China worried over its decline in Olympic Games Rio

Beijing: With Rio Olympics drawing to a close, China is agonising over its worst performance in 20 years that led to its surprise relegation to the third spot behind the US and UK, raising questions over the efficacy of its state-sponsored sports system. China topped the medals table for the first time in 2008 when it hosted Olympic games in Beijing. China topped the table with 100 medals including 51 gold against the US tally of 36 gold and 110 medals. At the London Olympics four years later, China finished second behind the US in the medals table, with 38 gold against US at 46. At Rio, China has so far won 26 gold, Beijing's worst show since Atlanta 1996, while UK has won 27 and US 43, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. Ahead of the Rio Games, China was confident that it would figure among the top two. "At the 2016 Rio Olympics we aim to maintain and consolidate already-existing advantages in sports events and results positions," China's State General Administration of Sport had said in its five-year plan released ahead of the Rio Games. But China's surprise poor show in a number of its strong areas including gymnastics and badminton came as a big shock back home. China's top Badminton star Lin Dan who defeated India's Srikant in a close game could not win even a bronze. As Britain celebrates its second spot, Chinese official media displayed its annoyance over its team's declining performance. "You're kidding me?" state-run news agency Xinhua wrote (in a now-deleted post) on its official Twitter feed. "The country which has never finished above China, is about to," BBC quoted Xinhua tweets as saying. Olympic success has been a point of pride for the Communist Party-run country and athletes who perform well tend to be widely celebrated in the state-run media. The ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily was particularly upset with the performance of the Chinese gymnasts, who take home just two bronze medals. "People cannot but ponder - what on earth is up with them?" it wrote. "What has gone wrong? That question will linger long after the Rio Games ends, but finding the reasons and the remedies hopefully can transform China's state-dominated sports industry and propel it to a new level," the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post (SCMP) said in its commentary on the Rio games. China sent 710 athletes, coaches and officials to the Rio Games – its largest ever delegation to any Olympics away from home expecting a comfortable second place in the table of gold medals, as it achieved in London four years ago. Its delegation included 35 Olympic gold medalists – 27 from the London Games – and Beijing hopes soared as one of China's biggest competitors, Russia, had seen its medal hopes seriously hit by the International Olympic Committee's decision to ban many of its athletes on suspicion of doping. "Some in mainland media have already started to find excuses and scapegoats for the under performances of Chinese athletes, blaming judges for giving low scores to Chinese competitors in boxing, gymnastics, fencing and sailing," the SCMP said. "But such accusations, a source of complaints at every Games, are unconvincing. There has been no credible evidence that Chinese athletes have been singled out," it said. A Xinhua commentary criticised the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) decision to grant a rerun for the US women's 4x100 meter relay team after sprinter Allyson Felix who dropped the baton in the relay blamed it on a Brazilian runner. "The redo is widely regarded as ridiculous and unfair. Even Felix herself said it was "really weird" and "running without competitors is just strange," the Xinhua commentary said. The IAAF decision ruined China's chances to enter final. "The IAAF appeared to be leaning toward the US as perhaps it was worried that a final without one of the world's top teams would not be a good show," state-run Global Times said in its editorial. However, the SCMP said it is indisputable that China is not able to replace its aging athletes. "What is not disputable is that the overall level and capabilities of the Chinese athletes in those events in which they traditionally do well have fallen sharply. For instance, China won only one gold in swimming at Rio (it won five in London), and Chinese gymnasts clinched only two bronzes, compared to nine golds in Beijing. "By contrast, the US, Japan and South Korea have made rapid advances in events once dominated by us," it said. "More importantly, the under performances highlight a critical phase for China. The medal winners from previous Games may be long past their prime, but the younger generation are not yet capable enough to take over," it said. "Finally, the problems inherent in the state-sponsored sports system, which focuses resources on winning gold medals, are such that it is experiencing a cyclical low and is crying out for further reforms,  much like the Chinese economy, which has slowed from nine per cent growth in 2008, when China scored 51 golds, to somewhere about 6.7 per cent this year," the Post commentary said.