CHINA DAILY November 2425, 2018 SPORTS 11
CRICKET
Women’s World Twenty20Brief scores from the Women’s World Twenty20 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Thursday:First semifinal between West Indies and AustraliaAustralia 1425 (Alyssa Healy 46, Meg Lanning, 31; Stafanie Taylor 120, Deandra Dottin 123);West Indies 71 off 17.3 overs (Stafanie Taylor 16, Ellyse Perry 22, Ashleigh Gardner 215, Delissa Kimmince 217)Result: Australia won by 71 runsSecond semifinal between India and EnglandIndia 112 all out off 19.3 overs (Smriti Mandhana 34, Jemimah Rodrigues 26; Heather Knight 39, Kirstie Gordon 220)England 1162 off 17.1 overs (Amy Jones 53 not out, Natalie Sciver 52 not out; Radha Yadav 120)Result: England won by eight wickets
GOLF
World Cup of Golf Scores Friday after the foursomes second round of the World Cup in Melbourne (two days of fourballs and two days of foursomes in twoman teams):134 Belgium (Thomas Pieters/Thomas Detry) 6371, South Korea (An ByeongHun/Kim Siwoo) 6272136 Italy (Andrea Pavan/Renato Paratore) 6571, India (Anirban Lahiri/Gaganjeet Bhullar) 6472, Malaysia (Gavin Green/Ben Leong) 6373, England (Tyrrell Hatton/Ian Poulter) 6274137 Mexico (Abraham Ancer/Roberto Diaz) 6770138 Scotland (Russell Knox/Martin Laird) 6771, Australia (Mark Leishman/CameronSmith) 6276139 France (Alexander Levy/Michael LorenzoVera) 6673, Sweden (Alexander Bjork/Joakim Lagergren) 6574140 Ireland (Shane Lowry/Paul Dunne) 6476, Denmark (Thorbjorn Olesen/Soren Kjeldsen) 6377
141 Canada (Adam Hadwin/Nick Taylor) 6873, Finland (Mikko Korhonen/Mikko Ilonen) 6675, New Zealand (Ryan Fox/Mark Brown) 6576142 Spain (Adrian Otaegui/Jorge Campillo) 6874, China (Li Haotong/Wu Ashun) 6676, South Africa (Dylan Frittelli/Erik van Rooyen) 6676143 Wales (Stuart Manley/Bradley Dredge) 7073145 Thailand (Kiradech Aphibarnrat/Prom Meesawat) 6778, United States (Kyle Stanley/Matt Kuchar) 6679, Japan (Satoshi Kodaira/Hideto Tanihara) 6679147 Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas/Joseph Naffah) 6582149 Germany (Martin Kaymer/Maximilian Kieffer) 6881151 Netherlands (Joost Luiten/Daan Huizing) 6982153 Greece (Peter Karmis/Alexander Tranacher) 6687156 Zimbabwe (Scott Vincent/Benjamin FollettSmith) 7284
Hong Kong Open Leading scores after the first round on Thursday (par 70):65 Aaron Rai (ENG), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Yusaku Miyazato (JPN)66 Micah Lauren Shin (USA), Jack Singh Brar (ENG), Arjun Atwal (IND)67 Thomas Aiken (RSA), Danthai Boonma (THA)68 Nicolas Colsaerts (BEL), Thongchai Jaidee (THA), Khalin H Joshi (IND), Ashley Chesters (ENG), Berry Henson (USA), Wang Jeunghun (KOR), Scott Hend (AUS), Terry Pilkadaris (AUS), David Drysdale (SCO), Park Hyowon (KOR), Haydn Porteous (RSA), Liu Yanwei (CHN), Sam Brazel (AUS), Alvaro Quiros (ESP)
NFL
Results of the National Football League games on Thursday (home team in CAPS):Chicago 23 DETROIT 16DALLAS 31 Washington 23NEW ORLEANS 31 Atlanta 17
Scoreboard
SOCCER
Wolves on prowl for CSL’s top sniper
SHANGHAI — ChineseSuper League (CSL) top scorer Wu Lei, who has been linked with a transfer to the English Premier League’s Wolverhampton Wolves, says he would move abroad for the right offer.
The 27yearold was namedCSL player of the year on Wednesday after sniping 27 goals to help Shanghai SIPG toit first league championship.
The 27yearold Wu, whoalso plays for China’s national squad, has reportedly been approached by Wolverhampton, which is owned by the Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun International.
“I think it needs to be considered in many ways,” Wu, who also made 10 assists in thejustfinished Chinese season, said of a move away from the CSL.
“But at my age, if I go abroadI must play, this is very important,” Wu said after confirminghis status as China’s best player.
“In the right environment Ican really improve and I can help the national team when I come back. I think it depends on the timing and other factors.”
Wu, who has 57 caps and 12international goals, was dubbed “China’s Maradona” by the coach who discovered him.
