China handed tough group at Women’s World Cup draw
Meanwhile, Zhang Zhizhen made history last week as the first Chinese male to break into the ATP top 100.
China will face a difficult challenge to emerge from the group stage at next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The Asian Champions will face one of the tournament favorites in England, but a more crucial test will come in its opening game against Denmark, which won all eight games in its qualifying.
The fourth team to join the group will be the easiest game of the Steel Roses — though it’ll be an easy game for England and Denmark as well. It will be either Senegal, Chile, or Haiti.
Despite ranking 18th, three places below China, most of the Danish players are full-time professionals playing in some of the best leagues in Europe, with players such as Pernille Harder of Chelsea, Signe Bruun of Lyon, and Sofie Svava of Real Madrid.
PSG’s Lǐ Mèngwén 李梦雯 and Yáng Lìnà 杨莉娜, combined with Real Madrid’s Tāng Jiālì 唐佳丽, will need to come up big for China, while the irrepressible Wáng Shuāng 王霜, now at Racing Louisville, remains her nation’s soccer talisman.
If China do go through, then a clash against group B’s winner or runner-up — likely to be Canada or Australia — will await.
China kick off against Denmark on July 22 in Perth, Western Australia.
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China’s rising tennis star
Zhāng Zhīzhēn 张之臻 made history last week as the first Chinese male to break into the ATP top 100.
The 26-year-old’s run to the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 event in Naples last week saw Zhang jump 12 places to 97th in the world.
Despite losing 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to 67th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald in the quarterfinals, Zhang was guaranteed his ranking and landmark achievement after defeating the 39th-ranked Sebastian Baez in the previous round.
Zhang was also aiming to become the first Chinese man to reach a tour semifinal since Pān Bīng 潘兵 in Seoul 1995. Incidentally, Pan Bing’s highest-ever ranking was 176.
Chinese men have long since trailed behind China’s female tennis trailblazers.
Lǐ Nà 李娜, who became the first Chinese to win a singles Grand Slam after her French Open triumph in 2011, led the way for future Chinese women to break new ground. Players such as Péng Shuài 彭帅, Zhāng Shuài 张帅, Yàn Zǐ 晏紫, Zhèng Jié 郑洁, and Sūn Tiántián 孙甜甜 have all won Grand Slam doubles titles, while current players such as Zhèng Sàisài 郑赛赛, Wáng Yǎfán 王雅繁, and Zhèng Qīnwén 郑钦文 all cite Li as their inspiration.
Despite the history of men’s tennis in China not quite matching up to the women, Zhang perhaps represents the start of a changing trend.
Currently, the former ITF Junior No. 1 in the world, Shāng Jùnchéng 商竣程, is ranked inside the top 200 at only 17. The son of former Olympic gold ping-pong doubles gold medalist Wū Nà 邬娜 and Beijing Guo’an midfielder Shāng Yì 商毅, Shang already looks to be emulating his parents by forging his own path in the sports world.
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