Hurdler Liu volunteers to promote fitness call

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By Tang Yue (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-24 11:02

JINAN, Shandong province: China's star hurdler, Liu Xiang, wants to repay the public support he received during his lengthy injury layoff by serving as a volunteer to promote the national fitness campaign.

"Millions of fans have been supportive all through my career," Liu, who returned action in Shanghai on Sunday after a 13-month break due to an Achilles' injury, said. "Now I just want to share my passion for sports with them and let more people feel the joy of sports," he said on Tuesday at the launch of a national fitness program in Jinan, the host city of the 11th National Games.

"Hurdling is specialized but I can also jog and play badminton with the local people."

Initiated by the State General Administration of Sports of China, the program has organized a star-studded cast of volunteers to visit gyms in 358 residential areas in 35 cities and 22 provinces.

Joining Liu in the program are household names including former table tennis Olympic and world champion Kong Linghui and China's first gold medalist at the Winter Olympic Games, Yang Yang. All of the stars will visit local gyms at least seven times per year.

Kong started fulfilling his commitments by playing table tennis with fans in Jinan's city square on Tuesday afternoon. Zhao Yuemeng was among those lucky enough to challenge the former world champion.

"It's like a dream come true. You know, it's Kong Linghui, I'm playing with a former world No 1!" Zhao, a student of Shandong University, said.

"The game just turns much more interesting when you play with the stars, though I was a little bit nervous."

Meanwhile, Kong, the current coach of China's women's team, believes volunteer work is a good way to promote the sport.

"Table tennis is a popular sport in China. But we have to do more promotion at the grassroots level, especially among the younger generation," the 34-year-old said.

"So this kind of activity is not only a precious chance for the public but also doing the sport a big favor."

His opinion was shared by Yang Yang, who said mass sports and competitive sports remain closely related.

"Where do the champions come from? Years ago, there were kids who loved sports. We should light the fire in the children's hearts again," Yang said.

"The love of Chinese people for sports reached its peak during last year's Beijing Games; we should take advantage of it and encourage more people to keep fit by doing sports."

After topping the gold medal tally at last year's Beijing Olympic Games, China has expanded its focus from competitive sports to mass sports, calling on more and more people to take part in and benefit from daily exercise by launching the fitness programs. August 8, the opening date of 2008 Beijing Games, has been declared National Fitness Day.