A sprightly winger, hetopped the CSL scoring charts ahead of a clutch of foreign stars including SIPG teammate Hulk, Odion Ighalo, Cedric Bakambu, Graziano Pelle and Alexandre Pato.
From the 2008 to 2017 season, the CSL’s top scorers wereall foreigners. Former Guangzhou Evergrande forward Elkeson from Brazil still holds the CSL record of 28 goals in a single season, which he made in 2014.
AGENCE FRANCEPRESSE
Wu Lei
New Orleans Saints tight end Dan Arnold hauls in a touchdown pass over Atlanta Falcons defensive back Sharrod Neasman in the second half of Thursday’s NFL game in New Orleans. The Saints won 3117 to improve to 101 on the season. BUTCH DILL / AP
Leap of faith
MMA
From Shaolin temple to UFC star, China’s ‘Monkey King’ on the move
Song Yadong was soobsessed with Chinese martial arts that he convinced hismother to send him off to learn at the feet of the famous kung fu masters of Shaolin.
He was just nine years oldat the time.
“I watched a lot of kung fumovies, so I wanted to be likemy heroes, like Jet Li,” said Song.
“I went to Shaolin and Itrained, getting up each morning at 5. It was harder than I ever expected.”
A decade later, Song’sthirst for action has led him into the ranks of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and on to the biggest stage in mixed martial arts.
“I left Shaolin after twoyears and then I learned about MMA,” said the 20yearold.
“I like the action, I like thefact every fight tests you and that you always have to work to be the best you can be.”
Song is at the forefront ofthe Las Vegasbased promotion’s push into China, the country many consider the spiritual home of all martial arts.
The Tianjinborn fighter isamong nine locals set to take part in the UFC’s first fight
card to be held in Beijing.Saturday night sees the
UFC Fight Night 141 event at Cadillac Arena, headlined by a blockbuster bout between heavyweight contenders Francis “The Predator” Ngannou of Cameroon and (113) and American Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (1011).
But there’s little doubtwhere Chinese fans’ attention — and hopes — will rest.
“It will be the biggestchance for us Chinese fighters and for the sport to grow in China,” said Song, who willface American Vince “Vandetta” Morales on the undercard.
Song’s rise to the UFC hascaptured China’s attention, as has the origin story he car
ries with him.When he was 15, Song was
so focused on becoming a professional MMA fighter that he used a forged ID card to convince local promotions that he was 18 and legally allowed to fight.
“I was superaggressiveback then,” said Song. “I just wanted to fight so I used the fake ID. I looked strong enough, so they believed me.”
After plying his trade indomestic and regional promotions — and racking up a record of 103 — Song received a surprise call last November, just weeks before the UFC was set to make its debut on China’s mainland.
Called in to replace aninjured fighter on the UFC Fight Night 122 card, Song needed just over four minutes to choke out India’s Bharat Khandare.
He’s since backed up thatperformance with a secondround KO of Brazilian veteran Filipe Arantes in Singapore in June, and comes to Beijing with a 123 record overall.
“There is still a lot of roomfor improvement in my skills,” said Song.
“I am focused on winningstep by step, fight by fight. I have been training with (UFC Hall of Famer) Urijah
Faber and his Team Alpha Male in California and I am learning.
“Chinese fighters needmore experience but soon wewill be a force.”
The UFC currently has 11Chinese fighters on its books, a mix of established stars such as the veteran welterweight Li “The Leech” Jingliang and rising stars such as Song and female strawweight Zhang Weili, with all three in action on Saturday.
This week the organizationannounced an investment of around $13 million in what it called the world’s biggest MMA academy in Shanghai, designed to help Chinese fighters make the transition from smaller fight promotions to the UFC octagon.
Song has recently replaced“The Terminator” as his fightname with “The Monkey King”, in reference to the mythical Chinese hero Sun Wukong.
He believes China’s richhistory in martial arts — and its fighters — makes it well positioned as MMA continues to take hold.
“We have the history inChina,” said Song. “This is only the beginning.”
AGENCE FRANCEPRESSE
Song Yadong
RUNNING
Flag f lap diffused by CAA moves
By SHI [email protected]
Wrapping themselves in thenational flag is normally a proud and patriotic moment for runners — but not always.
Last Sunday, Chinese marathoner He Yinli faced the dilemma of embracing the flagor winning the race at the Suzhou Taihu Marathon in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.
While sprinting the finalleg, trying to overtake Ethiopia’s Ayantu Abera Demissie, He was handed a flag from a volunteer who rushed to her from the sideline.
According to the rules, nononrunners, including referees, can step onto the track during the race.
The 30yearold He held theflag for a few seconds before dropping it to the ground, but in that short interval she lost her pace and finished runnerup to Demissie by five seconds.
