For Chinese Athletes, Western-Style Perks

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Divers Train with New Approach in Beijing

As China embraces capitalism, its athletic teams, like divers seen here at Tsinghua university in Beijing, are bombarded with a changing philosophy and psychology of sport.

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There are well-behaved athletes, of course. Yao Ming, star center of the Houston Rockets professional basketball team, and Liu Xiang, a rock-star hurdler, for example, have captured the imaginations of the Chinese. But the kind of fame they enjoy would have been impossible previously.

"Before, our policy killed the personalities of athletes. The government didn't promote fame or self-interest," said Jin Shan, director of the Sports Culture Research Center at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

"China was so weak in its economy and politics that sports were used to enhance the people's confidence," Jin added. "Now it's not necessary to use sports to build a strong image of China overseas. Sports will be commercialized in the future, and more stars will be generated, just like in the U.S."

Today's athletes, many born after the 1980s, cite a variety of motivations for pursuing sports, from academic incentives from the government to being able to travel abroad and see the world. But for many, it's largely about the money.

At Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Xu Xiulin, 22, races with the Shanxi Provincial Track and Field Group, attending classes morning and night and practicing in the afternoon. If he wins at the Chinese National Games championship, the team will give him a bonus of more than $14,000.

"I want to get what I deserve by my hard work," he said. "Athletes should be paid well because the training is so tough."

Not all athletes can do as well as Xu. As in the United States, salaries correspond to the popularity of a sport. Badminton and table tennis players, for example, attract more sponsors than do wrestlers, who can't fill stands with spectators. Sponsors didn't chase after China's tennis team until two female stars brought home gold medals from the Athens Olympics in 2004 and became instant national heroes.

Twenty years ago, athletes' salaries came from the government. Today, most teams are still paid by the government, though the state soccer team is owned by private sponsors. But officials now dole out bonuses and other incentives for performance.

Low salaries previously prompted many athletes, including Yao Ming, to move abroad. In 1994, female table tennis player He Zhili moved to Japan. When she later beat China's reigning champion, Deng Yaping, there was a national uproar.

"It's necessary to offer financial prizes to athletes -- otherwise we can't make them keep working for us," said Shi Chunyuan, head of the Sports Administration office in Liaoning province.

Liu, the hurdler, has perhaps been the greatest beneficiary of the new approach. He has enjoyed the adoration of Chinese fans since setting a world record at the Athens Games. Now he's sponsored by Nike, Coca-Cola, Visa and a slew of Chinese brands, including a real estate company and a cigarette-maker.

Sponsorships have become such a focus for Liu and other top Olympic contenders that sports authorities in China have started to worry that the athletes will be distracted from their training. Late last year, authorities instructed elite competitors to cut back on their commercial activities.

At the time, Liu's father and spokesman, Liu Xuegen, told the South China Morning Post that he didn't think the instructions would make much of a difference.

"I'm afraid those really well-connected organizations and persons seeking his appearance will still have their way if they press hard enough," he said. "It's something inevitable in China."

Staff researcher Robert E. Thomason in Washington and researcher Zhang Jie in Beijing contributed to this report.