China's Sports Machine: Manufacturing the Best Big, Red Army China is the only country in the world with academies dedicated to what most countries consider a recreation room pastime. At the Luneng Table Tennis School in Shandong province, 230 boarding students crowd a gymnasium set up with 80 ping-pong tables. Upper Cut Above A female boxer participates in a sparring session. Many athletes in lesser-known sports had never heard of the sport before they were recruited. Basic Techniques A coach instructs a new student in weight lifting at the Weifang City Sports School, one of 3,000 state-run athletic academies that train nearly 400,000 youngsters. Downtime Students take a break after a long table tennis training session. Fighting for the Gold China's women judo team won its first international title last year, where competition was fierce among judoka vying for the chance to compete on the Olympic team. Fit to Be Tied Students leave their shoes before hitting the mats at the Weifang School. Many of the athletic schools are not well know for their academic studies. Feel the Burn Archery students do an upper-body work out. When school coaches look for potential candidates for archery, they ask unsuspecting students to spread their palms and stack up as many .22 caliber bullets on top of each other as they can. Rest for the Weary Students lie down for their afternoon nap before their training sessions in the afternoon at the Qingdao City Sports School, one of the country's top breeding grounds of Olympic athletes. Breaking the Mold Students receive some final instructions before a Tae Kwon Do and boxing class at the Qingdao School. Up, Up and Away A pair of pole-vaulters prepare for training jumps at the Qingdao School. Jewels in the Gym More than 400,000 youngsters train at over 3,000 state-run athletic academies in China. High Tension An archery student closes his eyes in pain, as he is obliged to hold the tension of the bow for an extended amount of time to train his muscles. Weighting for a Turn Students train at a weight-lifting class at the Weifang School. Oh, Inverted World One wrestler flips another at the Qingdao School. The Chinese Sports Ministry spends about $714 million a year. "With the Olympics in Beijing, we want to make sure we do very well," says Hao Qiang, head of the Sports Ministry's competition-and-training department. Pro Patria A young female boxer trains at Qingdao School. "Before, some parents were worried about sending their kids to sports schools because they thought their children would have to eat too much bitterness," says Qingdao school principal Qiao, using the Chinese term for enduring hardship. "But the Beijing Olympics has made people willing to contribute to the nation's glory.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Jul 17 2008, 08:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I like Ping Pong and my country has a team as well. (not attending olympics though)</div> yes，i saw a film “Forrest Gump”，in that film，Gump palyed Ping－Pang well，i love this film，this film is very famous in China，hehe
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yinets1860 @ Jul 17 2008, 09:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Jul 17 2008, 08:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I like Ping Pong and my country has a team as well. (not attending olympics though)</div> yes，i saw a film “Forrest Gump”，in that film，Gump palyed Ping－Pang well，i love this film，this film is very famous in China，hehe </div> Yeah with Tom Hanks. Great movie.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Jul 17 2008, 09:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yinets1860 @ Jul 17 2008, 09:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing @ Jul 17 2008, 08:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I like Ping Pong and my country has a team as well. (not attending olympics though)</div> yes，i saw a film “Forrest Gump”，in that film，Gump palyed Ping－Pang well，i love this film，this film is very famous in China，hehe </div> Yeah with Tom Hanks. Great movie. </div> oh，i love Tom Hanks looks i love Jet Li，
