Grassroots support

Thanks largely to Yao Ming, who was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft and played for the team until last year, basketball has grown to be one of the most popular sports in China, at least among teenagers. (Table tennis is still more popular among middle-aged people and seniors.)

However, when China Daily visited Liuchangchun Gymnasium in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Tuesday to watch a game in the National High School Men's Basketball League (North), there were only about a hundred spectators in the stands.

The match featured Tsinghua high school, the reigning champion, against Dalian Economic Development Zone No 1 High School.

"Sport is not only about the players and coaches, it's about support from the whole community," said Webb, who hails from Indianapolis and has coached at more than 200 basketball camps, mainly in the US and Canada.

Despite China claiming the most gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, sports is still not a big deal among the nation's students, Sun Peng, a former college basketball player, told China Daily.

The 26-year-old was part of the Renmin University of China squad that won the Chinese University Basketball Super League in 2005. "If that had been in the US, it would have been a big victory, maybe the most important thing to happen at the college that year. Instead, everyone seemed to forget about it very quickly," he said with a sigh.

Wang Dianjun, principal of the high school affiliated to Tsinghua University, has gone on fact-finding missions to a dozen countries and said he has been impressed by the role physical education can play in students' lives.

Children overseas are largely free to indulge in sporting activities, with many excelling in several disciplines, he said. Yet, in China, youngsters spend most of their time in revision schools cramming for exams.

"A lot of teachers and parents still care about students' scores more than anything and think too much exercise will affect their study," Wang said. "If ideas don't change, sport simply will not flourish on campuses in China."

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