2007 Volume 15 Pages 39-51
Chinese Olympic diving champion Tian Liang, one of the most outstanding national athletes, was ejected from the national team because he was engaged into too many commercial activities without consent from the authorities.
Tian Liang was trained in the system of China National Sports Administration, which has been practicing for decades to boost national prestige with the possibility of winning medals.
On the other hand, as China becomes more open from the reform and the process of globalization, the sports market is opening and the sports economy is growing. The Chinese authorities send its Olympic champions on the market to measure the value and the cost in comparison with the international level. But at the same time the authorities also demand the champions to keep loyal to their country and attribute all their achievements to the party and the people.
Tian Liang has become a popular sport star who can play a significant role in the new commercial system of sports. The transformation of his image between the new and the traditional was unavoidable.
This research paper reviews the development of the sport system since the founding of new China and analyzes why Tian Liang was ejected from the national team. In addition, according to the press, some issues on the future of China sport system reform are explained from a sociological perspective in this research.
