Jeremy Lin has become a worldwide sensation with his recent outstanding performance in the NBA. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that it's a "great story," and US President Barack Obama watched Lin's terrific play and was "very impressed."

Lin's success, despite his ethnicity, has little to do with China. But still, we may get some inspiration from it and try to copy the great story here.

We have made great achievements in the Olympic Games and dominate some sports, but most of them are results of the State-run sports training system. The Chinese sports sector has been lacking in creativity, which resulted in disappointing records in soccer and basketball.

Although we have excellent strikers like Yang Chen and Hao Haidong and strong defender like Fan Zhiyi and Sun Jihai, the lack of innovation and imagination has hindered Chinese soccer.

In basketball, we have a few legends like Yao Ming, but due to a lack of excellent point guards, it's difficult for our team to enter the top leagues. We can't rely on exceptional cases like Yao's. Lin, with an ordinary body type similar to many Chinese basketball players, doesn't have extraordinary height, strength or speed. But anyone who has watched his game will be amazed by his all-round capability.

However, players like Lin without outstanding physical characteristics can hardly get a chance here in China, whose sports selection criteria are "tall, big and strong."

We must have a lot of raw talented people like Lin's. But they will possibly be buried unless we are willing to discover and nurture them.

We have to loosen restricted rules and diversify our talent, so as to have our own great stories like Lin.

China Youth Daily