China :: Sports Extra

Italian club Virtus Bologna has reached a verbal agreement with Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant(notes) to play in Italy during the NBA lockout. The sides have settled on a $3 million contract for the opening 40 days of the Italian league season, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday. Bryant, who spent much of his childhood in Italy, was in the country for sponsor appearances over the past two days but was flying back to the U.S. for labor talks with the NBA on Friday. U.S. basketball player Kobe Bryant(notes) arrives at the Campidoglio, or capitol hill, in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. Bryant said it was "very possible" he will play in Italy during the NBA lockout, adding that the country is like "home" to h...

Related reading: Barcelona crushes Atletico 5-0 MADRID, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona continued to show they are the team to beat in the BBVA Primera Liga with a 5-0 thrashing of Atletico Madrid on Saturday night in what was the outstanding game of the fifth round of games in Spain. Atletico Madrid travelled to the Camp Nou stadium with their optimism in the clouds after two 4-0 wins in which striker Radamal Falcao had scored five goals. Argentine Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona celebrates a goal during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match against Bate Borisov in Minsk. Barca won 5-0. (AFP Photo/Viktor Drachev) However, Barcelona produced an outstanding first half: David Villa put the home side ahead after nine minutes. Joao Miranda was unlucky to double Barca...

Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps helps fellow Olympic champion Apolo Ohno, in short track speed skating, train for the ING New York City Marathon, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2011, during an event at Chelsea Piers Sports Center in New York. Ohno was challenged by Jared "The SUBWAY Guy" Fogle earlier this year to run his first marathon. U.S. Olympic gold medallist swimmer Michael Phelps (C) and U.S. Olympic gold medallist speed-skater Apolo Anton Ohno (R) run with President and CEO of the New York Road Runners Mary Wittenberg at New York's Chelsea Piers sports center September 27, 2011. Ohno is training to run in the 2011 New York City Marathon while Phelps joined him to show his support as Ohno transitions from speed-skater to endurance runner for the Novembe...

Related reading: MUNICH (AP)Mario Gomez scored twice in the first half as Bayern Munich weathered some early pressure before going on to beat Manchester City 2-0 in their Champions League match on Tuesday. Gomez struck in the 38th and 45th minutes, both times knocking in rebounds after saves from City goalkeeper Joe Hart. Munich's Mario Gomez celebrates after scoring during the Group A Champions League soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Manchester City FC in Munich, southern Germany, on Tuesday , Sept. 27, 2011. ( Kerstin Joensson / AP) The victory left Bayern fully in control of Group A with two wins from two matches and six points. Napoli beat Villarreal 2-0 and has four points. Citys expensively assembled side has one and Villarreal is without points. We are ver...

Related story: China down S.Korea 56-43 in Asian basketball semis Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi led China to a 56-43 Asian championship semi-final victory over South Korea Saturday in a low-scoring physical battle that thrilled the homecourt crowd. In Sunday's championship game, China will face Jordan, who beat the Philippines 75-61 in the first semi. Yi and Wang scored 11 of the team's final 15 points with a range of interior and perimeter shots, while a hustling defence stifled the Korean shooters all night long. Washington Wizard Yi scored 17 points, while former Dallas Maverick Wang had 15. The only bright spot for the losers was the play of point guard Yang Dong-Geun who scored 17 points on the night. At stake in Sunday's final is Asia's only automatic bert...

Related story: China down S.Korea 56-43 in Asian basketball semis Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi led China to a 56-43 Asian championship semi-final victory over South Korea Saturday in a low-scoring physical battle that thrilled the homecourt crowd. In Sunday's championship game, China will face Jordan, who beat the Philippines 75-61 in the first semi. Yi and Wang scored 11 of the team's final 15 points with a range of interior and perimeter shots, while a hustling defence stifled the Korean shooters all night long. Washington Wizard Yi scored 17 points, while former Dallas Maverick Wang had 15. The only bright spot for the losers was the play of point guard Yang Dong-Geun who scored 17 points on the night. At stake in Sunday's final is Asia's only automatic bert...

