'Swing for the Stars' returns with a bang

After a fine debut last year, the "Mercedes-Benz Swing for the Stars" tournament, a national junior-level development program, returned with a host of new recruits in Ya'an, a city in Sichuan province known for its giant panda breeding center, over the weekend.

Fifty young players from around the nation were invited to Ya'an to launch the summer training camp and they also got the golden opportunity to tour Ya'an's giant panda kindergarten, which was set up with the help of Mercedes-Benz in June.

After the tour, the players went to Chengdu for a five-day camp with Josh Rilla, an American coach from Boston.