Il-logħob tal-isports, speċjalment l-isports organizzat, kien ikun lussu għan-nies komuni bħalna erba’ deċennji ilu. Ir-raġuni: nutrizzjoni fqira parzjalment minħabba s-sistema ta 'razzjonar tal-ikel.
Il-ftit grawnds u gyms li kellhom l-ibliet il-kbar intużaw minn atleti ta' livell provinċjali- u nazzjonali- għat-taħriġ. Nies komuni setgħu jidħlu fihom biss bħala spettaturi biex jaraw xi tournaments sportivi.
Il-playgrounds tal-iskola ġeneralment kellhom uċuħ naturali b'seesaws, swing sets, slides, chin-up u parallel bars, xi imwejjed tal-ping-pong simentati, u qrati tal-baskitbol wieħed jew tnejn. Matul ix-xtiewi kesħin, l-aqwa għalliema tal-edukazzjoni fiżika kienet li jistaqsu lill-istudenti biex jiġru ftit dawriet tal-bitħa biex jagħmlu ftit eżerċizzju kif ukoll biex iżommu sħun.
Owing to the lack of training facilities and students' reluctance to play sports, China's overall competitive level in sports was low. And although sports schools were established in cities to make Chinese athletes more competitive on the world stage, the relatively small amounts that were invested in sports were spent on nurturing some high-potential talents.
However, the efforts of the authorities eventually bore fruits in 1981 with the Chinese women's volleyball team winning the world championship. Three years later, shooter Xu Haifeng became China's first Olympic gold medal winner.
Such achievements, since they were rare, evoked not only an emotional response from the people but also encouraged millions of youths to take up sports as a career. So excited were Peking University students after the national volleyball team's victory that they began shouting slogans like "Revitalizing the Chinese nation".
Thanks to the remarkable economic achievements following the launch of reform and opening-up, China's investments in sports have been growing steadily, both to nurture top-class athletes and improve sports facilities for the benefit of the common people.
Iċ-Ċina stiednet lill-aqwa kowċis minn madwar id-dinja biex iħarrġu atleti Ċiniżi u bagħtet mijiet ta’ għawwiema, plejers tal-futbol u atleti tal-isport tax-xitwa f’pajjiżi oħra biex jirċievu taħriġ avvanzat. Barra minn hekk, fl-offerta tagħha biex tospita l-Logħob tax-Xitwa tal-2022 li għaddej bħalissa, l-awtoritajiet sportivi Ċiniżi wiegħdu li jinkoraġġixxu sa 300 miljun ruħ biex jieħdu l-isports tax-xitwa.
To honor their vow, China's sports authorities shifted their attention 10 years ago from competitive sports, which fetch medals, to encouraging more people to play sports. Millions of pieces of exercise equipment have been installed in community parks and neighborhood corners in cities and many villages with donations from sports lotteries. And special tracks have been built for joggers and cyclists in parks.
Aktar importanti minn hekk, l-awtoritajiet talbu lill-grawnds, il-gyms u l-pixxini ta' ġewwa kollha, irrispettivament minn investiment mill-Istat-jew proprjetà privata, biex iżommu l-bibien tagħhom miftuħa għall-pubbliku.
Barra minn hekk, il-maratoni, li jqanqlu fija sentimenti mħallta għax ddejjaqt il-ġiri fit--distanza twila bħala student fqir u bil-ġuħ, saru popolari ħafna fost iż-żgħażagħ Ċiniżi. Fil-fatt, qabel ma faqqgħet il-pandemija tal-COVID-19, iċ-Ċina kienet tospita madwar 2,000 maratoni fis-sena, li jiġbdu miljuni ta' parteċipanti.
Barra minn hekk, l-awtoritajiet edukattivi għamlu s-saħħa fiżika tajba kriterju ewlieni għall-istudenti biex jidħlu f'istituzzjoni tajba ta' edukazzjoni għolja. U ħafna skejjel fiċ-Ċina llum għandhom playgrounds b'turfs artifiċjali jew uċuħ speċjali, u gyms b'kull tip ta 'tagħmir. Xi skejjel fit-Tramuntana taċ-Ċina, fejn ix-xtiewi huma kesħin ħafna u ħorox, għandhom ukoll ice-rinks tal-iskejzjar u curling courts.
Filwaqt li l-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi kienet tgawdi l-isports l-aktar bħala spettaturi, il-ġenerazzjoni preżenti tgawdi l-isports kemm bħala atleti kif ukoll bħala spettaturi. U għall-kuntrarju tal-ġenerazzjoni tiegħi li marret miġnun fiċ-Ċina li kisbet avvanz żgħir f'kompetizzjoni internazzjonali, il-ġenerazzjoni preżenti taf li l-pajjiż huwa qawwa sportiva ewlenija u bil-kalma tara liċ-Ċina tikkompeti mal-Istati Uniti għal midalji tad-deheb fl-Olimpjadi tas-Sajf.
Familiar with China's sports achievements in recent years, many youths must be watching the ongoing Beijing Winter Games while having, for example, a hotpot dinner with friends, with some of them collecting their sports gear after dinner and driving to an ice-skating rink or skiing ground to burn the extra calories. For many youths today, sports is about trying their hands at one of them.