A special flying show takes place Saturday over in Hunan world-renowned wingsuit flights are getting ready the performance in Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie. Wingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. Modern wingsuit designs create the surface area with fabric between the legs and under the arms. A wingsuit may be referred to as a birdman suit or flying squirrel suit. Tianmen Hole is a 360-foot-tall, 96-foot-wide, and 260-foot-long formation located near the city of Zhangjiajie in central China's Hunan Province. Corliss will jump from a helicopter hovering at 6,000 feet and attempt to glide through the hole. Flying vi...

Chinese left-hander Bao Chunlai, 28, has announced his retirement from internationals, the Badminton World Federation said yesterday. The world badminton governing body said on its website that it had received his official retirement notice on Tuesday. "The lanky left-hander from China has announced his retirement from the international badminton scene at 28 years of age," it said. "Known for his graceful court coverage, Bao cited recurring knee injuries as the reason for his retirement." Bao Chunlai. [File photo] Bao confirmed the retirement, saying that the injuries had affected him for a long time - almost several years - and that he had no alternative but to take the decision. The 28-year-old said that he had put in the retirement papers to the Chinese...

Related reading: RIZHAO, East China, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The newly-crowned world champion Sun Yang eased to win the men's 200 meters freestyle on the opening day of the Chinese National Swimming Championships here on Wednesday. Sun, 800 and 1500m freestyle gold medalist at the Shanghai World championships in July, enjoyed his supremacy in the 200m free, touching home in one minute and 45.53 seconds, which could be ranked No. 6 on the world ranking so far this year. Li Yunqi of Henan came to second in 1:47.71 and Zhang Zhongchao of Shanghai had the bronze in 1:48.75. The newly-crowned world champion Sun Yang eased to win the men's 200 meters freestyle on the opening day of the Chinese National Swimming Championships here on Wednesday. "I have not trained systemat...

Watch Video Play Video There's some troubling news to pass along from the German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich player Breno Borges' house caught on fire on Wednesday. Police think the fire started sometime after midnight, and it almost destroyed the player's home in Gruenwald, near Munich. Reports say Borges was the only one home at the time. He was taken to hospital after suffering from smoke inhilation. Police estimate damage to the home could be anywhere from half a million to one-and-a-half million Euro. That is equivalent to a year's salary for the Brazilian-born defender. It's unknown how the blaze began, but police say it may have started on the roof. They are not ruling out the possibility it may have been deliberately set. There's some troubling news to pass along from the German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich player Breno Borges' house caught on fire on Wednesday. Editor: Zhang Dan | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video The whipping top sport is divided into one offensive side and one defensive side. During the competition, the offensive side gain grades and the defensive side receives none. When the offensive side successfully hits the other side's whipping top,and knocks it out of the field or stops it spinning, it'll take 4 grades. When the offensive side hit the whipping top of its competitor and spins longer, it gains 3 grades; if the whipping top of both sides stops at the same time,the offensive side gains 2 grades; if the offensive side's whipping top hit its competitor but stops first, it gains one grade. When it doesn't hit the defensive side's whipping top, it'll get zero. Ma Pengfei, coach of Shandong Province Team, said, "This game was invented by an ethnic minority in Yunnan province. Before, it used a whip to compete to keep the whipping top spinning longer. But people found that the whipping top spun too long and made the compet...

Watch Video Play Video The Major League Baseball is continuing its effort to promote the game in China as the world's top baseball league is opening baseball academies in the world's most populous country. The Major League Baseball launched a new baseball academy in China's eastern city Changzhou. It marked its recent strategy in promote the game at the grassroots level in the country. This Changzhou Baseball Development Center is a joint effort by the MLB and one of its clubs: the Colorado Rockies. Owner of the franchise Charlie Monfort was on hand to inaugurate the center. Monfort hopes to one day introduce a baseball prodity from the center to play in the MLB and for his club. The center is based at the Changzhou Beijiao High School compound. It features a "student-athlete" model, which combines school education and baseball training. MLB sends coaching staff to engineer baseball talents and help them improve their skills. The Major League Baseball launch...

