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American football
American football leagues such as the American Football League of China and the China Arena Football League have been launched in recent years.[20][21][22]
Basketball
Houston Rockets superstar Yao Ming
China hosted the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.[23]
The game was introduced to China by American YMCA workers in 1896, just five years after Canadian-American James Naismith invented basketball in 1891 while working for the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts.[24]
Since Yao Ming's 2002 arrival in the NBA, basketball has become increasingly more popular. According to the Chinese Basketball Association, there is a record number of around 300 million active basketball players in China.[25][26] The largest audience for an event outside of China was drawn at the Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian matchup when 100–200 million Chinese watched live.[27][28]
Virtually the whole nation stands glued to their television sets, amid parties and wild celebrations.[28]
China's first professional team was started in Shenyang and sponsored by the Anshan Steel Company. The CBA was established in 1995, and by 2008 it had expanded to 18 teams.
The fact that the United States is starting to notice Chinese players after Yao Ming's success (compared to Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer), and young CBA players such as Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue entering the NBA are a testament to basketball's increasing popularity.[2] In 2008, Sun Yue became the latest Chinese to join the NBA by signing with the Los Angeles Lakers to a two-year contract.[2]
Bodybuilding
Bodybuilding was introduced to China in the 1930s, before being banned in 1953 and making a reappearance in 1983 when the ban was officially lifted.
Boxing
Boxing in China first appeared in the 1920s. Professional boxing is followed by some fans in China.
Chess
Former Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan (2007)
China had a good result in the 2006 37th Chess Olympiad in Turin when the men's team came second behind Armenia and the women's team third for the best result overall. The Chinese progress has been underpinned by large government support and testing competition in numerous tough events. Commensurate with its status, China currently has seven hundred players, second only to Russia. However, even today countries like Russia and Israel still have an edge in experience over their Chinese counterparts.
Xiangqi is also considered a sport in China, with millions of players nationwide. There is a national Chinese chess league.
Cricket
Cricket is a fast-growing sport in China.[citation needed] It is already a well-established sport in Hong Kong, a former British Colony. The Chinese cricket team is the team that represents the country of the People's Republic of China in international cricket. The Chinese Cricket Association became an International Cricket Council affiliate member in 2004. The Special administrative region of Hong Kong is a member of the ICC in their own right, becoming an ICC associate member in 1969. Hence, players from Hong Kong are not eligible to represent China in international competition.
Prior to the establishment of a recognized national side, the Shanghai Cricket Club, the largest club in the country, played games against many touring sides but they do not receive official recognition from the Chinese Cricket Association.
Since September 2005, the Chinese Cricket Association has conducted 8 coaching/umpiring training courses under the assistance from the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). They're promoted in 9 cities in China, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Dalian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Tianjin and Jinan. More than 150 schools were involved.
In 2006, the Chinese Cricket Association set itself ambitious goals over the next 14 years:[29]
2009: Have 720 teams across the country in a well-organized structure
2015: Have 20,000 players and 2,000 coaches
2019: Qualify for the World Cup
2020: Gain Test status
Curling
Although generally unheard of and unpopular, curling has been an improving sport for China to play.[citation needed] The government selected athletic individuals to play curling for China.[citation needed] The Chinese teams both Men and Women have improved at the international level. At the 2008 Ford World Women's Championships, the Chinese curling team consisting of Zhou Yan, Liu Yin, Wang Bingyu, and Yue Qingshuang won a surprising silver medal finish. At the 2008 World Men's Curling Championship, the Chinese didn't have as much success, but they also did very well, finishing 4th. The government is also hoping to promote the sport through Universities and Colleges.[30] In March 2009, China became the first Asian team to win a curling world championship by beating Sweden in the final.[31] At the 2010 Winter Olympic Games the women's team won the bronze medal, defeating Switzerland in 10 ends.
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