Tanking with Chinese characteristics, and a surprising tennis breakthrough

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The China Sports Insider Podcast is back after a busy summer and will continue to evolve as Zero COVID continues to dominate the sports industry in China.

6:10 โ€“ To illustrate that point, the Chinese womenโ€™s volleyball team competed at a recent tournament in the Philippines wearing N95 masks during their game โ€” something that drew unusual criticism from fans online.

8:48 โ€“ The big scandal of the Chinese sporting summer was former badminton world champion Ye Zhaoying revealing to Danish TV that sheโ€™d been ordered her to throw her 2000 Olympics semifinal game against teammate, Gong Zhichao, to give Gong the best chance of winning gold for China. Thereโ€™s much more to this story, too.

12:20 โ€“ Can tanking ever be justified if, for example, it means thereโ€™s a greater chance to win a gold medal? A full-throated discussion with plenty of examples from the wide world of sports.

19:06 โ€“ Chinese tennis set records at the U.S. Open, but โ€” for a change โ€” it was the men leading the charge, with 22-year-old Wu Yibing making it to the third round. Heโ€™s one for the future after a stellar 2022, but has his development already been stunted?

25:21 โ€“ The WTA says their Finals will be held in Texas this year, after which they are โ€œhopefulโ€ of a return to China, but there are two main issues standing in the way โ€” Zero COVID and Peng Shuai โ€” so what happens next?

32:00 โ€“ Let us know what youโ€™d like to hear on future episodes of the show. Weโ€™ll start with a debut livestream next week and take it from there!