NBA greats Horry and Mullin to play Chengdu charity game
Tuesday, 13th April 2010 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
Editor's note: the following story was originally posted on our sister site in Sichuan, GoChengdoo.
In collaboration with the Chengdu Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, the Chengdu Charity Federation, and the Red Cross, the NBA will bring legends "Big Shot Bob" Robert Horry and Chris Mullin, as well as NBA Development League players to Sichuan from April 16 to 18.
The event is billed as "part of the NBA's continued commitment to support rebuilding efforts in the earthquake stricken Sichuan Province."
The NBA Cares charity event includes two exhibition games in which seven-time NBA champion Horry and former Olympic Dream Team member Mullin will play alongside the Beijing Aoshen team, including former Laker Sun Yue, against the D-League players.
To round out the entertainment, the New Jersey Nets dance team and the team mascot, will "provide fans with an authentic NBA game experience ... designed to maximize fans [sic] enjoyment and experience at the game." One hundred students and orphans from the Dujiangyan Qingcheng Mountain Advanced Secondary School will be invited to attend the exhibition games.
Exhibition games
Saturday, April, 17, 7:25 p.m. at the Shuangliu Sports Center. Tickets: RMB 80 to 380.
Sunday, April 18, 5:30 p.m. at the Sichuan Provincial Gymnasium. Tickets: RMB50 to 380
Tickets for the two exhibition games can be purhcased online at Piao or by calling 400-610-3721 or 66510500/600 or
66510588/555/566.
Tags: Chengdu, Chris Mullin, NBA, Robert Horry, Sichuan
ATP Champions tour to bring tennis greats to Chengdu
Tuesday, 3rd November 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The tournament will be held November 5-8 at the 6,700-seat Sichuan Tennis Centre.
Former top world tennis players competing in the Chengdu Open include John McEnroe, Björn Borg, Michael Chang, Pat Cash (added after Mats Wilander pulled out due to injury), Goran Ivanisevic, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Sergi Bruguera and Thomas Enqvist.
The round-robin tournament will feature eight players divided into two groups, with the winners of each group meeting in the final.
A revival of the McEnroe-Borg rivalry is undoubtedly the most anticipated match prior to the final – the two have played each other in some of the greatest Grand Slam finals ever. The two will play each other once again on Saturday night.
In addition to the competition, the visiting tennis legends will run clinics with local children, with the goal of encouraging China's youth to take up the sport.
For ticket information (plus online ordering) and a match schedule, visit the tournament's official website.
This story was cross-posted on GoChengdoo, our sister site in Chengdu.
Tags: Björn Borg, Chengdu, Goran Ivanisevic, John McEnroe, Michael Chang, Pat Cash, Sergi Bruguera, tennis, Thomas Enqvist, Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Kobe to visit Shanghai, Chengdu on Asia tour
Wednesday, 8th July 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant is headed to Asia to "see the progress the kids have made since my last visit," according to Kix-files.com. Here is the schedule for the Kobe Bryant Asia Tour 2009:July 21, Manila
July 22, Singapore
July 23, Taipei
July 24, Hong Kong
July 25, Shanghai
July 26, Chengdu
We're bummed that he won't be stopping by either of our two favorite Chinese cities, Beijing and Kunming, but glad to see him stopping by Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. Though not as well known to the Western world as China's east coast cities, Chengdu gets its share of international sports activity. It hosted the women's soccer World Cup in 2007, and will host the Chengdu Open tennis tournament this fall. It's also one of several cities that Major League Baseball regularly targets for clinics and other events. Chengdu and its surroundings were also hit hard by the May 12 earthquake in 2008, and Bryant will no doubt be including some kind of charity event or appearance in his plans.
Tags: Chengdu, Kobe Bryant, NBA, Shanghai
McEnroe, Borg, other tennis greats to play Chengdu Open
Thursday, 30th April 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The Chengdu Open will be held November 5-8 at the 6,700-seat Sichuan Tennis Centre and will feature eight players divided into two groups for round-robin play. The winners of each group will play in the final.
McEnroe, Borg, Chang, Wilander and Rios have won a combined total of 26 Grand Slam singles titles. When they were at the top of their game, tennis was virtually nonexistent in China, but today China is increasingly considered a rising tennis power.
"I am extremely excited to be making my first trip to China in a very long time; this is a country that is fast becoming a major player in world tennis," the 50-year-old McEnroe said.
Borg, who retired from tennis at the age of 26 in 1983, said he was looking forward to playing in the same field as McEnroe, against whom he played several legendary matches.
Participants in the Chengdu Open will hold clinics with local youth to develop tennis at the grassroots level, organizers said.
The Chengdu Open is coorganized by the Chinese Tennis Association, Sichuan Sports Bureau, Chengdu Sports Bureau, Chengdu Sports Industry Co and CCTV IMG Sports Management Company. The website chengduchampions.com has been launched to provide updates and news in the runup to the tournament in November.
