They think it’s all over … for human footballers at least. The pitch wasn’t the only artificial element on display at a football match on Saturday. Four teams of humanoid robots took each other on in Beijing, in games of three-a-side powered by artificial intelligence. While the modern game has faced accusations of becoming near-robotic in its obsession with tactical perfection, the games in China showed that AI won’t be taking Kylian Mbappé’s job just yet. Footage of the humanoid kickabout showed the robots struggling to kick the ball or…
Tag: Sport
Humanoid footballers stumble through their first tournament in China – video
China’s first three-on-three humanoid robot soccer league, the RoBoLeague World Robot Soccer League, officially kicked off at the Beijing Smart Esports Event Centre on Saturday. The humanoid footballers showcased real-time decision-making, coordinated teamwork and even the ability to self-recover after falling. The optimised penalty system minimised interruptions, allowing the 1.2- to 1.5-metre-tall robots to execute fluid movements and well-orchestrated attacks, mimicking human football tactics The Guardian
China’s pro-wrestlers search for a star to bring the sport out of the shadows
Rising from the ground with 73kg of writhing muscle on his shoulders, Wang Tao grimaced. The man whose legs were wrapped around his head was not giving up, pulling at Wang’s silver-tipped hair, dyed especially for the occasion. But Wang knew what he had to do. Reaching up with one arm, he grasped his opponent’s neck, and pulled forwards, flinging him to the ground. Seconds later, Wang had him pinned to the floor for a three-count, and had successfully defended his title as Middle Kingdom Wrestling’s “Belt and Road” champion.…
‘The whole country is proud’: Chinese snooker fans hail Zhao Xintong triumph
Chain smoking under the fluorescent lights of a cavernous billiards hall in Beijing, Brother Yuan can’t stop smiling. The previous day, along with 150 million other people across China, he had been at home watching the snooker world championships final. Now he’s with his fellow cue-heads, celebrating the win of China’s first snooker world champion, Zhao Xintong. “He’s a great role model for young people in China,” Yuan, 55, says of the generation Z upstart who on Monday claimed snooker’s top prize. “He’s bringing the excitement back.” It’s a far…
China pits humanoid robots against humans in half-marathon for first time
Twenty-one humanoid robots joined thousands of runners at the Yizhuang half-marathon in Beijing on Saturday, the first time these machines have raced alongside humans over a 21km course. The robots from Chinese manufacturers such as DroidVP and Noetix Robotics came in all shapes and sizes, some shorter than 1.2m, others as tall as 1.8m. One company boasted that its robot looked almost human, with feminine features and the ability to wink and smile. Some firms tested their robots for weeks before the race. Beijing officials have described the event as more…
Beijing half marathon winner thrown out after trio slowed to let him win
Organisers have revoked He Jie’s first place in the Beijing half marathon last weekend after an investigation confirmed that three other runners had slowed down to let him win the race. All four were disqualified and had to return their medals and prize money. Online users in China had shared the video from the final moments of Sunday’s race out of suspicion that it had been rigged. The footage showed three African runners letting He, China’s top long-distance runner, move ahead of them shortly before they were about to reach…
‘This journey has been not easy’: Zhou relishing home debut in F1 Chinese GP
There has been no little wait for the home crowd and their local hero Zhou Guanyu but what a moment it will be when, finally, this weekend he becomes the first Chinese driver to compete at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Already the star of a documentary, the only Chinese driver to compete in an F1 race is the main draw for a meeting that sold out in minutes. This race has not been held since 2019 because of the pandemic and while the 24-year-old Zhou made his F1…
Beijing half marathon hit by controversy as China’s He Jie allowed to win
Organisers of the Beijing half marathon are investigating the men’s race after two Kenyans and one Ethiopian runner appeared to deliberately allow China’s He Jie to win. Footage of the final few hundred metres of the race seemingly shows Robert Keter and Willy Mnangat of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu Bikila slow down and gesture in front of them, encouraging He to pass and take the lead. The four athletes, who had run together for the whole race, then ran side by side to the finish line, before the three…
Yolo review – smash-hit Chinese boxing drama is a tale of personal transformation
Jia Ling writes, directs and stars in this boxing drama with a twist: there’s not really very much boxing in it. In this smash hit from China, we’re introduced to Du Leying (Jia) as a no-hoper; the perspective, in fact, of the supporting characters and the film itself is that it would be hard to imagine a bigger loser. She’s 32, lives at home, doesn’t adhere to traditional beauty norms (particularly as regards body weight), and her boyfriend is cheating on her with her best friend. When this affair is…
Former head of China football association jailed for life for taking bribes – state media
The former chief of China’s national football association, Chen Xuyuan, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes, state media reported on Tuesday, after one of the biggest anti-corruption probes in the sport in years. The severe sentence for Chen, 67, concludes an inquiry into high-level football officials in China in a sport that has long grappled with corruption, which fans have blamed for the perpetual under performance of the national team. In the last episode of a four-part documentary series on corruption aired on national television in…