Podium position for sporting goods

Li Ning's igniting of the cauldron at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony can be viewed as a symbolic beginning of the growth of the sports goods industry in China.

Li, 51, known to millions of Chinese as the "Prince of Gymnastics", is now the chairman of a billion-dollar Chinese sporting goods firm, Li Ning Co Ltd, which he established after retiring from the sport in 1990.

After the Olympics, the company was the first major Chinese sports brand to begin making inroads into the United States. It invested $10 million in 2010 with the goal of reaching US sales of $50 million.