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Rio Olympics 2016: Team China News and Images

What do Chinese athletes do after retirement?
(CRI Online) August 22, 2016

With the 31st Summer Olympics drawing to a close in Rio, many Chinese athletes have come back loaded with honor and glory after finishing their competitions.

Thousands of fans have been spotted in various airports welcoming home their idols.

While some veteran athletes have announced their retirement following the Olympics, some may wonder what these athletes will do now.

Possible options include:

Become a coach

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Quite a lot of athletes may be loath to leave their beloved sports, so becoming a coach or gym teacher is a good choice.

Lang Ping is one of the best examples.

As a former Chinese top volleyball player, Lang Ping became a volleyball coach after her retirement and is now the head coach of the Chinese women's national volleyball team.

The Chinese people's love and respect for the former volleyball superstar once again soared this morning, as the Chinese volleyball women's team claimed gold at the Rio Games.

Another good example is Liu Guoliang, the head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis team.

As a player, Liu won numerous titles at major world tournaments including the World Championships, the World Cup and the Olympic Games and he is considered by many to be one of the greatest players of all time.

Now as a coach, Liu leads the Chinese paddlers to new peaks in their sporting lives.

Start a business

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When examining Chinese athletes who later became successful entrepreneurs after retirement, the most impressive is Li Ning, a former legendary gymnast.

Now his sportswear company Li-Ning has become a widely known enterprise in China.

Another similar case is Li Xiaopeng. The former Chinese gymnast is now the President of Viva China Holdings Limited.

Former Chinese diver Lao Lishi opened an online store on Taobao, an online shopping platform owned by China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. She even became one of the eight people to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, marking Alibaba's record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) on Wall Street in September, 2014.

Become a government official

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Media reports say among all the 222 Chinese Olympic champions from 1984 to 2012, 60 percent became government officials after retirement.

Wang Nan, for example, is a former Chinese paddler and grand slammer. She retired after the 2008 Beijing Games and began to work for the Chinese Central Committee of the Communist Young League the following year.

Yang Wei, a former gymnast, went back to his hometown and became an official at the local sports bureau in central China's Hubei Province.

Go to college

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  Some athletes choose to go to college for further study after retirement.

Wu Minxia, an Olympic diving great, announced her retirement after winning the women's synchronized 3m springboard at the Rio Games. She said she plans to return to college for a sports-related postgraduate program in Shanghai.

He Kexin, a former Chinese artistic gymnast, whose difficulty score on bars in 2008 was one of the highest in the world, is now a postgraduate student at Beijing Normal University.

Be a son/daughter, husband/wife, father/mother, friend …

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Aside from all the different career possibilities, maybe the most neglected role for a retired athlete is a family member.

Athletes have all undergone years of hard training. Some might have left home to move to a provincial training center at a very young age.

No matter how many medals they won or how many great achievements they made, in many people's eyes, they are still the adorable sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, as well as friends.

Or get into the entertainment business.
 
. . . .
Yao Ming

Graduated with a degree in Economics and Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Owner of Shanghai Sharks or Shanghai Dongfang Sharks Basketball Club
Chairman and CEO of China Professional Basketball Club United Inc.

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I can't find a more fitting tribute to the Chinese team than our BBC's opening theme for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It's based on the legendary take "Journey to the West", and yes Monkey is my favourite character. I hum this tune when I'm at work.
Well done team China.


It would be nice to see understand what the lovely female singer's voice is saying.

Here is the shorter version.



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What are Chinese more glad to see than gold medals?

Editor's note: Winning gold medals does not mean everything anymore in China. Gold medalist or not, Fu Yuanhui and Sun Yang, or Qin Kai and He Zi are all representatives of Chinese new generation players. With their praiseworthy performances on the field and charisma off the field, it seems everybody wants to hear their stories and root for them.

From 'go to die, Liu Xiang' to 'Don't cry, Sun Yang'

picture_219969@2x.jpg
Liu Xiang kisses the hurdle after he hopped down the track to the finishing line in the heat of 110-meter hurdles in 2012 London Olympic Games, Aug 7. [Photo/IC]


The once world champion of 100 meter freestyle Ning Zetao failed at semi-finals of both 50 and 100 meter freestyle and did not say much to the reporters waiting for him. As the first Asian guy to win the gold medal in the 100 freestyle in the 2015 world swimming championships in Kazan, and four gold medals in Ichon Asian Games, and due to perfect body and cute face, Ning then became the idol of millions of youngsters. However, he began having physical problems after that and off-field issues, which contributed to lackluster performance in Rio.

