| Tuesday, November 13, 2001, updated at 10:06(GMT+8) |
Feature: China's Field Hockey Troubled by More than One Problem |
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A dark horse at last year's Olympic Games and this year's Champions Trophy meet though, China's national women's field hockey team faces no less than the problem of a small-sized talent pool available.
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A dark horse at last year's Olympic Games and this year's Champions Trophy meet though, China's national women's field hockey team faces no less than the problem of a small-sized talent pool available.
How small is that pool? "There are only a bit over 200 playersin provincial teams for me to pick up candidates for the national team," head coach Kim Chang-bai from South Korea so answered.
Making their Olympic Games debut at last year's Sydney Games, the Chinese women's team beat world champions the Netherlands and runners-up Germany to finish fifth.
The team was ranked fourth atthis year's Champions Trophy in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which represented a best ever Chinese performance at major internationalevents.
Despite the historical achievements, field hockey is far from being popular in China, a country which has only a total of eight regular teams.
Kim was obviously disappointed for the fact. "Back in my country, we have more than 70 women's teams, with a total of over 1,400 players. The Netherlands and Australia have even more," he said.
Guangdong provincial team's goalkeeper coach Zhang Naiwu, one of China's first generation of hockey players, took the domestic competitions among the eight squads as mere "internal training," because too many of the players are his protegees.
Lu Zhihua, secretary-general of the Chinese Field Hockey Association, said that, to promote the sport of field hockey in China, the association had decided to encourage six-a-side field hockey games in primary and secondary middle schools. And, in the2003 National Intercity Games, one field hockey gold medal would count for four in the medal table.
A "minority" sport in China, women's hockey has not been well funded for more international competitions against the world's top-class teams.
"To challenge the strong is of outmost importance," said Chinese team's captain Long Fengyu.
"Ours could not match many sports in China, not to say soccer,"Kim admitted. Chinese soccer, which turned professional eight years ago, now enjoys the support by millions of fans nationwide.
The Chinese women's team visited Australia in 1999 after havingqualified for the 2000 Olympic Games.
The team played eight friendlies against Australia's club teams and the national squad, as their build-up for the Sydney Games. The trip was proved to beworthy.
To further develop the sport needs more efforts for facility construction and raising more teams.
And a lack of spectators also upset both players and coaches, with very often a scattered turn-out at the hockey field of the on-going national games here. "We really need more publicity of the game," Lu said.
To introduce advanced training methods and playing skills, several Chinese provincial teams had hired coaches from abroad, mainly from South Korea, and Pakistan where field hockey is a national game. China does not own a large pool of talents for diving, while Chinese divers have won one title after another in major international events, which has led the country to the top of the world.
With so little talents as backing, it would certainly take somemore time for China to own its own field hockey league.
Ironically, most Chinese residents take bicycles as their most convenient and affordable means for daily traffic, but Chinese cyclists could hardly boast for any Olympic honor.
Whatever the sport could expect for, no matter it's more corporate sponsorship or governmental backing, there lies a long way ahead.
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