Watch Video Play Video Chinese diving world champion He Zi was in action at the National Championships today (Tuesday) facing the challenge of a new brigade. This year's National Diving Championships also serves as China's Olympic qualifier, and the meet at Changshu city in East China drew the best young talent from across the country. He Zi hasn't competed at any official 1-meter springboard event for over a year, but she slotted straight back into her top form. The double champion from the world and Universiade Games, Shi Tingmao, was a top contender but He Zi dominated with higher degrees of difficulty and superb execution. One of the competition highlights came with this incredibly difficult dive scoring a meet high 69 points. She claimed gold easily with a total of 312.9 points. Related stories China's Li Shixin wins men's 1m springboard 2011-09-13 Diving crew holds deep ambitions 2011-07-22 China wins 2nd gold medal in diving at 14th FINA World Champio...

Watch Video Play Video At China's 9th National Traditional Games, athletes and performers from 55 Chinese ethnic minorities celebrated the festival on mid-autumn day. This gala has also attracted ethnic minorities from Taiwan, who are taking part in the Games for the first time. Different ethnic minorities gave a festive performance at the gala. Some athletes even began to dance spontaneously to the music. They are sharing with each other their own ways to celebrate this holiday. Hu Ting, She Ethnic Minority said, "On mid-autumn day, we gathered to play a game called: Bo Bing. It's a dice game. The winner is expected to have luck for the rest of the year." He Caixia, Bai Ethnic Minority said, "We had a reunion with our family in our courtyard, and put food out under the moon. When the moon comes out, there is a quiet worship ceremony to the moon to wish a reunion of our family." It's also a reunion of ethnic minorities for the delegation from Taiwa...

Watch Video Play Video In tennis, the women's singles final at the U-S Open promised a classic matchup between a dominant star and an up-and-coming hopeful. Serena Williams entered the final as a three-time former champion, while Australia's Sam Stosur played the role of the challenger aiming for her first Grand Slam title. Stosur was not concerned by the difference in experience as she used a heavy kick serve and powerful forehand to take control of the first set. Williams misfired on her groundstrokes and the Australian led the set 3-1. The American usually delivers the best serve in the women's game, but managed a mere 35 percent success rate on first serves in the opening set. Stosur attacked Serena's shots and broke serve twice. She won the first set 6-2, and was poised for an upset victory. Australian tennis player Samantha Stosur returns a shot to US player Serena Williams during their Women's US Open 2011 finals at the USTA Billie Jean King National Te...

Watch Video Play Video This weekend, China's minorities take center stage at the 9th National Traditional Games for Ethnic Groups. Peter Koveos takes a look at what we can expect from this unique event. Organizers say more than 15-thousand people will converge on China's Southwest city of Guiyang for the National Traditional Games for Ethnic Groups -- making it the largest in the history of the games. Among the thousands include athletes, officials and journalists. Wang Yufu, Secretary-General, National Traditional Games for Ethnic Groups, said, "Whether you count the number of competitive and exhibition sports, or the number of the athletes, they both are records for the games." One of the unique aspects of the games is there are two types of events: competitive and exhibition. There are 16 competitive sports and three categories of exhibition sports. Among all the events, Pearl Ball is one of the most popular. A competitor needs to throw the ball into a teamma...

Watch Video Play Video And in the women's draw, three-time US Open winner Serena Williams reached the last four with ease. She beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets. Williams' semi-final opponent will be world number one Caroline Wozniacki, the 21-year-old Dane edged out Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-1, 7-6 to book her place. She will have to over come Serena to carry on her hunt for her first ever grand slam winner. Editor: Zou Xian | Source: CNTV.CN

Watch Video Play Video The 9th National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities begins on Saturday in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province. A full dress rehearsal was staged on Wednesday night. The performance has two acts. The first is a showcase of styles from 17 different minorities. The second act is a performance of unity from the 56 nationalities. Unlike other sports events, one of the highlights at these games is the traditional dress favored by all the performers. The opening ceremony will be held in the Guiyang Olympics center built on the side of a mountain, so the venue comes with some limitations and created a level of difficulty for the ceremony directors. But after several months practice, they are confident all will go well. Dong Xuehai during interview with CCTV. Dong Xuehai, Executive Director of the Opening Ceremony said, "Our venue is different to other venues.It was built alongside the mountain. It only has two exits. We will have about four to ...

