China :: Sports Extra

Watch Video Play Video Host nation Kazakhstan won 19 medals on the first day of competition at the 7th Asian Winter Games. Six of them were gold - with the highlight Dimitriy Kosh-kin's winning performance in the 'blue riband'event of the games, the men's downhill. Japan won four gold medals, South Korea three and China picked up one - Wang Chun-li showing nerves of steel to win the women's 7.5 kilometer biathlon event. At this year's games, held in Kazakhstan's two main cities of Astana and Almaty, more than 11-hundred competitors, from 27 countries and regions, will compete for 65 titles in 11 categories. The last Asian Winter Games were held in 2007 in Chang-chun, China. Related stories 2011 Asian Winter Games open in Kazakhstan 2011-01-31 China rally from two sets down to capture 7th Asiad title 2010-11-27 Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: CNTV.CN

Serbia's Novak Djokovic took on Andy Murray of Great Britain, in Melbourne. The opening set proved to be a nail-biting affair. Murray went looking for the first Grand Slam title for Britain in a men's singles championship in 75 years. He tied the set at 4-all when Djokovich hit wide. The Serbian star hoped to repeat his triumph back in 2008 in Melbourne. He broke Murray's serve in the next game, and snatched the set 6-4 when the Scot challenged a baseline shot which proved to be out. It got worse from there for Murray. He seemed to lose his poise in the next set. A fired-up Djokovic went on a run and raced out to a 5-0 lead. Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the trophy during the awarding ceremony of the men's singles' final against Andy Murray of Britain at the 2011 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 30, 2011. Novak Djokovic won 3-0 to claim the champion.(Xinhua/Meng Yongmin) Djokovic gave up two games but still took the second stan...

Watch Video Play Video Li Na has been a growing phenomenon over the last couple of seasons on the tennis circuit, let's get to know a little bit more about the 28 year old. She hails from Hubei Province in the middle of China and turned professional in 1999. Li has won 19 International Tennis Federation titles, and, four WTA ones before appearing in this years Australian Open. She has set many records domestically. Full Story>> China's sports industry continues to grow rapidly, with more success coming on the pitch for the country's athletes in recent years. We'll bring in Mr. Dong Jun, general manager of Forever Christie's. Q1. Can it not be argued that when Li Na dropped out of the National sport system in 2009, it helped her better prepare for competing on the world stage? Does that mean authorities should shift the focus from competing for the nation to an individual career approach? Q2. Li Na has signed contract with IMG world, the company creates g...

Watch Video Play Video Even before Li Na's exploits at the Australian Open, tennis was one of the fastest growing sports in China. Once seen as primarily a game, for the middle classes, it is now more accessible and affordable to play in the country than before. And Li Na's achievement down under is only expected to encourage more people to pick up a racquet. Thirteen year old Wang Haoran has come all the way from Shanxi to learn tennis at this club in Beijing. He has only been playing for a year but after practicing six hours a day for the last two weeks, he can already serve and volley with ease. Wang said, "I just love tennis, so much. So my father sent me here to develop that interest." Though still a relative newcomer, Wang is already able to hold his own against veterans like Bai Tao, who has been a regular at this club for five years. Tennis initially just formed part of his bodybuilding exercises, but he soon became infatuated with the sport. He believes...

Watch Video Play Video The finals of the Asian Cup, set for later tonight as Japan will play Australia. Last night, South Korea and Uzbekistan took to the pitch for the third/fourth-place play-off on Friday. The winner, would book their place in the 2015 edition of the tournament. Midfielder Lee Yong Rae released Koo Ja-cheol who produced a calm, long-range finish for his fifth goal of the tournament. Little more than 10 minutes later, South Korea extended their lead. Ji Dong-won found some space on the right, and fired the ball home for a 2-0 lead. South Korea's Ki Sung Yueng (below) defenses Uzbekistan's Alexander Geynrikh during the Asian Cup third place playoff soccer match between South Korea and Uzbekistan in Doha, Qatar, Jan. 28, 2011. South Korea beat Uzbekistan 3-2 and won the Asian Cup third place. (Xinhua/Tao Xiyi) Dong-won was the target man once more, with half-time approaching. Ki Sung Yeung launched the ball forward, and the striker rose above the defence t...

