Olympics nothing less than a war for China

[coffee_rules]

Yes a child willingly asks the coach to sit on him so that he can be good at splits. WTF is there to be proud of? Chinese excel because of these methods and one of them in that whole class will be good enough to get a medal in Olympics. Others will fail and will probably work on roadside circus show in big cities.

[Clarke]

I have no clue why people are deriding this..it is something to be extremely proud of.

You have no clue since you lived in a free nation and hence took your freedom for granted. Your parents weren't coerced by the Communist party to enroll you in xyz program for the supposedly greater good. It is of course a matter of pride to carry the medal tally that China does but one has to wonder whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

Are these kids forced to do so...

Why bother asking, kids after all enjoy exercising themselves to tears.

is it killing them or leaving a permanent scar. it's only making them stronger and fitter. every gymnast has to start early to develop that level of fitness.

I bet the CCP's ministry of propaganda ensures there's a positive sentiment towards their Olympic program and no deaths/injuries figures come out.

i understand that we in india are very far away from elite level of fitness and sports...but to criticize China on this is utterly insane.

No it isn't.

if we take the example of Ye Shiwen, who is only 16 years old and beating even Lochte's time, we can understand that these children voluntarily choose to go through this training to win gold. it is time we learn from them and try to win some for India. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/30/world/asia/olympics-china-ye-shiwen-swimming/index.html?iid=article_sidebar here is the CNN article and if you are patient enough you will see that the swimmer says that she started training from 7 years and if the coach asked her to swim 10k..she swam 10k..no questions asked. that's called dedication and hardwork.

Coaches push their athletes everywhere, its whether the latter have a choice that is being discussed here. Go watch the video in OP again, those coaches wouldn't mind throwing a kid back in the pool even if they were dead tired. Which is where the problem is, not the story published in China Daily.

for those calling the split...a torture....it is sad that 99% of the people (myself included) can't do it...years of fat and indulgence has made us unfit as a species.....I would rather be proud that someone is doing this and a little bit of pain is worth it.

Would you like to be FORCED to do it ?

next time when indian parents take the girl child for making the hole for ear ring..we might want to consider whether that child really wants to go through it, or the polio vaccine etc. etc.

Comparing polio vaccine to forced weight lifting :nervous:

[CSK Fan]

How is this different from child labor? The fact that instead of wages, the parents and the nation get a gold medal and glory?

[straighttalk]

Absolutely wrong. How can a 10 year old decide what he wants ? For example: UV liked skating but his father threw his skates out as he wanted him to be a cricketer and he did become one and is really good at it but does it mean he had a good childhood ? Chalo UV is successful but for one UV there are 1000s of kids who failed. I know one personally, his father pushed him to play cricket and he even played at under 18 level but even though he was great he couldnt make it even to Ranji. So the poor kid did what his father wanted and wasted his childhood- teenage years and even college years and is now sitting at a shop wondering what the hell happened to his life. You are seeing one or few successful sportspersons but for each successful person there are 1000s who had their childhood stolen from them.

a 10 year old can very well decide what he or she enjoys....people are saying as if they are running a prison camp here..where they pick up 10 year old children forcibly and make them do these exercises and not feed or cloth them....even american kids go through the same thing...in the entire video you see the children performing the exercises full of intensity... and you point out three or four instances where the kids are pushed around....come on doesn't corporal punishment exist in india... you see a grown up man pushing a person in split but you ignore the fact that the weight causes a stretch in the muscles which will allow the athlete to learn the stretch.. it's not as if these kids are any special at that age..they join the program on their own interest and they are train very hard. i am sure if someone is not satisfied they can easily leave the program.

[straighttalk]

You have no clue since you lived in a free nation and hence took your freedom for granted. Your parents weren't coerced by the Communist party to enroll you in xyz program for the supposedly greater good. It is of course a matter of pride to carry the medal tally that China does but one has to wonder whether the juice is worth the squeeze. Why bother asking, kids after all enjoy exercising themselves to tears. I bet the CCP's ministry of propaganda ensures there's a positive sentiment towards their Olympic program and no deaths/injuries figures come out. No it isn't. Coaches push their athletes everywhere, its whether the latter have a choice that is being discussed here. Go watch the video in OP again, those coaches wouldn't mind throwing a kid back in the pool even if they were dead tired. Which is where the problem is, not the story published in China Daily. Would you like to be FORCED to do it ? Comparing polio vaccine to forced weight lifting :nervous:

