Highs and lows of 2007

Disappointment, again: China's men's soccer team was eliminated from the group stage after losing to Uzbekistan 3-0 at the 2007 Asian Cup in July. It was the fi rst time the team failed to reach the second round of the tournament in 27 years. Home coach Zhu Guanghu was then sacked and replaced by former Dalian Shide head coach Vladimir Petrovic. Zhong Ti

The year of Liu: China’s hurdler Liu Xiang fi nished a successful 2007 season by winning his fi rst world title at the Osaka World Championships in August. Running in lane 9, the Shanghai star dashed home in a time of 12.95 seconds to win. Liu took part in 12 tournaments in 2007, winning medals from all of them including nine golds, one silver and two bronzes. Xinhua

Left: Winter Asiad

The 6th Asian Winter Games was held in Changchun in northeast China’s Jilin Province from January 28 to February 4. Each of the 45 members of the Asian Olympic Council took part in the tournament. The host fi nished as the biggest winner, topping the medal tally with 19 gold medals, 19 silvers and 23 bronzes. Zhong Ti

Right: Sweet and sour

The women’s World Cup was staged in fi ve Chinese cities in September. The tournament proved to be a great success, boasting full-capacity crowds and high-quality soccer, although some of the matches had to be postponed due to a typhoon. However, the host failed to make good use of the home advantage as it was knocked out by Norway 1-0 in the quarterfi nals. Swede Marika Domanski subsequently quit her post as China’s head coach, citing personal reasons. Elizabeth Loisel, former France coach, took over the job. Zhong Ti

Special Shanghai: The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games was held in Shanghai in October. The Games, which feature 21 medal sports and four demonstration events, attracted 7,450 athletes from 164 countries and regions, a record in the 39-year history of the Games. Some 20,000 delegation offi cials, coaches, celebrities and family members of the Special Olympics athletes also came to Shanghai while more than 40,000 volunteers, most of them students from China and overseas as well, served the Games and the intellectually disabled athletes with passion and love. China poured in nearly 60 million yuan (about $8 million) as a fi nancial backup to ensure the event went smoothly. Xinhua