Kristi Heim: The World in China

Seattle Times reporter Kristi Heim explores a changing China on the world stage.

August 15, 2008 8:57 AM

Spectacular volleyball and good sports: US vs. China

Basketball is a new love, but volleyball has long been dear to Chinese hearts. That's why it was no surprise to see a packed Capital Gymnasium for tonight's U.S. vs. China women's volleyball match. Local news media had billed the event "The Battle of Peace." Tens of thousands of fans turned out, as did China's President Hu Jintao. The teams did not disappoint. They played each other set for set and sometimes point for point, trading wins and working the crowd into a frenzy until the Americans finally prevailed in the fifth set.

The teams had something in common: "Jenny" Lang Ping, China's star player turned U.S. coach who is beloved by both sides. She guided the U.S. team to victory, but the Chinese crowd roared when she entered the gym and again when she left it.

After the match, Lang said she treated the game like any other. She said she was an excitable player in China, but now she has to bring balance to a U.S. team that is "more emotional, very passionate, -- but sometimes too much."

"I think she's torn when we play China," said Heather Bown. "She has loyalties to her home country, but she believes in us. I'd rather have her on my side."

After the game I met a group of Chinese volleyball cheerleaders called the China Dolls. I saw President Hu and his entourage being whisked away in a fleet of black Audis.

Outside, practically everyone I ran into remarked about the results. "Congratulations," one man in his 20s said while waiting for a taxi outside the gym. He offered us the cab he'd been trying to hail. "Our China lost. America played so well," a taxi driver said. "The Americans were great," the hotel doorman said when I mentioned I had been at the game. No matter how loud the shouts of "Go China!" in the stands, they were nothing to match the power of humility and good sportsmanship in those words.

The match came down to the final set, which the Americans dominated, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11. The United States improved to 3-2 in pool play while China, the defending gold medalists, fell to 2-2.

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Kristi Heim: The World in China

Spectacular volleyball and good sports: US vs. China

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