1. Have you looked at the kids? They don't look any special. So you mean to say that the Communist party goes around the country forcing every child to give a test. And whoever does well (without interest in the sport) is now forced to do so. No one becomes an athlete due to lack of interest. You simple cant force someone to do a split and somersault. First you need to have interest and some ability. And then you need to be trained. 2. You played cricket in childhood and hot sun. Pray your beloved western media catches hold of few slum kids playing cricket in hot sun without shirts and no shoes in dusty grounds...it can also be construed as child abuse. if your coach slaps you or makes you bowl 100 times to perfect a skill, he is killing you. 3. don't blame the country but blame the parents ( and there are many like that in india too) who force their kid against their wish to do something. Just becasue China is a Communist country, people have assumed that these kids have been forced to do these things under coercion. No one can excel in sports if he or she is forced to do so. Tendulkar used to practice for hours...to some it might look excessive. But the fact is he enjoys it.\ 4, you lift a lot of things in your day to day life....your child, suitcase, heavy bags,etc etc. weightlifting makes you strong, doesnt physically abuse your body. an athlete who wants to be an olympian is training for the same. no where is it said that he or she is forced to do so. its a means to an end. but people in this thread has assumed that the child is forced...without any proof.

[Clarke]

Haan ji, all hail the glorious People's Republic of China and the CPC

[India-KXIP fan]

Yea. Besides ourr journos have a habit of regurgitating crap from western media. And western media these days can't really be taken seriously at all. These articles could well be pure malicious propaganda.

Strong this. lol @ brainwashed people ITT.

[Desi Cartman]

a 10 year old can very well decide what he or she enjoys....people are saying as if they are running a prison camp here..where they pick up 10 year old children forcibly and make them do these exercises and not feed or cloth them....even american kids go through the same thing...in the entire video you see the children performing the exercises full of intensity...

Firstly most of them start even earlier than 10. They do select kids and then make them work as hard as an adult athlete. even if I believe that the kids are found of the particular sport but even then putting so much pressure on them is itself a crime

and you point out three or four instances where the kids are pushed around....come on doesn't corporal punishment exist in india...

Yea and when did I say that its a good thing and where have I mentioned that ? do you think that its good ?

you see a grown up man pushing a person in split but you ignore the fact that the weight causes a stretch in the muscles which will allow the athlete to learn the stretch..

Adults have choice , are aware of other options and are old enough to decide. There is a reason kids are not allowed to vote or drive.

it's not as if these kids are any special at that age..they join the program on their own interest and they are train very hard. i am sure if someone is not satisfied they can easily leave the program.

exactly, if they were then they wouldnt need to be pushed so hard and then kids from every corner of the world would have been performing at the same level. why dont they ? Aussie kids are healthier than kids of most country, most of them actively play sport but they still dont win medals till they are older ( bar some exceptions) because parents/govt/society wants kids to be kids and let them make decisions as they please.

[Desi Cartman]

1. Have you looked at the kids? They don't look any special. So you mean to say that the Communist party goes around the country forcing every child to give a test. And whoever does well (without interest in the sport) is now forced to do so. No one becomes an athlete due to lack of interest. You simple cant force someone to do a split and somersault. First you need to have interest and some ability. And then you need to be trained.

If the kid doesnt know anything else and is taught that there is only one thing he will do in his life then its not difficult to make them work hard. Also, many kids get trained only very few get to this level and then only some win. what about others ?

2. You played cricket in childhood and hot sun. Pray your beloved western media catches hold of few slum kids playing cricket in hot sun without shirts and no shoes in dusty grounds...it can also be construed as child abuse. if your coach slaps you or makes you bowl 100 times to perfect a skill, he is killing you.

If a coach slaps then yes its abuse , u disagree ? If parents force kids and they really do as I clearly mentioned in my earlier post then yes its abuse. If kids are playing and being looked after then its their choice - I would accept the same from Chinese too but they run it like a factory.

3. don't blame the country but blame the parents ( and there are many like that in india too) who force their kid against their wish to do something.

Ofcourse parents are at fault too but from what i know, no one can really go against the govt of china.

Just becasue China is a Communist country, people have assumed that these kids have been forced to do these things under coercion. No one can excel in sports if he or she is forced to do so. Tendulkar used to practice for hours...to some it might look excessive. But the fact is he enjoys it.

yea because thats what they do, they dont even allow their own citizens to make money by moving to another village unless the govt approves it in many cases and you are trying to explain that people have freedom in China. As for SRT example, there is a reason we dont have bowlers and have had only one SRT and RD. If 2-3 kids had won medals from China, do u think we would have reacted the same way

4, you lift a lot of things in your day to day life....your child, suitcase, heavy bags,etc etc. weightlifting makes you strong, doesnt physically abuse your body. an athlete who wants to be an olympian is training for the same. no where is it said that he or she is forced to do so. its a means to an end. but people in this thread has assumed that the child is forced...without any proof.

for every successful sportsperson there are 100s who failed and 10s who sustain lifelong injury.

