Chapter 532: Diamond League

Chapter 532: Diamond League

The overall level of combat and fighting in China still lags far behind the five great fighting nations—the United States, Russia, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Japan—yet there is vast room for growth, immense potential, and a substantial market.

In recent years, the fundamentals have improved; problems certainly exist and are numerous, but the outlook is optimistic.

In certain areas, such as the lighter weight classes, China has caught up with high international standards, producing a crop of outstanding athletes—like boxers Xiong Chaozhong and Zou Shiming in the lower divisions, Cai Zongju, the highest-ranked Chinese fighter on the world boxing stage, free-fighting star Qiu Jianliang, and Zhang Weili, who claimed the first UFC gold belt. More fighters have also stepped abroad onto the world stage.

In terms of market expansion and commercialization, progress is being made overall, with high-level events slowly increasing, sparking a considerable fighting craze in China. Yet, so far, no world-class tournament has emerged as a flagship. Additionally, some of these events feature unsavory matches, exploiting national enthusiasm, deceiving audiences, and draining credibility—occurrences that have severely damaged the development of Chinese combat sports.

There are also plenty of frauds and charlatans strutting about, and most ordinary people only see these loud figures, which has greatly fostered a negative impression of combat sports among the general public.

Another crucial point is the grassroots foundation. On the positive side, more and more people are entering gyms and paying attention to combat sports; first-tier cities see a yearly increase in fighting clubs, while second- and third-tier cities are catching up quickly. On the downside, the nationwide foundation remains far from sufficient, with sports education, talent selection, and other links lagging behind.

Most of the money Meng Fan has put up this time goes toward infrastructure and basic education. Especially the latter—though his contact with the fighting world isn't extensive, he does have some, and most of those he meets are willing to speak frankly with him. So he has a grasp of the current state of combat sports practitioners: quite a few struggle to make a decent living. From a root-cause perspective, beyond events themselves, raising the salary levels of combat sports education is key.

As for venues and events, money isn't a concern—especially after Meng Fan's repeated spectacular performances in wrestling and throwing, and following his UFC trip, the existing market in China has been significantly activated. There's no shortage of people willing to invest in opening venues and hosting competitions.

What Meng Fan needs to do is rally some big names and oversee them in cleaning up the pool. He made this clear when he established the foundation. Some might not take it seriously, or see Meng Fan as a fat guy who doesn't understand the market, but others who've dealt with him know his temperament. If something shady turns up, he'll call them out to their faces, even publicly—and that would be ugly.

Of course, these things are certainly difficult. Meng Fan has thought about whether he alone can make things better, but some things must be done, even if they bring criticism. It's not that he feels a heavy sense of responsibility toward Chinese combat sports, but as his strength and realm rise, so too does his level of thinking.

For now, fortunately, there are people who support him, willing to back him—some purely for reputation, not profit.

Busy with this for several days, Meng Fan didn't return to Hangzhou. He handled a few video conferences for the animation park and film company, nothing requiring his presence, so he stayed put in the capital. Besides training, he spent most of his time with Wu Tong—sometimes at home, sometimes accompanying her to the Forbidden City, where she restored ancient paintings while he played with the cat.

As May arrived, Meng Fan was set to embark on a new competition: the IAAF Diamond League, which he had never participated in before. It marked his first world-class event in shot put and javelin.

The Diamond League is a global track and field series launched by the IAAF in 2010, an upgrade from the former Golden League. It expanded the number of events and doubled the number of meet sites, totaling 14 meets over roughly four months—this year running from May 10 to September 6.

According to regulations, participants must be among the top 20 in their event for the year. Meng Fan had qualified through the Asian Athletics Grand Prix.

The series has 14 meets, but athletes aren't required to attend all of them—no hard rule. Likewise, not every event is held at every meet; each event appears only seven times across the 14 meets. Athletes travel to the appropriate meets based on their events, which rotate annually. For instance, China's sole stop, the Shanghai meet, selects eight men's and eight women's events, with the men's 110-meter hurdles as a permanent fixture.

Each Diamond League meet offers prize money: $416,000 per meet, split evenly among the 16 events. Additionally, points are awarded at each meet—top eight finishers earn points—accumulating toward a chance to compete in the final. The final champion receives a diamond trophy, a 4-carat diamond ring, and is named the world number one in that event for the year.

Meng Fan registered for both javelin and shot put. To achieve a good ranking in points, he would need to attend many meets, as these two events aren't always scheduled together—sometimes only javelin appears at one meet, shot put at another.

The Diamond League opener on the 10th, the first stop in Doha, Qatar, saw no Chinese athletes participate, just like last year.

There were several reasons: first, the total number of Chinese athletes in the Diamond League is small; second, their overall strength is limited; third, the second stop is the Shanghai meet in China, so even if Doha had events they could enter, most would conserve energy for Shanghai.

Meng Fan had no such concerns about preparation, but unfortunately, Doha had neither javelin nor shot put. Coincidentally, the Shanghai meet managed to include both events.

The Shanghai meet was on the 18th. On the 17th at 1 p.m., a press conference for the Diamond League Shanghai was held. Four Chinese athletes were present as representatives, including Meng Fan.

The others were sprinting twin stars Su Shen and Xie Shen, and women's shot put athlete Gong Huang.

In terms of achievements, the title "Gong Huang" is well-deserved. She is currently a stable gold medalist for the Chinese track and field team, at world-class level, with excellent Diamond League results—she won the final championship two years ago and has repeatedly claimed gold and silver at the Olympics and World Championships.

These four athletes representing China at the Shanghai press conference truly embodied the speed and power of the Chinese track and field team.

In speed, the sprinting twin stars have performed well in recent years: Su Shen is consistently strong, while Xie Shen, younger, still has potential to tap and break through. Their mutual rivalry keeps both at a very high competitive level.

In power, Gong Huang remains at her peak; as long as she performs steadily, she can basically medal in any event. As for Meng Fan, he is a breakout point for the Chinese track and field team this time, drawing global attention from the athletics world.

"Su Shen!"

"Xie Shen!"

"Gong Huang!"

Meng Fan greeted the three athletes warmly, then sat down next to Gong Huang, chatting quietly as they waited for the press conference to begin.

He knew all three. The one he knew best was naturally Gong Huang, since they trained together often recently. From technical moves to competitive psychology and experience, he had learned a lot from her.

The press conference began with speeches from the organizers and hosts, introducing relevant details about the event, followed by a journalist Q&A session.

Finally, the athletes spoke. They mainly gave interviews and shared their stories with the Diamond League. The other three had all participated in the Diamond League and won at least a meet championship, so they had plenty of stories and details to share. When it came to Meng Fan, he had nothing.

With the obedient posture of a schoolboy: "Hello everyone, I'm Meng Fan, a new athlete on the Chinese track and field team. This is my first time in the Diamond League, and also my first world-class event. I'm mainly here with a learning mindset. Before I came, Coach Ye told me: 'When you step onto a stage like this, don't always think about comparing yourself horizontally with other athletes. Compare yourself vertically. Don't worry about others' results. Focus on improving your own performance, and strive to be a better version of yourself.' I think Coach Ye is right—being a better version of myself is enough. Rankings don't matter. Thank you. That's all."

He continued sitting like an obedient schoolboy, smiling.

A group of journalists chuckled—Iron God-style modesty.

Just improving yourself is enough?

Well, isn't that the truth!

The best results this year in shot put and javelin are both in your hands!

(The End)