Claiming himself as the king of the 1,500 meter freestyle, Sun Yang also met his Waterloo. Preparing for a showdown with Australian swimmer Mack Horton, Sun surprisingly toiled his way through his heat in the 16th-fastest time, more than half a minute off his best. Sun said he was struck down by illness after winning the 200m freestyle gold medal on Monday.

Thousands of comments expressing concern and support were left on Sun Yang's Sina Weibo account. For example, a user dengdengdawangdenvhuang said: "My king, I will always support you. See you in Tokyo!" And WY-wyangj said: "You are the best! Take care! You still have a long way to go!"

Xiaomifanlili posted Ning Zetao's photos on her weibo with the comment: Cute, persistent, brave, concentrated, you are always the best! The world under the water is quiet, so you can listen to your heart." Besides, many youngsters are more concerned with Ning's handsome features rather than his performance, and called him "national husband".

Other defending champions such as shooter Zhu Qinan, gymnast Dong Dong, diver Qin Kai and swordsman Lei Sheng all experienced a setback in this Olympics. But instead of being disappointed and blaming them, most of the users showed tolerance and respect and gave them encouragement.

However, until a few years ago, the players were judged by his or her achievements. If you won, you became the hero. If you lost, you fell into the abyss.

The same with Ning and Sun, Liu Xiang, who also stole the spotlight before the game. was in bad health condition and had sluggish performance during the game, but received quite different reactions after the match.

In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, as the defending champion and the first Chinese track and field gold medalist, 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang limped away from the racetrack after striding over the third hurdle with the great anticipation of the audience. On the 2012 London Olympic Games, Liu had a relapse and quit before the gunshot. Again! People were shocked and then got infuriated. Liu Xiang became the target for all overnight. The internet was overwhelmed with slanders and scolding.

When Zhu Jianhua brought home only the bronze medal from the 1984 Olympics (after he had made three consecutive world records), the windows of his Shanghai home were smashed.

When star gymnast Li Ning failed to repeat his stellar performance in the 1988 Olympics, he was turned into a pariah. The newspapers said he should "go hang himself".

Those athletes have now resigned and people are re-examing their attitude toward them.

In the days when gold medals were worshiped, nobody lived an easy life. But the good news is that, things are changing today.

From medals to personal magnetism

picture_219971@2x.jpg
Emojis based on Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui's facial expressions are all the rage. [Photo/CFP]


Who would have thought that the biggest Chinese star to emerge from Rio 2016 will not be one of the world's fastest or most competitive. Fu Yuanhui is in a league of her own.

In one swoop the 20-year-old swimmer knocked down from the pedestal the rigidly hallowed image of the Chinese sportsman as the solemn embodiment of a nation's hope and put fun back into sports.

And she did it without knowing the aftermath - just like she did not know she had won the third place in the women's 100m backstroke semifinal on Aug 8 when she was interviewed.

The reporter seemed to prod her into an alley of cliches - excuses such as "I did not sleep well last night" or "I've been suffering from a mysterious pain all week" - to hint at a better performance in an ideal situation.

But no, Fu did not take it. She uttered something that has since turned into a nationwide meme, covered by the international press and parsed by the translation community.

Like Fu Yuanhui, jumper Zhang Guowei is also called the mud slide of the track and field. Although as he said his Rio trip ended just the time it started, it still cannot stop him becoming popular online. Many people said compared with his jumping, they would like more to see his dancing. This is because Zhang used to dance every time he crossed a certain height.

And recently his ID photo went viral and everyone started wondering: Zhang, how did you get your photo passed by the verification people?

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Zhang Guowei's different ID photos. [Photos from web]


Once restrained, young players not shy about expressing love

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Chinese diver Qin Kai gets a yes after proposal to his girlfriend, He Zi, at the Rio Olympics after the medal ceremony for the women's 3m springboard, Aug 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Chinese players might not be delivering their best-ever Olympic performance at Rio, but it seems they have made progress in one sport over the years - expressing their love.
In front of global TV audience, Chinese Olympic diver Qin Kai got down on one knee and proposed to teammate He Zi just moments after she won a silver medal in the women's 3-meter springboard. She said yes through tears of joy after their six-year-long romance.

