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Li Na shuns Red Cross in donation to old age home

CHINA'S French Open champion Li Na yesterday donated her cash award to a nursery home in her native Hubei Province, but she refused to make the donation through the embattled Red Cross Society of China.

Li, the first Asian winner of a grand slam singles title, was presented 600,000 yuan award on Monday by Hubei Provincial Government for her extraordinary performance in the French Open, and she donated all the money, 480,000 yuan after tax plus 20,000 yuan from her own savings to an old age home in Wuhan, the provincial capital.

The 29-year-old tennis star refused to donate the money through the Red Cross which bogged down in a recent scandal, saying her money would be used to improve the living conditions of seniors in the nursery home.

Li said in a celebration event on Tuesday that she even went to Qinghai Province last year to check the use of her donation for an orphanage in Yushu, a small town ravaged by a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in April last year to prevent the abuse of charity money.

The world's No. 6 is now a household name in China, enjoying the same level of popularity as basketball player Yao Ming, though she lost the second round of Wimbledon last month.

 

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