Watch Video Play Video As the 9th seed, Li Na's first opponent was Sofia Arvidsson from Swede. Li Na came out strongly and won the first set easily 6-1. the Chinese veteran was then able to pull out the victory with a 7-5 second set win, to move to round two. Her next opponent was Russian Evgeniya Rodina. Li, once again got off to a quick start in round two. She took the first set 6-3, and then continued the momentum in the second...taking it 6-2 to enter round three. And in the third, the Chinese would take on Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of Czech Republic. Li dominated the match with powerful ground strokes, closing out the first set 6-2, and only allowed one game in the second set, winning again 6-1. Round four brought the number 9 Li up against 8th seeded Victoria Azarenka from Belarus with a spot in this year's quarterfinals at stake. Li jumped out to a 5-3 lead and wrapped up the first set 6-3 with a service winner. Li, wore Azarenka down in the second set...eventuall...

Watch Video Play Video Chinese tennis fans are extremely excited, after the country's highest ranked female player, Li Na, beat top seed Caroline Wozniacki in Thursday's Australian Open semifinals. This makes her the nation's first player to reach a grand slam singles championship match. The 28-year-old from Wuhan fought it out with Denmark's world number one for two hours and 35 minutes, before clinching the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Melbourne. The audience was very excited about her success, and expects Li to play her best in the final, where she will meet Belgium's Kim Clijsters on Saturday. University student Yang Yi said, "I think it's not easy for Li Na to go so far. I look forward to seeing her play better, and making a great effort in the final. She used a lot of energy in today's semifinal. But in the final, I think she will try her best." Though tennis doesn't have a long history in China, the sport has gained popularity in recent ...

Watch Video Play Video China's Li Na has made history at the Australian Open. Li Na, becoming the first Chinese to reach a grand slam singles final. Li, beating the current best in the world Caroline Wozniacki for a chance to play for the title in Melbourne. Li had a tough opening set against the current World no. 1 Wozniacki as the Dane jumped to 4-2 lead quickly. Wozniacki then stretched to 5-3 and went on to close out the set 6-3 after Li challenged for a reply shot, which proved to be out. Things looked to be going the way of Wozniacki as she opened the second set with a 4-2 lead, but then Li restored her composure. With powerful baseline strokes, Li battled back to tie the set at 4-4. >>Pictures: Li Na attends press conference after defeating Wozniacki China's Li Na hits a return during the women's singles semifinal match against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Jan. 27, 2011.(Xinhua/Meng Yongmi...

Watch Video Play Video Australia faced tournament surprises Uzbekistan. The Aussies totally controlled this match. They swept aside Uzbekistan 6-0 to meet Japan for Saturday's final showdown. Related stories Australia to face Japan in Asian Cup final 2011-01-26 China end Asian Cup tour with 2-2 tie with Uzbekistan 2011-01-17 Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video Rafael Nadal hit a bump on the way to the semi-finals on the men's side, and third seed Kim Clijsters got a stern test from Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska with a place in the women's semi-finals on the line on Wednesday. Clijsters led 4-1 in the first set, but Radwanska came back to make it 4-3, and the Belgian admitted that her legs felt heavy during the Australia Day match. Radwanska was inspired by the rally, but she could not save the first set. Clijsters took it 6-3.Each player hit 12 winners and 13 unforced errors, and they played a competitive second set. Clijsters tried to affix her stamp of authority by holding serve to kick it off. She finally make her move in the sixth game, breaking the Radwanska serve to go up 4-2. Radwanska forced a tiebreak in the second set, but Clijsters quickly snuffed out the danger, sealing it 7-4. Kim Clijsters of Belgium returns the ball during the women's singles quarter-final match against Agnieszka Rad...

