The opening of the door of naturalization has allowed more and more foreign athletes to change their nationality and join the embrace of Chinese sports. Freestyle skier Gu Ailing, who has won two gold medals at the World Championships, and Alain and Axon, who have played in the Chinese Super League, are typical examples. However, there are also athletes who were originally Chinese but decided to play for other countries.
Fans familiar with basketball should know Zhang Bentianjie's name. Zhang Bentianjie was originally a native of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, whose real name was Zhang Tianjie, and he joined Japan in high school. In order to make himself look more like a Japanese, Zhang Tianjie deliberately changed his name. Just like Zhang Benzhihe of the Japanese table tennis team. In 2010, 18-year-old Zhang Bentianjie was admitted to Aoyama Gakuin University, a prestigious basketball university in Japan, and in 2014, he joined the NBL's electric shock Tokyo team and began his career path.
The Japanese basketball world attaches great importance to Zhang Bentianjie, and has recruited him into the national youth team as early as 2008. At that time, the Beijing Olympic Games were being held, and the vast majority of Chinese athletes wanted to fight for the Chinese team, but Zhang Bentianjie did the opposite. Although he lost the 2012 Japan Men's Basketball Asian Cup, the naturalized player later represented the Japanese national team in many important events such as the Incheon Asian Games and the Lebanese Asian Cup, becoming an important member of the Japanese men's basketball team. The Chinese fans were most impressed by the rematch of the Incheon Asian Games, where the Chinese men's basketball team lost 72:79 to Japan. After the game, Zhang Bentianjie, who played for the Japanese team, said that it was honorable to beat the Chinese team, and was criticized by a large number of Chinese fans.
Zhang Bentianjie's impression in the hearts of most Chinese fans is not good, and some even call him a traitor. However, in the face of accusations against the players, there is a lot of bitter water to pour. The player once said in an interview that it is difficult to enter the Chinese men's basketball national team with his own strength, and if he wants to participate in large-scale events, he can only be naturalized by Japan. During the period when Zhang Bentianjie was naturalized, the Chinese men's basketball team was in its heyday, and the team won the olympic quarterfinals and the world championship quarterfinals under the leadership of Yao Ming and other main players, while the Japanese men's basketball team achieved mediocre results. In a 2017 interview with Yuhiko Inoue, author of the basketball manga "Slam Dunk Master", Zhang Bentianjie said that it was difficult to enter the CBA to play without a relationship, let alone be selected for the national team. However, the competition in the Japanese basketball world is relatively fair, so he "likes it".
Zhang Bentianjie's remarks such as "it is honorable to defeat the Chinese team" are indeed inappropriate and make Chinese fans uncomfortable, but if what he said in the interview is true, perhaps Chinese basketball needs to reflect on it. Some fans commented that if he encountered unfair selection, he could not stand it. Is there really unfair competition in Chinese basketball, so that it causes the burial of high-quality talents or even being used by others? In recent years, the Chinese men's basketball team has regressed very obviously, the local World Cup group has not qualified, and the Tokyo Olympic Games have basically lost their qualifications. If the next defeat is out, the Chinese men's basketball team should need to rebuild.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Bentianjie was selected for the new big list of the Japanese men's national basketball team. If he can maintain good form, he is expected to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.