"He made a lot of promises," He, 25, said of Qin's words, "but the thing that touched me the most is that I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life."

Although romance was still taboo for some teams in the country until a decade ago, lovebirds are not so fresh nowadays.

Beijing Olympics shooting gold medalists Du Li and Pang Wei became the first Chinese Olympic champion couple when they married in 2009.

Lin Dan, China's two-time Olympic badminton champion, held a romantic wedding ceremony with former world top women's player Xie Xingfang in 2012.

It's a big change from the days when banning love in sports team was considered as rational and common in sports management.

Thanks to the changing attitude, Qin and He don't have to choose between medals and love.


Dejected athletes look forward to future

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(L-R) Deng Shudi, Lin Chaopan, Liu Yang, You Hao, and Zhang Chenglong on the podium with their bronze medals after the men's team final in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on August 8. [Photo/Agencies]


Gymnastics, China's traditional dominant events, failed to claim a gold in Rio due to athletes' stumbles as well as stringent referee results. However, Chinese gymnasts have decided to ignore the unfair treatment and practice harder in the future.

It's the first time that China did not win a medal in individual events at a single Olympic Games. China claimed only two gymnastics bronze medals in Rio - for its men's and women's teams.

"The only mistake happened on the dismount and that's because I didn't have any energy left," said the 21-year-old Liu Yang.

Although the 2014 world champion Liu had some grievances towards the unfair marking of the referees, Liu blamed himself for losing the match.

"I will keep on practicing and I am looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020," Liu said.

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China's Xu Lijia leans into a turn during the laser radial competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 8, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]


On the sailing field, Chinese sailor Xu Lijia, who was disqualified for three rounds in the women's Laser Radial class and failed to make the finals, ended her third Olympics with unsatisfying result.

"I won't end up complaining that the officiating was unfair, although I felt pretty sad about that," said Xu, who won China's first gold medal in the event in 2012.

Three opponents filed protests against Xu, citing interference and contact with their boats, in the second, seventh and eighth races.

The event's arbitration board disqualified Xu in all three races, throwing her out of the top-10 final qualification group.

"A Brazilian sailor has taken part in six Olympics. I have only competed three times, so I will not retire and will try to take part in future Games," the 28-year-old Xu said.

Historical breakthroughs set higher goals for Tokyo

It's hard to copy China's traditional strengths, and to exploit new sport fields is even harder. Olympic breakthroughs in Rio not only bring about surprise but also reflect changes of Chinese sports. Chinese athletes have participated in more sports fields with new attitude and made historical breakthroughs.

Cycling Track
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The Chinese pair compete during the women's team sprint in the Rio Olympic Velodrome, Aug 12, 2016. [Photo/VCG]


China's Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi won the women's team sprint to secure China's first track Olympic gold on Aug 12.
As well as the athletes' performance, the race drew attention to the helmets of the duo, which were painted with the faces of famous Peking Opera characters, Mu Guiying and Hua Mulan.

Judo
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Cheng Xunzhao celebrates after winning the bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Cheng Xunzhao won bronze medal in men's 90kg judo class to mark the country's male judoist best Olympic performance.

Swimming
The 21-year-old Xu Jiayu claimed a silver medal in the men's 100m backstroke final to become China's first male Olympic backstroke medalist.

Wang Shun finished third in the men's 200m individual medley final to become China's first male Olympic individual medley medalist.

Fu Yuanhui tied for bronze in the women's 100m backstroke to become the first Chinese female backstroke swimmer on the Olympic podium.

Sun Yang secured the men's 200m freestyle gold medal and he was the first Chinese swimmer to win in two Olympic Games.

Equestrian
Alex Hua Tian won 8th place in the Olympic equestrian event and made a breakthrough in this event for China.

Rowing
Duan Jingli's bronze is the first Olympic medal for China in the women's single sculls.

Athletics
Zhang Wenxiu threw 76.75 meters to add a silver medal of the women's hammer to the bronze she won in London four years ago, achieving the best in the class.

Although Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye, clocking 10.08 sec and 10.11 sec, were eliminated in the men's 100m semifinals, they made the best performance ever.

