Girls left behind by their migrant worker parents in Southwest China are using their fleet soccer footwork to take steps towards a brighter future and achieving their goals.
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County, 200 kilometers from Chongqing, is near the Three Gorges Dam and nestled between imposing mountains and fast-flowing rivers. The region is ethnically diverse, with 29 minorities sharing the dramatic landscape, but is economically underdeveloped.
This has led to most of the villagers of working age moving away to become migrant workers and leaving their offspring - mostly girls - behind [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/james-mccann-jersey/]James McCann Jersey[/url] , which can make life hard for these so-called "leftover children."
Three years ago, an elementary school headmaster in Sanhe village named Sun Xiaoming decided to give the children something to fill their time. He organized a football team to help his students to "study well and live happily." Most of the players are girls.
Few Chinese parents are eager for their children to take up sports, as they fear injury and prefer their children to focus purely on their academic studies. But Sun believed that he could link football, with its fancy steps, to local dance traditions and win people over.
One by one Sun persuaded families to allow their girls to play "the beautiful game."
Ma Lingqiao is one of his star players. It was hard to persuade her family as they didn't see the point of letting her play. "We are striving to make a living away from home [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/michael-fulmer-jersey/]Michael Fulmer Jersey[/url] , saving little money. We want her to study and get a decent job. Not play football," Ma's mother told reporters.
But Sun was able to point to Lu Juhua, one of his football players that was given a place in an urban school in Chongqing based on her sporting skills. This education might put her on a path to a more prosperous urban life. This is the dream for many of Sun's players.
"I know Messi and Ronaldo, but I haven't seen them play football," Ma said [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/jordan-zimmermann-jersey/]Jordan Zimmermann Jersey[/url] , as her family cannot afford cable TV and sports channels. After three years of training, Sun's team was ready to compete.
In November, the village team beat a Chongqing city club that has a decades-long football tradition.
MELBOURNE, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Australian no. 1 tennis player Bernard Tomic has sensationally lashed out at ill teammate Nick Kyrgios, following the Australia's 3-1 loss to the USA in the their Davis Cup tie in Melbourne over the weekend.
Tomic [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/jose-iglesias-jersey/]Jose Iglesias Jersey[/url] , who lost his rubber to John Isner on Thursday, was overheard by television cameras during the match saying that Kyrgios' illness - which forced him to pull out of the tie - was "bulls***", but the world No. 20 didn't back down when questioned about the outburst after the match.
He said he would "lose a little respect" for his compatriot if Kyrgios is well enough to fly to California to compete at the Indian Wells tournament later this week.
"Now I'll be interested to see if he plays Indian Wells as well because a similar thing happened last year where (Kyrgios) didn't come to Czech Republic (for Davis Cup tennis), and somehow played Indian Wells and felt good," Tomic said on Sunday.
"Now it's going to be really funny [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/willie-horton-jersey/]Willie Horton Jersey[/url] , the next few days, to see if he plays or not - which I think he will. That's going to tell me a lot.
"I've spoken to him already. If plays Indian Wells, he's definitely lost a little of my respect."
When pushed about what Kyrgios specifically told him in their phone conversation following the match, Tomic said his teammate was indeed going to fly to California.
Tomic added that it wasn't good enough, and told the press he battled through his niggling wrist injury to "represent his country".
"I'll be honest with you now [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/denny-mclain-jersey/]Denny McLain Jersey[/url] , he told me he was going to be playing Indian Wells," Tomic said.
"Look, we all know I came here, I had problems with my wrist.
"In a situation where if it wasn't Davis Cup, I would have pulled out and not played today because of the pain I was playing in. (But playing for my country) [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/lance-parrish-jersey/]Lance Parrish Jersey[/url] , I pushed through. I played.
"We finished the (conversation) on good terms, but it was weird. One of the questions I asked him was 'Are you playing Indian Wells?' and he was like 'I'm still sick but I should be better tomorrow'.
"It was just weird for me. It's just disappointing not to have him here. He is an amazing player and it would have been important to have him here."
Meanwhile Australia's Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt was not getting dragged into the feud, and told the press that Australia's medical team recommended that Kyrgios sit out the tie.
"There's no doubt he was sick. Absolutely no doubt," Hewitt said on Sunday.
"We did a fitness test with him on Thursday morning before we had to make any decision about changing names before the draw and he was ruled out by the medical staff."
Indian Wells begins in the Coachella Valley, California [url=http://www.cheapjerseystigers.com/victor-martinez-jersey/]Victor Martinez Jersey[/url] , on Thursday.
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