Watch Video Play Video FIFA President Sepp Blatter, and officials in Moscow, have signed a formal declaration, awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia. The host nation's Sports Minister, Vitaly Mutko, picked up on the theme, while thanking FIFA for choosing Russia, over bidders with much of the necessary support already in place. The country, has never organized a World Cup before, but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, promised on Saturday, that Russia will follow through on its commitment to spend tens of billions of dollars, on new stadiums and infrastructure. Blatter says, he believes the 2018 football finals will all be in good hands. Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, said, "I have said, and I will repeat it, that football is more than just kicking a game. Football has a unique social, cultural dimension worldwide, because it connects people. And how important it will be to connect the different nationalities that are living in the Russian Federation." Related stories Qa...

Reflection of Songtsam Monastery By Damian Grammaticas BBC News, Beijing It was, unquestionably, the most important public moment of Hu Jintao's visit to the US so far. The moment President Hu Jintao was put on the spot about China's human rights record. His answer, when it finally came, was illuminating. But, I'd like to suggest, that some of the significance has been missed, some misread. Just hearing a Chinese president deal with direct questions on the subject is incredibly rare. In China the heavily state-controlled media doesn't pose them. And we in the foreign press never get a chance to grill the president. He simply doesn't have to face with the impertinence of an unscripted occasion where we might ask uncomfortable questions. For all the talk of China's rise in the world, and its new-found confidence, its president has appeared shy about facing the western media. When President Obama visited China in 2009 and when UK Prime Minister David Cameron came ...

Watch Video Play Video We begin with the Australian Open and China's Peng Shuai in action on Saturday, attempting to reach the round of 16 in Melbourne a personal best for her in a grand slam. Peng Shuai took on Japanese youngster Ayumi Morita. First set, Ayumi Morita wasn't in good form, and Peng quickly notched the set 6-1. Peng, wrapping up the first with a great backhand winner. The real showdown came in the second set, as Morita gradually came back and she showed her strong baseline attack abilities. She broke Peng Shuai's in the second and would continue to play well. And Morita, despite an error at the end of this rally would get by Pung Shuai in the second set to send this to a deciding third. The turning point of the match came in the 8th game of the third set, Shuai leading 4-3 would break Morita's serve...to take a commanding 5-3 lead. Then, serving for the win and with a 15-love lead, Peng suffered a scare. After she hits the winner, her right leg bega...

Watch Video Play Video Turning to the NBA and the Chicago Bulls at home to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The Bulls, looking to move a game back of the idle Miami Heat for second place in the Eastern Conference...the Mavericks, looking for back to back wins after snapping a six game losing skid. Bulls led 12-10. But Jason Kidd tied 12-all for Mavericks at the beginning of the first quarter. Derrick Rose, then puts the Bulls back on top... His drive puts Bulls back in the lead 17-15. The Mavericks would tie the game at 26-all. Dirk Nowitzki's jump shot falls, the Mavs on top by 2, halfway through 2. Rose with another great drive to the hoop as he ties the game at 66-all at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Rose then hits the off-balance little floater in the lane...he would finish with 26. And then later in the Q, he gives the Bulls the three point lead with just under a minute to play. Final 30 seconds, Mavericks looking for the tie, but Jason Terry's attempt...draw...

Watch Video Play Video Britain's Ben Swift won the second stage of the Tour Down Under on Wednesday. He avoided three crashes in the last four kilometres which brought-down compatriot Mark Cavendish and overnight leader Matthew Goss. The riders made a sedate start from Tailem Bend. It was far from what would await them during the closing stages. The race was smooth and calm as they set-off on the 146-kilometre blast into Mannum. All the riders settled in for the journey across the picturesque countryside of Australia. Then, Yuriy Krivtsov jumped out front with the early breakaway. The Ukrainian-born Frenchman would go on to lift the award for the day's most aggressive rider. But David Tanner and Mitchell Docker threatened his lead. Mark Cavendish was a pre-stage favorite, but he had issues early. A punctured tire disrupted his game plan. But with four kilometres to go, the British sprint king suffered a major setback. Cavendish, and fellow-contender Tyler Farrar from Team...

