Idols not idle as celebs sweat it out

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.

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."