Watch Video Play Video The countdown to the 2012 London Paralympic Games has begun. Tourism officials in the city say preparations are well underway to make the historic city accessible to those with physical disabilities. Ceremony, history and grandeur - London has it all. But the city's old world charm conceals a mass of obstacles for those with disabilities. Iconic modern structures, like the London Eye are not the problem, according to Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, winner of 11 Paralympic gold medals. Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, UK Paralympian, said, "Accessibility to the London Eye is absolutely brilliant. So, there's ramps and the staff are really well trained. And actually they hold the pod as well, so if you're in a wheelchair you have that little bit of extra time to get on." It's the narrow winding streets, the centuries old buildings, and London's semi-Victorian underground network which pose the greatest challenges. London's roads s...

Watch Video Play Video In Toronto, the Blue Jays hosted the Red Sox. First inning and the Sox get on the bats -- Adrian Gonzalez hits one that lands between two Blue Jays. That double scores Jacoby Ellsbury. Very next batter was Big Papi and he would add to the lead by ripping one through the gap to make it 2-nothing. Boston led 4-nothing after 1. Off to the third and 6-nothing now. The Red Sox make it 8 thanks to Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 15th home run of the season, a two-run drive to centre-field. The Red Sox hitters were providing plenty of run support for John Lester -- who struck out 11 in seven innings allowing just three hits and one walk. Boston wallops Toronto 14-0. Boston Red Sox's Marco Scutaro (R) is safe at third ahead of the tag by Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie in the fourth inning of their American League MLB baseball game in Toronto September 7, 2011. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill ! Bost on Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield throws against the Toronto B...

Watch Video Play Video Rain washed out all matches at the US Open on Tuesday which was to feature the remaining men's fourth-round clashes, including Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, and the first two women's quarter-finals. Persistent showers delayed the start of play at Flushing Meadows for almost three hours and the prediction of more storms convinced tournament officials to cancel the entire day's play. The US Tennis Association announced that because of unfavorable forecasts, they would have to cancel both the day and night sessions, hoping to resume play at 11:00 local time on Wednesday. Tuesday's schedule included the remaining four men's fourth-round clashes, featuring Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, and the first two women's quarter-finals, while Wednesday's initial schedule featured two men's and two men's quarter-finals. Water gathers on the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium during the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 6,...

Watch Video Play Video We move to one of China's most popular activities -- Table Tennis. The sport is trying to gain a foothold in the U-S, so organizers of the L.A. Open decided to use an American way of thinking to attract more players from around the globe. Our correspondent Michaellene Tetteh tells us more. Table tennis players from all over the world came to the L-A Open for a chance to compete for a share of 45,000 dollars. Its the largest prize money tournament in the history of US table tennis. Adam Bobrow, a table tennis fan said, when I heard that there was 45-thousand televised tournamentgreater than weve seen in decades. The winner of the Open singles event took home the biggest prize 12,000 dollars. Yungtai Hsu during interview Yungtai Hsu, chairman of the tournament said, The US open right now the top prize is open is 6,000 dollars, which is double of the U-S open. A new group of organizers resurrected the LA Open this year. It was only held once before in 199...

Watch Video Play Video Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came back from two sets to one down to beat Mardy Fish in front of a vocal home crowd for the American to reach the quarter-finals. The French 11th seed, wrapping it up with a 6-2 fifth set win after an epic contest lasting three-and-three-quarter hours. This sets up a Wimbledon rematch with Roger Federer. Related stories Federer eases into quarter-final 2011-09-07 Wozniacki rallies, Williams cruises to US Open quarters 2011-09-06 Editor: Zou Xian | Source: CNTV.CN