Does China crashing out of the Fiba Basketball World Cup make them the worst sporting hosts ever?
- Host nations have a long history of under-performing on home turf across biggest events in sport
- China’s best possible finish is 17th and they will watch on as someone lifts the trophy in Beijing on September 15
Home-field advantage is an accepted truth in the sporting world, but it does not always come to pass and China’s men’s basketball team are the latest to find that out the hard way.
After losing 72-59 to Venezuela on Wednesday night, the hosts of the Fiba 2019 Basketball World Cup moved on to the 17-32 place draw, missing out on the second round and the knockouts beyond that.
Instead, China move on to the wooden spoon group with South Korea, Nigeria and Ivory Coast in Guangdong.
They don’t even get to play the only team they beat in their opening game, the Ivory Coast, back when there was hope they would qualify by beating Poland or Venezuela.
Questions are now being asked of the basketball team. Fans in Beijing’s Cadillac Arena called for coach Li Nan’s sacking during the loss to the South Americans, while Yao Ming’s time in charge of the CBA is also under scrutiny.