This story has been cross-posted on GoChengdoo, our sister site in Chengdu
John McEnroe image: USA Today
Tags: ATP Champions Tour, Björn Borg, Chengdu, Chengdu Open, John McEnroe, Marcelo Rios, Mats Wilander, Michael Chang, tennis
Sheffield United, Chengdu Blades cosponsoring Hong Kong FA Cup
Monday, 27th April 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Chengdu Blades chairman Tony Xu was in London last week to join Kevin McCabe, chairman of the Blades' parent club Sheffield United to announce a sponsorship deal for the 2008/9 Hong Kong FA Cup, which will now be known as the 'Sheffield United FA Cup'.
The Blades' reserve team - playing in Hong Kong under the name of Sheffield United Hong Kong - will face Sham Shui Po in the tournament's opening fixture on May 12. The Cup's final will be held at Hong Kong Stadium on May 31.
"It is a great honour for Sheffield United and Chengdu Blades to be invited to sponsor the Hong Kong FA Cup," Sheffield United's McCabe told reporters. "It demonstrates our commitment to supporting the growth of football in China and Hong Kong, whilst we continue to make the 'Blades' a global football proposition."
Sheffield United became the first foreign owners of a Chinese football club when it purchased the Chengdu Blades in January 2006.
The Hong Kong FA Cup was first held in 1975, when it was known as the Golden Jubilee Cup. The current cupholders are Citizen, who beat Woofoo Tai Po 2:0 in the HKFA Cup final, which raised funds for the Wenchuan earthquake, which had taken place six days earlier.
Tags: Chengdu, Chengdu Blades, football, Hong Kong, Kevin McCabe, London, Sheffield United, Sheffield United Hong Kong, soccer, sports, Tony Xu, Wenchuan earthquake
Zheng Jie returns to Sichuan to visit earthquake zone
Wednesday, 15th April 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Chinese tennis star and Chengdu native Zheng Jie (郑洁) returned to Sichuan yesterday to participate in charity events in the area affected by last year's earthquake on May 12, which killed at least 69,000.Zheng, currently China's top female tennis player, was playing in Italy when the quake struck. Shortly afterward, Zheng became the darling of international tennis when she upset the world number one Ana Ivanovic en route to the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she lost to Serena Williams.
Zheng was the first Chinese player - male or female – to make it to the Wimbledon semis. She was lauded at home in China for donating all of her winnings at Wimbledon, totaling more than 1 million yuan ($146,334), to the earthquake relief effort. She also built a playground for students in the hard-hit city of Dujiangyan.
Zheng will be playing in Europe on May 12, so she decided to make an appearance just prior to the quake's anniversary.
"I will play matches in Europe on May 12 this year, so I will visit the stricken area a few days earlier this time," Zheng told Chinese media. "As a Sichuan native, I'm very happy to contribute to my hometown as much as possible."
This time around, Zheng was scheduled to visit primary school students of Hongbai Town in Shifang city and donate tennis equipment supplied by Chinese sporting goods company Anta, which sponsors her.
Zheng's international success has been a driving force behind a surge of interest in tennis in China. China is gradually building more of an infrastructure to promote tennis at the grassroots level, including the recently announced China Open Rating Tour (CRT), an amateur league which will host competitions in seven cities nationwide, including Chengdu.
Zheng, who is currently ranked 16th in the world, said her current goal is to crack the top 15. She is currently preparing to compete in the Fed Cup and French Open in May.
Tags: Chengdu, CRT, Sichuan, tennis, Wimbledon, Zheng Jie
China to launch amateur tennis league next month
Tuesday, 24th March 2009 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
The words 'tennis powerhouse' are not generally associated with China, but the PRC has made great progress in recent years in terms of establishing itself as a rising star in the tennis world – witness Li Na coming in second at this month's Monterrey Open and Zheng Jie (pictured above) making it to the semifinals at Wimbledon last year.
In an effort to spur greater interest in tennis at the grassroots level, China's sports authorities announced the creation of a new national amateur tennis league – the China Open Rating Tour (CRT) – which will launch next month. As China Daily explains:
The CRT will be divided into three levels of proficiency to sharpen its competitive edge, similar to a boxing competition with different weight classes. It will feature singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Winners of each competition level will battle for the national trophy during the newly promoted China Open tournament that runs from Oct 1-11.
The tournament will be divided into six regions, with seven cities hosting competition. The regions and cities include: North (Beijing), Northeast (Shenyang), Central (Wuhan), East (Shanghai), South (Guangzhou) and West (Kunming and Chengdu).
Amateurs and retired professionals of any age – or nationality – are invited to apply to compete in the CRT via the league's official website.
Zheng Jie image: ydl169.com
Tags: Beijing, Chengdu, China Open Rating Tour, CRT, Guangzhou, Kunming, Li Na, Shenyang, tennis, Wuhan, Zheng Jie