China's defender Lu Weifeng is coming back to the Chinese Super League. He signed a contract with Tianjin Teda for the new season, two days ago. The former Chinese national team captain spent two seasons playing for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in South Korea. He made connections with last year's Super League runner-up Tianjin during the team's winter training in Cyprus, and Li took a trip there to meet his new teammates. Li is a controversial figure in Chinese football. He was punished with red cards for his aggressive play in China, but had a good experience in the K League, becoming the first Chinese footballer to play in South Korea. Next for Li Weifeng and his Taijing Teda team will be the Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong, during the Chinese Spring Festival. The side's first opponent will be South Korean club Ulsan Hyundai. Editor: Zheng Limin | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video China's Peng Shuai eases into Australian Open second round Day two of competition at the Australian Open...and China's Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai in action, hoping to move on to round two. Unfortunately, Zhang Shuai was knocked in a straight sets defeat to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic. Meanwhile Peng Shuai, hoping for a better fate as she was taking on Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko. And Peng Shuai would get her run at the Australian Open off to a rough beginning, Bondarenko got off to a great start against the Chinese, owning the first set. The Ukrainian taking it 6-2. But Peng Shuai found her rhythm in the second set. Peng, would turn things around and race out to a big lead in the set two...and would continue her strong play to take the second 6-3 to force this affair to a deciding third set. And the third set...would turn into a marathon. The two players, tied at 6...played a great point with Peng at advantage. This point went back a...

Watch Video Play Video A win for either side would see them progress. Jordan attacked from the kick off and came close to taking the lead in the first minute. But Abdel Hasan's shot went to wide. Despite Jordan's early ambition, it was Syria who scored first and took the lead after 15th minute. Sanharib Malki sent in a low drive and with the Jordan goalkeeper unable to save it cleanly, Mohamad Al Zino pounced on the rebound and fired it home for a 1-0 lead. But some confusion in the Syrian defence handed their opponents an equalizer after 30 minutes. Abdulrazak Al Husein lofted a dangerous cross into the area and Syria defender Ali Dyab rose above his own goalkeeper and headed the ball into his own net to take the score to 1-1. Despite that set back, Syria started the second half with plenty of ambition. It was Jordan's goalkeeper Shafi that saved them from danger. However, In the 59th minute, it was Jordan who edged ahead. They failed to deal with a goal kick from Od...

Watch Video Play Video China's mainland's Ding Junhui has defeated Marco Fu from Chinese Hong Kong, 10-4 to win the Snooker Masters at Wembley in the UK. Ding Junhui beat former world champions Mark Williams and Graeme Dott to reach the final. Fu threatened a comeback in the evening session by reducing the deficit to two frames but Ding coolly blasted a 94 and 83 on his way to clinching four straight frames. Ding Junhui becomes only the third non-British winner of the tournament. China's mainland's Ding Junhui has defeated Marco Fu from Chinese Hong Kong, 10-4 to win the Snooker Masters at Wembley in the UK. Related stories Ding, Fu set up Chinese derby in Snooker Masters final 2011-01-16 Ding Junhui eases into semi-final 2011-01-15

Watch Video Play Video Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho trained for the first time with Flamengo on Thursday afternoon, as he prepares to make his debut in the upcoming championship of Rio de Janeiro state. The 30-year-old and Flamengo midfielder Thiago Neves, who was also signed by the club earlier this week, were welcomed by roughly 500 fans at the airport of the southern city of Londrina, in Parana state. Ronaldinho's return to his home country is a bid to revive his flagging career and win a place in Brazil's 2014 World Cup squad after he was overlooked last year by former coach Dunga. Under light rain, Ronaldinho greeted his colleagues and Flamengo Coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo before jogging around the field. The signing of Ronaldinho has caused a wave of expectation at Flamengo. The club has won five Brazilian championship titles, most recently in 2009, but finished only two points above the relegation zone last season. Editor: Zhang Ning | Source: CNTV....

