说明:双击或选中下面任意单词,将显示该词的音标、读音、翻译等;选中中文或多个词,将显示翻译。
Home->News->Sports->
Idols not idle as celebs sweat it out
2020-08-17 

Stars do battle at Super Novae Games to entice fans off couch and into action

China's celebrity sports enthusiasts sweated it out over the weekend as the Super Novae Games returned to energize the nation.

Dancer Liu Jia takes aim during the men's archery competition at the Super Novae Games at Nanjing Olympic Sports Center on the weekend. [Photo for China Daily]

Staged at Nanjing Olympic Sports Center in the capital city of Jiangsu province, Tencent's 27-hour live broadcast featured 127 entertainment stars, including pop idols, rappers and actors. They battled it out in sprinting, high jump, archery, 3x3 basketball, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, Chinese Wushu, tug of war and e-sports.

And while their performance levels were not quite up to professional standard, the celebrities were certainly not there to mess around. The stars showed different, often surprising, sides to their characters on the sports field, while fans were encouraged to cheer on their idols and try out the sports for themselves, with the main aim of the Games being to promote fitness among the younger generation.

Deng Yaping was the contestants' head coach for the second year running, with the four-time Olympic table tennis champion ably assisted by 2008 Beijing Olympics archery gold medalist Zhang Juanjuan and hurdler Shi Dongpeng, who won silver at the 2010 Asian Games.

Deng hailed the standard of this year's celebs as the best yet.

"Technically speaking, our star athletes are becoming more and more professional than previous editions of the event," she said.

"As singers or actors, their jobs are to put on a show on the stage. However, in sports, it's very different. In sports competitions, you don't need to talk too much, and you will have to fight with the best efforts you have. You can see their will to win through their facial expressions and every eye contact.

"I used to think they were just here for fun. However, what shocked me is their thirst for victory. They are not professional athletes, but their competitive spirit is what has impressed me. Some even got injured during the competition, but they would not give up or simply quit easily."

Deng, though, says the event serves a more important function.

Table tennis legend Deng Yaping says the Super Novae Games are a great way of engaging young people with marginal sports.

"It will undoubtedly boost the promotion of many marginal sports, allowing more people to be interested in certain sports that they might not have been so familiar with," she added.

"For example, rhythmic gymnastics has been a good match for our idols. Many of them have had dance training and some even performed ballet. For sure, it's more challenging to practice rhythmic gymnastics, but our stars have the talent to give it a go. That shows the beauty of both the sports and our girls.

"This is a good way as the idols will encourage their fans and more young people to embrace these sports. We want these sports to become part of people's lifestyles. The youngsters will follow their idols and get out of the house to exercise, play ball games and make more friends."

Deng has been especially impressed by pop star Li Wenhan, who last year finished second in the men's 50-meter swimming, and this year participated in the mixed 4x50m relay in the pool as well as the tug of war.

"Actually I don't have much time to have professional training due to my work. But I always keep exercising and maintain a good physical condition," said Li.

"Being a professional athlete is really hard. It demands daily training and athletes need to have extraordinary perseverance. I just hope more people can take up sports as it greatly benefits your body."

Li's efforts in the pool are having the desired effect on his fans, with Beijing office worker Mu Yan among those now raring to take the plunge.

"I knew that Li Wenhan had swam since he was a boy and he continued exercising after he became a pop star," she said. "He is now a pop idol with many sports skills like swimming, basketball, table tennis and surfing.

"As I'm an office worker, I don't have much time to do sports. Now I have realized the importance of health and I push myself to keep training at the gym half an hour in the afternoon. Li said that the habit of sports gave him good health and perseverance. Now I'm waiting for the reopening of the swimming pool, so I can start to learn how to swim."

Fitness first

The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a particularly tough year for the sports industry worldwide, with major events such as the Tokyo Olympics postponed or canceled. The public have also seen their exercise routines curtailed, however with the epidemic now under control in China, sports are returning to people's lives.

To help teenagers get back on the sports field, the Super Novae Games this year launched an initiative entitled "Bring the playground back home". In addition, an online challenge called "Super Novae Games fans sports meet" is aimed at a wider audience and encourages people to run, dance and do push-ups or planks at home.

"The pandemic has made people focus more on health and an important way to increase our body's resistance to diseases is to keep doing sports," said Deng.

"Now sports are coming back to our lives and more sports venues are reopening to the public. I know a fitness center in Zhengzhou that reopened in June and it welcomed much more people compared with the same time last year."

Most Popular...
Previous:Animated films 'Onward', 'Trolls World Tour' to hit Chinese theaters
Next:Recalibrating Brady admits to 'challenging' countdown