As the event was broadcastlive, the scene instantly triggered a fierce debate on China’s social media. While most viewers criticized the race organizers for allowing a volunteer to interfere, some questioned He’s response, believing the national flag should not be dropped under any circumstances.
After a weeklong deliberation, the Chinese Athletic Association finally responded on Thursday, posting a statement on its website stressing the importance of maintaining a fair competitive environment and measures to preventa repeat in future events.
According to the CAA’sstatement: 1) Organizers muststrictly follow the rules of marathon and any ritual or celebration activity should not disrupt the principle of fair competition; 2) Organizers should report the content and form of promotional activities to the CAA for approval and risk prevention; 3) Effective contingency plansare needed.
Before the CAA’s announcement, a member of the race organizer’s staff told Beijing Youth Daily: “Wearing the national flag is a good thing which can cheer the spectators.
“However, that day it wasraining and the track was wet
and slippery, which caused theincident. We are truly sorry.”
However, the organizer initially claimed the “volunteer’s action was entirely an individual decision”, according to Tencent Sports
Although stricter requirements are now in place, He is left to cope with the result..
“I can not assume I wouldfor sure be the champion, but my pace in the final stage was disrupted,” the runner told Sina Sports. “The extra movement slowed me down, which was a pity for me.
“I was in the leading groupright from the start, running alongside the champion. I even overtook her for a while. When the incident happened, I had eye contact with the volunteer and tried to avoid taking the flag at that critical point.
“Both me and my rival werestruggling in the final stage and I did not want my pace to be disrupted. The flag was too huge. I was afraid that I could step on and trip. So I rolled it and held it in my hand.
“The flag was wet and myarm was stiff, so it dropped to the ground.”
Wei Jing, another Chinesemarathoner, said on Weibo: “The video shows that He Yinlicrumpled the flag and tossed itaway — is the race result more important than the national flag?”
But it appears that He gotthe support of the majority, including China Central Television, which said on its official Weibo account “for athletes, real patriotism is winning.”
The Communist YouthLeague of China also expressed support for He, posting an article titled “Forcing marathon runner to take national flag is a misunderstanding towards patriotism” on Weibo.
“First of all, the incident ofTaihu marathon is a matter of violating sport rules and disrupting orders,” said the article.
“The organizer failed to provide runners with effective protection. For athletes, the best patriotism is to win honorfor the country. From that perspective, He Yinli tried her best, which deserve some praise.”
New rules established in wake ofmarathoner’s unfortunate miscue
ASIAN GAMES
Building a glorious dream in Hangzhou By MA ZHENHUAN in [email protected]
Hangzhou is right on trackto achieve great success as host city of the 19th Asian Games in 2022, according to atop Olympic official.
“As one of the famous citiesin China, I am very confident that Hangzhou can deliver one of the best Games ever,” Sheikh Ahmad alFahad alSabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), said on Thursday.
“Since my previous visit toHangzhou, a lot of progress has been made. I was here in April 2017 to open the headquarters for the organizing committee of the Hangzhou Asian Games and meet the management team in charge of preparations,” said Sheikh Ahmad, who is leading a delegation conducting an inspection of venues.
“Now I can see a lot ofthings are becoming reality, such as the stadium, the swimming hall and the Olympic village,”
“I think we are movingsteadily in the right direction. The private sector is partici
pating, which is very good. And neighboring cities are participating to share with Hangzhou some of the sports and events.”
The OCA president alsopredicted the Games will be an economic boost for the region.
“This event will be a nice
asset for the city, for the new generation. And we are looking forward to a smart Gamesbecause Hangzhou is the headquarters of ecommerce giant Alibaba. We hope all of those things will help deliver a great Asiad.”
He further added he is mostimpressed with the landscape
of the main venue, in the formof a lotus.
“It’s good to keep it green,with the river flowing beside. I think this is something that will impress everybody. I’m also very happy that we are helping with the society. For example, the Games village and the media village will
accommodate citizens in the future — like a new city insideHangzhou.”
Construction of the mainstadium inside the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center “is almost complete,” according to Games organizers.
With a construction area of229,000 square meters, the stadium will hold up to 80,000 spectators.
In September 2015,Hangzhou won the bid to hostthe 19th Asian Games. Since then, preparatory work has proceeded smoothly
“We aim to host a green,intelligent, frugal and civilized Asian Games,” Hangzhou Mayor Xu Liyi told China Daily.
Hangzhou is the third Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990 and Guangzhou in 2010.
China first took part in theAsian Games in 1974 in Tehran and, since the New Delhi Games in 1982, has led the Asiad medal count.
The nation’s latest successwas at the Jakarta Games in August, where China won 289medals, including 132 gold.
China’s gold medal tally forthe 12 Asiads is 1,473.
Sheikh Ahmad alFahad alSabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, answers reporters’ questions at the main stadium of the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center on Thursday. The Zhejiang provincial capital will host the 2022 Asian Games. DONG XUMIN / FOR CHINA DAILY