Prof. Su Qun presented three examples involving our soccer and ice teams, as well as Gu Ailing in skiing. He pointed out that while our sports sector has in fact embraced the naturalization policy, the basketball sector has not yet taken this step and is not expected to change in the foreseeable future.
Gu Ailing, as an outstanding representative of naturalized athletes, even though she chose to return to the United States after winning the gold medal, her brilliant achievements and outstanding performance undoubtedly proved the effectiveness of the naturalization strategy of the Sports Administration in the Winter Olympics.
According to the poll, 47% of fans agree with the introduction of foreign players to our men's basketball team, while 39% are against it and another 13% are neutral. Among the main reasons for not supporting naturalization, 47% believe that the money used for naturalization should be invested in the youth training system.
Jeremy Lin was once regarded as an ideal candidate for naturalization. As a Chinese-American point guard, his outstanding performance in the NBA was remarkable, and he expressed his willingness to contribute to the cause of basketball in China. However, the years have not been kind to him and he has become a special case of "recognition" in the basketball world as he is no longer able to lead our men's basketball team to the top of Asia. If he was still five years younger, perhaps the men's basketball team would have started the road to naturalization.
