I met a Chinese sports enthusiast during the Indian men's volleyball team's quarterfinals against Japan at the China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium on Sunday. I was taken by surprise when Yan Liming, who works with a Chinese telecom firm, said he was there to watch India's match.
Liming is passionate about football and is a huge fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. He claimed that the Portuguese has more fan following in China than Lionel Messi. Liming also admires Indian captain Sunil Chhetri.
There was a palpable excitement in his voice when he spoke about the Chinese men's football team. I felt he had been desperately looking for someone to share his football knowledge! He was all praise for the Chinese team who beat India 5-1 in the opening fixture of the Asian Games. Although I told him India fielded a depleted side against the hosts and that they were forced to head into the clash without any practice, he was not ready to buy my theories.
To avoid further 'embarrassment', I changed the subject and told him about the Indian women's cricket team's entry into the final. Liming appeared visibly agitated when he heard the word 'cricket' and shook his head with a wry smile. I thought he hated cricket. Eventually, it became clear that he was angry with the Chinese cricket authorities for not allowing the women's cricket team to participate in the Games. In fact, China had announced a squad for the competition but withdrew the team at the last moment.
We do not know what exactly prompted China to withdraw their cricket from the Asian Games, but Liming said the country's cricket authorities regard them as a weak side. In 2019, China were skittled out for just 14 runs in a Twenty20 match against the UAE. It still remains the lowest-ever score in a Twenty20 international match, for men or women. While China win medals at will in most other disciplines, the country's sports authorities do not want one of their teams to be treated as punching bags by other nations. Notably, cricket is not a popular sport in China. Besides, the Chinese government does not want to spend its resources on a game that is not even an Olympic event.
Although Liming was unhappy about the way the authorities treated their cricket teams, he promised me that he would be there to watch the final between India and Sri Lanka.
