Guo Jingjing denies Hong Kong 2012 rumors
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
If Guo Jingjing (郭晶晶) isn't in the pool, she must be in the tabloids. Post-Olympic rumors have the diver taking her gold medals and moving to Hong Kong, where the buzz is that she may marry her boyfriend Kenneth Fok and compete for Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics.According to this AFP story she has denied the rumors, saying at a press conference in Hong Kong: "I have no plan to move to Hong Kong. I am still a member of China's national diving team and there will be many new plans and new goals to follow."
Will she or won't she? Guo on a post-Olympic HK media tour
But because the next best thing to actual news about China's top-earning female athlete is speculation about possible news, the papers are not letting this one rest.
Some Hong Kong media are reporting that Guo's wedding plans have "entered the final sprint, with a wedding next September [2009]," according to a report on mainland sports portal Titan24. Moreover, the reports assert that Guo will not retire as the reigning "queen of diving" but will become a Hong Kong resident and represent Hong Kong in the 2012 Olympics in London.
"As soon as the Chinese Olympic champion representative group touched down at Hong Kong's airport, Guo Jingjing became Hong Kong media's number one target," the report said, "This has become the hottest topic of conversation among Hong Kong's sport and media circles."
According to that story, Guo has not been clear on whether she intends to marry or whether she'll compete in London at all.
The story also cited inside sources saying that should Guo want to represent HK in London, she'll need to talk with the China Olympic Committee and China Swimming Association. Conventional wisdom in China's sports circles seems to be suggesting that should she want to represent HK, neither organization will give her much trouble.
This is likely because she'll be 31 years old in 2012, and is unlikely to be perceived as a major gold medal threat.
Guo Jingjing image: Singtaonet
Tags: diving, Guo Jingjing, Kenneth Fok, Olympics, 郭晶晶
Golf in China: The view from the top
Monday, 1st September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Arthur Yeo at Spring City Golf & Lake Resort
Recently US magazine Golf Digest selected what it considered to be China's top ten golf courses, with three of the top six courses being in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan province.
Perhaps surprisingly for those unfamiliar with golf in China, the top two courses are both located at the same resort - Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in the Yangzonghai resort area, approximately 45 kilometers southeast of Kunming.
How did Kunming end up having the two best courses in China? China Sports Today spoke with Spring City General Manager Arthur Yeo - who has been involved in the Spring City project since its inception in the early 1990s - about the challenges and rewards of building a world-class travel destination in Kunming:
China Sports Today: Spring City's Mountain and Lake Courses were recently named the top two courses in China - what other awards has Spring City won in the last few years?
Arthur Yeo: In the last few years we have won many awards - we average about 10 per year – it would be too lengthy to mention all of them.
However, some of the more significant awards are: Best Golf Course in China and Hong Kong by US Golf Digest [1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 - they rank once in every two years], Best 500 Holes in the World in 2000 [18th hole mountain course designed by Jack Nicklaus] awarded by US Golf Magazine, Best Golf Course in Asia awarded by Asia Golf Monthly from 2004 to 2007, 100 Best Courses outside US ranked by US Golf Digest in 2005 & 2007 [ranked once every 2 years] and Best Golf Resort in China by World Travel Award [London] from 2005 to 2007
CST: How does Spring City overcome the challenge of having the best courses in China but being far from the coast?
Yeo: The recipe is a combination of good design, good construction adhering strictly to USGA specifications, good greenskeeping practice, good service management, spring-like weather all year round and being located in a very picturesque location with mountains and a lake.
This unique combination entices people to make Spring City Golf & Lake Resort a specific must-visit destination. Once they have visited the resort, they always come back again with their friends.
CST: What regions do Spring City's guests come from these days? Where do local Chinese fit into the picture?
Yeo: Our overseas guests are typically from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea but we also have many local Chinese guests. We are also attracting a growing number of expatriates working and living in China – they tend to be from the USA, Australia and Europe.
Also, the number of golfers in Kunming is growing very fast and they form our bread-and-butter players.
CST: Yunnan has some of the best courses in China, do you think it can become synonymous with golf holidays like Florida in the US?
Yeo: Currently, no, as the number of golf courses in Yunnan is limited to seven at present.
However, this could happen in the future. Florida is a very established and developed golf community as compared with the Yunnan golf industry, which only started up 10 years ago.
CST: As golf becomes a more established sport in China and fewer new courses are built, what trends do you foresee for courses and golf as a sport in general around the country in the next few years?
Yeo: The development of golf has a positive impact on the economic and social development of the country - the current trend is that there are more and more golf courses popping up in China even with the central government clamping down on the development of golf courses nationwide. Also, there is a rapid increase in the number of Chinese learning and taking up golf.
Golfing in China will explode, however, the central government in my opinion should not curb the development of golf but rather monitor and control a healthy development of the golf industry in China. More emphasis should be given to:
1. Increasing education in golf maintenance and management to make sure that there are sufficient qualified people running and managing golf courses
2. Ensuring that minimal potential farmland is being used for golf development
3. Ensuring that quality golf courses are being built in a way that maximizes the use of land resources
4. Using 'green belts' within cities to develop public golf courses for public access at a reasonable price
5. Implementing strict environmental guidelines and controls for golf course developers in order to protect the environment.
Related article: China's top 10 golf courses: Kunming is king
Tags: Arthur Yeo, golf, golf course design, Jack Nicklaus, Kunming, Robert Trent Jones Jr, Spring City Golf & Lake Resort