Dong leading Chinese charge

It's quite a compliment when a rugged Aussie would select you to be his tag-team partner if a brawl should break out.

Even more so when you are a young Chinese lad and a little on the vertically-challenged side.

However, Tom Day, one of the Beijing Bombers leading players, had no hesitation when the Aussie Rules club's newsletter, Barf Time, recently asked who he would want to back him up in a backstreet Sanlitun stoush.

"I'd say Dong Hao. He's a gentleman but he is also a wrecking ball on the field and I reckon he'd go alright off the field. It would also have the added effect of some mean-sounding dongbei swearing," Day said of his Chinese teammate.

Dong, originally from Liaocheng, Shandong province, came to Beijing in 2007 to attend university and graduated from Beijing Sports University in 2011.

In his early days at BSU he saw other students playing the somewhat odd Australian game and decided to join in.

"The passion and the intensity of the game attracted me," said the now 24-year-old who works at China Sports Management Group.

While many of those original Chinese Aussie Rules enthusiasts drifted away from the game, the gritty Dong hung tough and firmly believes the sport has a bright future in China.

"In China, not many people are familiar with Aussie Rules. But all of my friends knew we were playing it. I think more and more people will get to know about this fantastic sport," he said recently after playing in the Beijing Bombers' impressive China Cup victory over the Shanghai Tigers at Dulwich College on Sept 7.

"I have played this game for more than four years and, with enough time, I see no reason why it can't become more popular in China."

But he realizes that, for a non-Olympic sport barely played outside of the island continent, there is much work to be done before it gains a firm toehold in China.

"In my opinion there should be a greater effort to popularize it at universities, establish several age-group categories and organize a regular series of games," he said.

Ever the competitor, Dong, who also plays basketball, soccer and runs the occasional marathon, still wants to improve his Aussie Rules skills.

"I want to be the best Chinese footy player and help the China Demons improve their ranking at the International Cup in 2014."

Mic Mittasch, president of the Bombers, sees no reason why that dream can't come true.

"Dong is a very hard running, hard playing defender. His skills have been improving every year and we expect him to be one of the leading players in the 2014 International Cup team," said Mittasch, who runs an international company from Beijing and has been involved with the Bombers for more than half a decade.

(China Daily 09/21/2013 page11)