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Jonathan White

The last 12 months have been eventful for sport in China but when are they not? Here is the good, the bad and the ugly of 2018.
Pigeon plotters
Two pigeon fanciers hit the headlines this year for their nefarious scheme to defraud race organisers out of 1 million yuan (US$147,000). Their plan was simple, hiding the pigeons in milk cartons and taking the high speed train from Henan to the finish line in Shanghai.
Feathers were ruffled when the pigeons came first but at speeds faster than their 150km per hour top speed – the trains can reach top speeds of 350 kilometres per hour.
The pair were given suspended sentences and fined for their hare-brained plot.
Cheating Chinese pigeon racers hide birds on bullet train in short cut to US$147,000 prize money

Shenzhen Marathon cheats
A total of 258 runners were banned for cheating at the Shenzhen Nanshan half marathon in November. The vast majority of them, 237, were handed a two-year ban for cutting the course (and being caught on CCTV doing it) while 18 runners who had fake bib numbers and three runners doing the race for someone else were handed lifetime bans.
Chinese volleyball coach Chen Fang criticised for hospitalising PLA player Yuan Dangyi with post-loss training ‘punishment’

CAUGHT CHEATING: Traffic camera captures half-marathon runners taking a shortcut through the trees during a race in Shenzhen, China.
In all, 258 runners in Sunday's race were reportedly punished for various methods of cheating. https://t.co/uuQCq1CoEE pic.twitter.com/wQ9gmQWFd8
— ABC News (@ABC) 30 November 2018

China’s men’s hockey team
Hockey fans will long remember that the women’s team won silver against the odds at the Beijing Olympics back in 2008 but 10 years on the men reached a milestone of their own by qualifying for the World Cup.
They creditably drew with Ireland and England in the opening group stage games before losing to reigning champions Australia by an eye-watering 11-0.
China must help Yao Ming realise his dream of building ‘student-athletes’ like the US

A historic selfie!
Happy faces all around, after China played their first-ever World Cup match on 30th November after they drew 2-2 against @EnglandHockey at the Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. #IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey #ENGvCHN pic.twitter.com/4YmkiITljE
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) 30 November 2018

Team China at the Asian Games
China sent 845 athletes to Indonesia and they dominated, topping the medal table with 132 golds, 92 silvers and 65 bronzes to lead the count for the 10th time in Asian Games history.
The pool was fertile medal ground, with 50 picked up in swimming events, as was the track where China won 33 medals. With the exception of the men’s football, China impressed in the team as well as individual events.
It bodes well for the hosts in four years when they will want to be as dominant in Hangzhou.
Chinese football year in review 2018: more madness, but plenty of positives in another crazy campaign

Winter Olympics and Paralympics golds
Pyeongchang in February and March was another international event where China showed its steel.
Speed skater Wu Dajing smashed the world record for the men’s 500m short track event and became the first Chinese gold medal winner in ice sports at the Olympics.
A month later it was the wheelchair curling team that made history with victory over Norway giving China gold, its first ever medal at the Winter Paralympics.
China’s quest to host Fifa World Cup receives state backing, says mainland media, with 2034 the most likely target

Lin Dan on the outs
The badminton legend has gone from “Super Dan” to “First Round Lin” after an annus horribilis where he suffered nine first round exits in 19 tournaments. His dream of qualifying for Tokyo 2020 and a third Olympic gold looks some way off. But don’t put it past the greatest player of all time, even at 35.
Lin Dan deserves admiration – not ridicule – for daring to dream of Tokyo 2020 Olympics 
Yu Delu and Cao Yupeng banned
The 31-year-old snooker star has been suspended until 2029 for fixing matches. His ban of 10 years and nine months was lowered from 12 years for pleading guilty to fixing five matches at five different events. Cao Yupeng also got hit with a 30-month ban to become the first Chinese players fingered for fixing matches.
Chinese star Ding Junhui warns his fellow players to have ‘self-discipline’ after match-fixing scandal

1️⃣4️⃣7️⃣ - Cao Yupeng has compiled a maximum 147 break on day two of the Scottish Open. The break was officiated by @R0BSpencer: https://t.co/A82NKwyiCS #snooker pic.twitter.com/M7xuq22k0K
— WPBSA (@WPBSAofficial) 12 December 2017

Sun Yang’s national pride
The heart-throb dominated in the pool in Jakarta at the Asian Games in the summer, where he also won over Chinese fans by insisting that the national anthem be played again at a medal ceremony where the flag failed to fly properly. Finished off the year with bronze at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Hangzhou where China set an Asian record in the 4x200m relay.
China’s quest to become a sporting nation: why money cannot solve a cultural problem

Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye speed ahead
Su ran the 100m in 9.91 seconds in Madrid in June to reclaim the Chinese national record he had lost three days earlier to Xie, who had run 9.97. Su’s US coach Randy Huntington insists the 29-year-old can run even faster – perhaps as quick as 9.8 seconds if conditions conspire – but the 25-year-old Xie could be key to that.
Chinese kick-boxer knocks out tai chi master with one punch in latest blow to traditional martial arts 
Zhu Ting and the women’s volleyball team shine again
The face of Chinese volleyball smashed it again this year.
She led her Turkish club side VakifBank Istanbul to retain their FIVB Club World Championship in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, and was named MVP along the way.
The 24-year-old won the Turkish League and Cup in addition to the CEV Champions League with her club. For China she won gold at the Asian Games and bronzes in both the Nations League and World Championships.
The nation expects at Tokyo 2020 but there’s a strong chance Zhu can win yet another gold.
Are China’s women’s volleyball team the country’s most fun export? Hong Kong is certainly in love with them 
Li “The Leech” Jingliang leading the way for Chinese MMA
The biggest star of the nascent mixed martial arts scene started the year with a controversial loss to Jake Matthews that will be not forgotten for an eye gouge on the Australian. Li won his two other bouts, including in Beijing in November.
Li leads the way for the 10 Chinese fighters on the UFC books, but they will look to be adding to that after announcing the opening of a performance centre in Shanghai.
It was also a landmark year for Xiong “The Panda” Jingnan, who won at the One Championship’s Shanghai event to set up a fight with Angela Lee.
UFC Beijing: China performance institute will make us an MMA super power, says Li ‘The Leech’ Jingliang 


Hong Kong bridge ‘addict’ launches online course in card game loved around the world, whose devotees include Bill Gates and Warren Buffett

Hong Kong Balloon League brings viral sport sensation to the city

Who is Su Bingtian? China sprint star is Asia’s fastest man

Who is Yuka Saso? Philippine-Japanese teen US Open champion on the cusp of Olympic qualification

Asian Games 2018

Year in review: Sun Yang, marathon cheats and Lin Dan lead China’s sporting  winners and losers in 2018

Su Bingtian after finishing first in the men’s 100m finals at the Asian Games. Photo: EPA

(FILES) This file picture taken on August 2, 2018 shows Lin Dan of China reacting after losing a point against Shi Yuqi of China in their men's singles match during the badminton World Championships in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. - Lin Dan is regarded as the best badminton player of all time but his brilliant career is ending in a sorry whimper and he is danger of becoming a figure of ridicule. Widely known as "Super Dan" during his pomp, the 35-year-old Chinese star this week suffered his ninth first-round defeat in 19 tournaments this year. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Badminton-CHN-Lin, FOCUS by Peter STEBBINGS

Gold medallists China celebrate during the victory ceremony for the women's basketball competition at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta on September 1, 2018. (Photo by LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

China's Zhu Ting plays against Thailand during the women's volleyball gold medal match at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

=== NO ARCHIVE IMAGE === ATN. PIGEON05. UNDATED HANDOUT

Su Bingtian (far L) wins the men's 100-meter final in a meet record of 9.92 seconds at the Asian Games in Jakarta on Aug. 26, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

epa06968654 Sun Yang of China celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men's 1,500m Freestyle swimming final at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, 24 August 2018. EPA-EFE/WU HONG

epa06557558 Gold medalist Wu Dajing of China during the medal ceremony for the men's 500m Short Track event at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games, South Korea, 23 February 2018. EPA-EFE/DIEGO AZUBEL

Sport

China

Asian Games dominance follows on from groundbreaking victories in winter sports at Pyeongchang Games
Cheating pigeon racers, snooker players and marathon runners add a touch of scandal in mixed year


Asian Games dominance follows on from groundbreaking victories in winter sports at Pyeongchang Games


Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

Year in review: Sun Yang, marathon cheats and Lin Dan lead China’s sporting winners and losers in 2018

Asian Games dominance follows on from groundbreaking victories in winter sports at Pyeongchang Games Cheating pigeon racers, snooker players and marathon runners add a touch of scandal in mixed year

Asian Games dominance follows on from groundbreaking victories in winter sports at Pyeongchang Games

Cheating pigeon racers, snooker players and marathon runners add a touch of scandal in mixed year