of the ITTF world tour Qatar open.

She has also excelled in playing doubles in both women’s and mixed table tennis events.

Together with her teammate Zhu Yuling, they won the gold medal at the world championships in 2015.

She lost only once in her career as a table tennis player. This was in 2002 when she was beaten by her fellow Chinese player Wang Nan.

She holds her record as being the only woman to win the singles titles three times.

In addition to her numerous wins, Liu was the runner-up in the 2010 and 2013 championships.

5. Yi Jianlian

The final athlete on this list is Yi Jianlian a successful basketball player that has played for both China and American teams.

He plays for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. He initially played for Milwaukee Bucks, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks.

He is currently the all-time leading scorer in the Chinese league history and the top Chinese professional basketball league.

He started his career at the CBA by joining the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the 2002-2003 season were played for five consecutive years. He won three CBA titles then.

Yi later got drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and was selected as the 6^th overall.

After playing for three other NBA teams, Yi returned home and played for his for the team in 2012 to date.

He also plays for the Chinese national team as a power forward and centre.