With a colossal population of 1.4 billion, China has a sprawling state-backed operation that puts young athletes through brutal training regiments to prepare them for the world stage. The country approaches sport with a level of precision, planning, and ruthlessness usually reserved for the battlefield.
Topline. Representatives from several countries participating in the Beijing Olympics have taken issue with China's behavior as a host country, pointing to inhumane conditions for quarantined athletes, unreasonable isolation rules and unexplained media suppression.
China has huge sports schools which also include the world's best China Table Tennis college, which is only dedicated to Table Tennis. China has a massive infrastructure backed by coaches. The country's federation estimates that there are around 80 million people who play the game in China.
Under the state-owned athletic system, athletes' advertising earnings are allocated by provisions of China's State General Administration of Sport. Accordingly, Liu Xiang keeps 50 percent of his earnings, with 15 percent going to his coach Sun Haiping, and 20 percent to his hometown Shanghai's sports bureau.
Those who fail to stand out are discarded from the program and are left to fend for themselves after years of sacrifice. Plucked from schools as young as four years old, the children are denied a normal education and are subjected to hours of grueling training daily.
Not only was Peng scrubbed from the internet; she went missing in real life, too: After posting the allegation, which is the first public Me Too accusation against a high-ranking Communist Party official in China, Peng wasn't seen in public for two weeks, sparking concern for her safety.
In fact, China spent at least $16 billion on the 2022 Winter Games, including more than $800 million in cost overruns on Olympic facilities and more than $13 billion in indirect costs, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of government procurement notices, construction records and other public statements ...
The NBA makes roughly $5 billion a year from China. Separate from that, many team owners and players, individually, are heavily invested in China.
NBA China is valued at approximately $5 billion, and the NBA owns 90% of the entity (ESPN owns a 5% stake, and several state-controlled banks collectively own the rest). That would put the China value of each of the league's 30 teams at an estimated $150 million.
International professional sports are dominated by Chinese in both table tennis and badminton. The best badminton player of all time, two-time Olympic and five-time world champion Lin Dan, is one of the biggest sports idols ever in China and famous throughout Asia.
Asian countries have dominated judo, taekwondo, badminton and table tennis, while they have also been successful in archery, diving, gymnastics and weightlifting.
Basketball is the largest spectator sport in China.
The US, UK and Canada declared a diplomatic boycott, along with India, Australia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia. They have all sent athletes, but no ministers or officials are attending.
China's Path to Olympic Success
China has adopted a state-driven approach to international sporting competitions, which is designed to boost athletic success through government policies and programs.
Competitive streak and talent pool. Kids are pushed into playing different sports and are encouraged by their parents to take it up as a profession. When there is no dearth of talent, you need good men to spot good quality talent. There is an extremely strong competitive streak among kids in China.
The league depends on the hoops-mad country for a multibillion-dollar portion of its annual revenue, which, critics say, has caused the league to remain silent on China's human rights violations, including its treatment of Uyghur Muslims that human rights organizations decry as a genocide.
The N.B.A. has targeted China — and its population of 1.4 billion — for roughly a half-century. China now has more fans of the league than there are in the United States, a country of 330 million.
The sport gained more popularity due to introduction of Chinese players to the National Basketball Association (NBA). Houston Rocket's Yao Ming and Milwaukee Bucks' Yi Jianlian helped improve engagement. For Chinese people, seeing these athletes playing the NBA was a great source of pride.
Obviously, 500 million watching the NBA is more than the entire population of the United States (about 328 million). Industry sources estimated viewership of NBA programming in the U.S. was around 15-20 million last season -- well short of not just China, but perhaps even several other countries.
NBA owners invested in China reportedly include the Charlotte Hornets' Michael Jordan, the Brooklyn Nets' Joe Tsai, and the Miami Heat's Micky Arison.
1. Michael Jordan Net Worth - $2.2 Billion. Viewed by many as the greatest player in NBA history, Jordan has turned his basketball acumen into a multi-billion dollar enterprise.
The rings symbolise the union of the five continents, the participation of the athletes at these Games and express the activity of the Olympic movement. The five-coloured rings represent the five inhabited continents of the world. These are- Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Estimated economic loss of Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Japan 2021, by scenario. According to estimates dating from January 2021, the Japanese government and other entities involved in hosting the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games would lose approximately 640 billion Japanese yen if the event was postponed.
It's priceless, of course, but it also happens to be worth at least $750 at current metal prices. IOC regulations are generally understood to require that Olympics gold medals contain at least 92.5% silver, plated with at least 6 grams of gold.