Following the founding of New China in 1949, the country saw a number of movies on sports themes. Some of them, such as No 5 of the Women Basketball Team on the life and career of a woman basketball player, won much acclaim.

China's enthusiasm for sports peaked in the 1980s after outstanding performances by Chinese sports teams in international competitions. In 1984, Xu Haifeng won the first Olympic Gold in free pistol for China at the Olympics in Los Angeles. A wave of national pride swept the country.

The Chinese women's volleyball team grabbed the world title three years in a row at the Women's Championship. Their story is told in the movie Sandpiper. Another movie of note released during this time was Ice and Fire, on the life of Chinese women ice-skaters.

China's sports industry continued to thrive into the 90s, alongside the movie industry. During this period, movies covered a wide range of sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball, cycling, wrestling, and track and field.

The main theme of these sports movies is the triumph of the human spirit. Take the movie, Black Eyes, directed by Yin Li.

It follows the story of a pretty girl who has lost her eyesight. While training for a competition for the disabled, she falls in love with her coach. But he already has a girlfriend. Meanwhile, the blind girl's family is trying to arrange her marriage to a blind artist. But the girl refuses.

After some hard training, she finally grabs her gold medal. This success strengthens her will to live like a normal person and to pursue her love. The movie won many domestic and international awards.

(China Daily June 3, 2008)