2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: China sports world in state of flux

FUZHOU, China--While Chinese athletes cannot count on the state for cradle-to-grave security any longer, Chen Hong chose to go further and make a clean break from the government.

Early last year, the badminton player won his "freedom" to compete internationally as an individual, not as part of the national squad.

The special status was granted on condition that he pay his travel expenses and meet other requirements.

Chen finished fifth in men's singles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was ranked fourth in the world on Jan. 4, 2007, before he left the national team.

Regardless, he found himself with fewer chances to play overseas in the face of growing competition from up-and-coming teammates.

The national team is under the strict control of the communist government. The State Sports General Administration decides which players participate in international matches.

After competing with support from private sponsors for more than a year, Chen, 28, said he has not acquired the freedom he once envisioned.

At one competition, where participants earned points needed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, he withdrew whenever he was scheduled to face a younger Chinese opponent.

Some observers said the "independent" competitor gave in to Chinese government pressure.

In a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Chen declined to discuss the issue, except to say that "national interests are important."

He will likely not make it to the Beijing Games. His latest world ranking is 13th, with many of his countrymen ranked higher.

Chen believes, however, that China's sports world will gradually change.

"Outside China, it is taken for granted that athletes participate in events on merit and take responsibility for themselves," he said. "I think more Chinese athletes will follow my lead."

In the past, the Chinese government trained athletes from childhood. It groomed them into international competitors and took care of them after they retired.

But now athletes are increasingly on their own, a result, in part, of Beijing's embrace of a market-oriented economy.

The SSGA, in principle, ended the practice of arranging for post-retirement jobs for athletes several years ago, a source said.

Last year, retired marathon runner Ai Dongmei triggered controversy when she reportedly tried to sell medals she had won at international competitions to get out of a financial jam.

The source said that Ai's plight is often the reality for many other former athletes throughout China.

The China Sports Foundation offers commuting expenses to schools for about 2,000 athletes a year as part of its efforts to help them retrain for post-retirement careers.

"The government can no longer afford to take on the responsibility for all facets of an athlete's post-retirement life," the source said.

Deng Yaping, who won four gold medals in table tennis at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics, said times have clearly changed in China.

"The moment they decide to pursue a career in sports, athletes have to start thinking about what to do after they stop competing," Deng said.

Meanwhile, Chinese sports officials have taken a tough stand on doping. China lost a great deal of international credibility when many of its athletes were detected using performance enhancing substances in the 1990s.

Some said the doping was a result of steep competition between provinces and regions to gain slots on the Olympic team.

In preparing for the Beijing Olympics, the SSGA introduced tough new rules, including banishment for life for a single doping violation.

One casualty of doping was Wu Yanyan, a former star swimmer in China who tested positive for anabolic steroids just before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The positive test ended her hopes of making the national team even though she was a gold medal hopeful.

She set a world record in 1997 in the 200-meter women's individual medley.

Record or no record, she was banned by the Chinese Swimming Association from competition for four years and was forced to retire.

She now works for a sports organization in her home province of Guangxi. Having learned her lesson the hard way, she tells young swimmers: "Don't drink water from an opened container and don't eat food another person gives you.

"I still don't know why I tested positive back then, so I don't really know the right way to prevent a recurrence."

An official said although the state has improved its anti-doping education campaign, it would take time for it to spread to all corners of the vast country.

--Atsushi Akutsu(IHT/Asahi: April 30,2008)