Watch Video Play Video Bahrain thrashed India 5-2 while Australia pulled off a 1-1 draw against South Korea on Friday in the Asian Cup Group C games. Bahrain striker Ismaeel Abdul-atif scored four goals, to kick India out of the tournament's knockout stage and keep alive his side's hopes of reaching the quarterfinals. To reach that goal, Bahrain now need to beat Australia in their final Group C match. Australia and South Korea lead the group on four points after their 1-1 draw, with Bahrain third on three and India without a point. Editor: Zhang Pengfei | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video Saudi Arabia facing Jordan, Saudi Arabia needing a win to stay alive. Jordan claimed a shock lead in the 42nd minute. Baha'a Abdelrahman lofted a cross into the Saudi penalty area that Waleed Abdullah came to collect, but the goalkeeper mis-judged the flight of the ball and it embarrassingly floated over his head and into the back of the net. Jordan 1-0 Jordan's advantage was hanging by a thread and Saudi Arabia lookeded to grab an equalizer from a late corner kick. Jordan's goalie Amer Shafi (1st L, front) saves during the Asian Cup group B soccer match between Jordan and Saudi Arabia in Doha, capital of Qatar, Jan. 13, 2011. Jordan won 1-0.(Xinhua/Tao Xiyi) However, Saud Kariri failed to steer his header down and the ball cleared the crossbar. Jordan held on to claim a memorable 1-0 win and they moved to the top of the Group B. Saudi Arabia are out of the tournament. Saudi Arabia coach Nasser Al Johar said, "We missed many chances. We wer...

Watch Video Play Video Yi Jianlian came off the bench and played for 9 minutes. The Chinese forward collected two points and 3 rebounds for the night. Washington led by 4 with less than 15 seconds to go. But Francisco Garcia stole the ball,scored and converted the free throw for a three point play. The Kings made it a one point game. Then, Pooh Jeter drove the lane and put in a basket to tie it at 126-all. (replay) Washington couldn't keep Sacramento from forcing overtime. Nick Young revived the Wizards' momentum. He scored a career high 43 points in the game. But Garcia came back again to cut the lead to one. He scored 26. Kirk Hinrich iced it for Washington with a jumper. The Wiz walked away with a 136-133 win. Yi gave an update on his effort after the game. Yi Jianlian said, "I did not play very long. I tried my best on defense. And I caught a pass and scored. We committed some turnovers on offence. And we also had some errors on defense,letting them counter-attac...

Cristiano Ronaldo took centre stage for Real Madrid on Sunday. He helped his team come back twice against Villarreal in a Primera Liga clash at the Bernabeu. Third-place Villarreal stunned the home crowd in the seventh minute. Giuseppe Rossi gave Cani the ball with room to run. The midfielder calmly slotted it past goalkeeper Iker Casillas. It was 1-0 Villareal. Real Madrid struck back two minutes later. Karim Benzema and Mesut Ozil combined to set up Cristiano Ronaldo across the face of the goal. Villareal left the striker unmarked for a simple tap-in. He tied the score at 1. But Villareal, the 'Yellow Submarine', took the lead again in the 18th minute. Bruno Soriano provided for Marco Ruben. He chipped the advancing Casillas. Villareal returned to the point with a 2-1 advantage. Then, Real's Ronaldo responded again. He headed home Xabi Alonso's free kick to make it two-all just before half time. The score was still tied in the 79th minute. Ronaldo chased down th...