[Mariyam]

How is this different from child labor? The fact that instead of wages' date=' the parents and the nation get a gold medal and glory?[/quote'] There is a huge difference. Child labour is a result of economic compulsion. The kids who are working as labourers/domestic helps do so to support themselves and their families. Not the case with the Olympians. In the case of China, they are scouting for talented (read malleable) kids, as young as 3, and choosing a sport for them based on the reports of the scout. Pretty callous and heartless if you ask me. Then the kid is trained in that sport for hours at ends just to get an Olympic medal. The normal routine is a kid playing a sport, liking it, bettering himself, then winning local competitions before becoming an international star. I'd rather have Indians not win any golds than have our kids endure all this. There was a documentary on BBC about how the Eastern Bloc nations routinely cheated to win medals at the Olympics. East Germany, Poland, USSR etc. The Olympics had become a place to show case the 'superiority' of their nation/way of life over the others. Members of the East German Olympic committee helped the athletes dope. My hunch is that China is not very different and such stories may emerge in the near future. The manufacturing hub of the world has just added a new assembly line- for athletes.

[The Dark Horse]

Err' date=' [b']attending IIT coaching or trying to secure top rank in class isn't anywhere close to what these kids are up to; get a perspective people. You wouldn't want someone 5 times your weight on your back tearing your feet apart.

Yes the intensity is different, but the motive is the same.

[yoda]

Yes the intensity is different' date=' but the motive is the same.[/quote'] Motive is the same? Dude, you study to get into the IITs cause it is an elite educational institution. Not very different from preparing for SATs here in the US or getting good grades to get into a top school like Harvard or MIT. Comparing with what you are seeing in these videos is absurd at best. Also, you go for these coaching when you are 15, not when you are 3 or 4 like in these videos.

[DomainK]

You wouldn't want someone 5 times your weight on your back tearing your feet apart.

Actually, it might look cruel, but it is not so cruel. When one gets to a point in splits, coaches do put considerable weight to further stretch the tendons. Do that to an adult and you will leave permanent damage, but children have very flexible tendons and ligaments and they can stretch to great lengths against pressure. If you go to martial arts classes in India, even they put pressure by sitting on you to get you the needed flexibility.

[bihutoli]

Video is selective of the training these children undergo imo, designed to create a negative impact. Also seems to me that the training is for gymnasts, hence the flexibility training. How the eff are you supposed to increase your body flexibility if you aren't willing to stretch yourself?

[diga]

Video is selective of the training these children undergo imo' date=' designed to create a negative impact. Also seems to me that the training is for gymnasts, hence the flexibility training. How the eff are you supposed to increase your body flexibility if you aren't willing to stretch yourself?[/quote'] Ok see this... people suffering from health issues in later stages of their lives, not allowed to see their near & dear ones, mandated to skip dinner for a year to remain thin to create smaller splash in diving...are they not basic human rights abuse? WOfU80Be5pE

[velu]

one picture is enough

[Nova]

^ :((

[Nova]

There is a huge difference. Child labour is a result of economic compulsion. The kids who are working as labourers/domestic helps do so to support themselves and their families. Not the case with the Olympians. In the case of China, they are scouting for talented (read malleable) kids, as young as 3, and choosing a sport for them based on the reports of the scout. Pretty callous and heartless if you ask me. Then the kid is trained in that sport for hours at ends just to get an Olympic medal. The normal routine is a kid playing a sport, liking it, bettering himself, then winning local competitions before becoming an international star. I'd rather have Indians not win any golds than have our kids endure all this. There was a documentary on BBC about how the Eastern Bloc nations routinely cheated to win medals at the Olympics. East Germany, Poland, USSR etc. The Olympics had become a place to show case the 'superiority' of their nation/way of life over the others. Members of the East German Olympic committee helped the athletes dope. My hunch is that China is not very different and such stories may emerge in the near future. The manufacturing hub of the world has just added a new assembly line- for athletes.

Good post and a very pertinent point. China through Olympics tries to assert that it is a world power. Quite a different philosophy away from what the spirit of Olympics really means imo.

[asterix]

The videos and photos are disturbing.. To hell with winning Olympic medals. I would kill myself than allow my kids to be tortured like this.. Thank God for small mercies..

[Aaku]

lo jeet gayi chinki :headshake: