China's deputy sports head under probe

Xiao Tian, deputy director of China's General Administration of Sport (GASC), is under investigation for severe discipline violations, according to the official website of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Thursday.

Xiao was appointed as the country's deputy sports head in August 2005. He was a former provincial fencer from Anhui before he began working for the sport ministry in 1981. He began to take charge of China's winter sports in 1998 and led China to its historic Winter Olympic gold medal at the Salt Lake Olympics four years later.

The sport governing body has been under fire for violating rules involving match-fixing, talent selection and the operation of events, said the anti-graft watchdog. As part of the country's anti-corruption campaign, the CCDI sent an inspection group from July to September last year to inspect the operation of the GASC and its affiliated event governing centers.

The inspection was another major campaign against corruption in China's sports arena after the crackdown on match-fixing and graft in soccer around 2010.

The Chinese Football Association announced in early 2013 to punish 33 individuals, including several former top soccer officials, renowned referees and ex-national players, and 12 clubs involved in game-cheating and corruption scandals after a nationwide investigation in 2010.