China determined to produce Wimbledon champ
By ANIMonday, June 21, 2010
BEIJING - China’s elite sports schools appear determined to make the country a sporting superpower, and the current aim is to create a Wimbledon champion.
Take for example, the Xiannongtan School in Beijing. Children as young as six are being trained to be sport stars of the future.
Xiannongtan has produced 10 world champions and four Olympic gold medallists.
Sky News reports that Hao Huatian is a star member of the school’s tennis squad.
At 11, he trains six days a week, with no school holidays and parental visits once a week.
He has already won a national championship, and displays extraordinary focus for a player of his age.
Roger Federer is his favourite tennis star, he says, because “whether he wins or loses, he never shows any emotions”.
Hao and the other young tennis hopefuls have all been chosen by the school’s coaches for their body type and mental aptitude.
“We pick the students by testing the quality of their bodies,” said the squad’s manager, Huang Hongjun.
This year at Wimbledon, China’s hopes of producing a champion lie with Zheng Jie, a pocket-sized dynamo best known for reaching the semi finals in 2008 - China’s best ever result in the singles. (ANI)
