Ticket to a better life

NANJING Over the past fortnight scores of Chinese children and their parents filled the 14 competition venues at the Youth Olympic Games YOG in Nanjing the kids there to watch as their parents dream of nurturing a champion that could be their ticket to social and economic elevation.

The quadrennial Games which end today have sparked huge interest from parents alive to the potential lucrative career a professional athlete could enjoy.

Among the estimated 500 spectators at the diving competition yesterday at the Nanjing Natatorium Liu Xiao Yan had brought her two sons aged 10 and four. They have been to watch more than five different sports during the YOG in the hope that the boys will be inspired to become athletes.

Our central government values sports and so there are high cash payouts for top athletes she said. But on top of that our provincial governments want to top one another in payouts to also show that they are more affluent.

Part of the reason Liu explained stems from the tradition of upholding model citizens in China. Lius older son Lu Xing who attends Primary 4 at Xin Cheng Primary School in Nanjing has taken part in hockey table tennis and wushu at school since he was in Primary 1.

It is normal for children in China to take up two or three sports from a very young age and eventually choose one they are best at said Liu.

Parents want their kids to rise above the rest. This way of playing many sports increases their chances to find their niche and excel in it.

Known for generous cash payouts to its top athletes the Chinese central government reportedly paid nearly US80000 S99770 for a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics up from about US55000 apiece at the 2008 Beijing Games.

But as the worlds most populous country with 1.3 billion people competition for almost everything from the best schools to jobs is extremely keen in China. However many feel prioritising material pursuits have come at a cost.

If you are a star athlete it is a very glorious thing for your family said Pan Cai Hong the mother of 11-year-old Chinese badminton player Grace Pan.

But look at Chinas Olympic diver Wu Minxia. Her mothers long battle with breast cancer and her grandparents deaths were concealed from her so as not to distract her training for the London Olympics.

I will not go to that extent as I do not want to lose Grace to her sporting pursuit. I do not know about other parents but it is a competitive environment for sports in China.

Shanghai-born Wu one of Chinas most successful athletes was the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic golds in a single diving event winning the womens synchronised 3m springboard at the 2004 2008 and 2012 Games.

National diver Yang Hao who has risen to fame after bagging gold medals in the boys 3m springboard and 10m platform events this past week in Nanjing aims to medal at the senior Olympics. But the 16-year-old does not know if it will bring financial rewards.

If I medal at the 2016 Olympics then perhaps I will be paid a lot but I am not thinking about that for now and just aim to do better in my sport all the time he said.