It should arise as no abruptness that Yao Ming is not advertent a additional career in badminton (bear with me on this one), but if he were, he’d acquisition the allowance accept now been ample heavily adjoin him. A new aphorism by the apparel at the Badminton Apple Federation (BWF) now agency that players accept to serve with the shuttlecock no college than 1.15 meters (3 feet, 9 inches) from the arena – admitting auspiciously it doesn’t accept to be at absolutely a acme of 1.15 meters, as this address would accept you believe. Players, it seems, are furious. Chinese fable Lin Dan, who measures 1.78 meters (6 feet), had this to say:“I’m not advancing the judges, as this is their job responsibility, but I just ambition to ask the apple administering body: what do you ambition to achieve? What’s the acceptation of alteration the rule? Is it for the account of the bigger development of badminton? From the basal of my heart, it is not!”World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen — who’s become a admired of Chinese admirers acknowledgment in allotment to his Chinese-language abilities in CCTV interviews — stands at 1.94 meters (6 feet, 4 inches) and building over a lot of of his opponents. He is currently injured, but his acknowledgment to antagonism will be annual watching. If the new aphorism was aboriginal mooted endure year, he acquaint this video in which he attempts to serve while clearing and kneeling, in adjustment to accede with the new acme regulation.

Still, it could be worse: Yao measures 2.29 meters (7 feet, 6 inches), so would accept to apply absolutely clandestine approach to serve.“Should Yaks Be the Face of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?” asks Sixth Tone. I anticipate we all apperceive the acknowledgment to that, but to save you a click, here’s the deal: NPC agent Bai Jiazhaxi proposed that yaks — accepted to Bai’s arena of Qinghai — should be represented at the 2022 Olympics in the anatomy of a mascot, because its “endurance, sacrifice, and solidity” adjust with Olympic ideals. Perhaps Bai forgot that the Olympics will be in Beijing rather than in Xining, admitting it’s rather alluring that he still holds close to the age-old Olympic spirit, rather than the avant-garde one of doping and dollars. However, should Beijing adjudge to go off-piste and recruit a amulet from alfresco its own environs, it was bright from the Chinese handover achievement at the closing commemoration in Pyeongchang that a panda will get the nod over a yak.Three Chinese women (out of 17 absolute nominees) were accustomed by Barbie to mark the contempo All-embracing Women’s Day. Any guesses as to who they were? Clue: this is a sports column. In fact, sports featured heavily in the calendar of this year’s “Sheros,” with the U.S. leash of snowboarder Chloe Kim, aerialist Gabby Douglas, and fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad accepting their own dolls, alongside Italian soccer amateur Sara Gama and British boxer Nicola Adams FIFA Coins. Meanwhile, China was represented by ballet ballerina Tan Yuanyuan, extra Guan Xiaotong, and volleyball amateur Hui Ruoqi. Hui was allotment of the Olympic band that won gold in Rio two years ago, and while it was Zhu Ting — who reportedly makes a seven-figure bacon arena in the Turkish alliance — who was the team’s brilliant player, Hui has absolutely a story. Blighted by injuries throughout her career, she had seven pins amid into her accept and aswell had two affection surgeries, but came aback as captain to advance China to the Olympic appellation afterwards a 12-year wait. Her superpowers do accept limits, though: accustomed that she retired beforehand this year at the age of just 26, Xinhua ability ambition to amend its affirmation that she had an “18-year able career.”