Dong Bin won historical bronze of men's triple jump after jumping 17.58 meters on his first attempt and failing to make a mark for the rest of the competition.

For the very first time, Xue Changrui has gained the 6th place in the men's pole vault final.

The Chinese team of Tang Xingqiang, Xie Zhenye, Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng was fourth in men's 4x100m relay to make the best at Olympic Games.

Synchronized swimming
Huang Xuechen and Sun Wenyan got second highest score of 192.3688 to win a silver medal in duet synchronized swimming, the team's best result at Olympic Games.

Marathon Swimming
Zu Lijun and Xin Xin both got the fourth place in the men's and women's 10km open water event, making the game's best results in Chinese history.

Taekwondo
Zhao Shuai won the men's under-58kg Olympic taekwondo title in Rio, making history to bring China's first Olympic gold medal in men's taekwondo. Zheng Shuyin of matched her boyfriend Zhao Shuai's Olympic feat when she won the gold medal in the women's +67kg taekwondo competition at the Rio Games.

Golf
Feng Shanshan clinched the first medal for Chinese golfers at the Olympic Games after the final round of women's event.
 
.
What are Chinese more glad to see than gold medals?

Editor's note: Winning gold medals does not mean everything anymore in China. Gold medalist or not, Fu Yuanhui and Sun Yang, or Qin Kai and He Zi are all representatives of Chinese new generation players. With their praiseworthy performances on the field and charisma off the field, it seems everybody wants to hear their stories and root for them.

From 'go to die, Liu Xiang' to 'Don't cry, Sun Yang'

picture_219969@2x.jpg
Liu Xiang kisses the hurdle after he hopped down the track to the finishing line in the heat of 110-meter hurdles in 2012 London Olympic Games, Aug 7. [Photo/IC]


The once world champion of 100 meter freestyle Ning Zetao failed at semi-finals of both 50 and 100 meter freestyle and did not say much to the reporters waiting for him. As the first Asian guy to win the gold medal in the 100 freestyle in the 2015 world swimming championships in Kazan, and four gold medals in Ichon Asian Games, and due to perfect body and cute face, Ning then became the idol of millions of youngsters. However, he began having physical problems after that and off-field issues, which contributed to lackluster performance in Rio.

Claiming himself as the king of the 1,500 meter freestyle, Sun Yang also met his Waterloo. Preparing for a showdown with Australian swimmer Mack Horton, Sun surprisingly toiled his way through his heat in the 16th-fastest time, more than half a minute off his best. Sun said he was struck down by illness after winning the 200m freestyle gold medal on Monday.

Thousands of comments expressing concern and support were left on Sun Yang's Sina Weibo account. For example, a user dengdengdawangdenvhuang said: "My king, I will always support you. See you in Tokyo!" And WY-wyangj said: "You are the best! Take care! You still have a long way to go!"

Xiaomifanlili posted Ning Zetao's photos on her weibo with the comment: Cute, persistent, brave, concentrated, you are always the best! The world under the water is quiet, so you can listen to your heart." Besides, many youngsters are more concerned with Ning's handsome features rather than his performance, and called him "national husband".

Other defending champions such as shooter Zhu Qinan, gymnast Dong Dong, diver Qin Kai and swordsman Lei Sheng all experienced a setback in this Olympics. But instead of being disappointed and blaming them, most of the users showed tolerance and respect and gave them encouragement.

However, until a few years ago, the players were judged by his or her achievements. If you won, you became the hero. If you lost, you fell into the abyss.

The same with Ning and Sun, Liu Xiang, who also stole the spotlight before the game. was in bad health condition and had sluggish performance during the game, but received quite different reactions after the match.

In 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, as the defending champion and the first Chinese track and field gold medalist, 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang limped away from the racetrack after striding over the third hurdle with the great anticipation of the audience. On the 2012 London Olympic Games, Liu had a relapse and quit before the gunshot. Again! People were shocked and then got infuriated. Liu Xiang became the target for all overnight. The internet was overwhelmed with slanders and scolding.

When Zhu Jianhua brought home only the bronze medal from the 1984 Olympics (after he had made three consecutive world records), the windows of his Shanghai home were smashed.

When star gymnast Li Ning failed to repeat his stellar performance in the 1988 Olympics, he was turned into a pariah. The newspapers said he should "go hang himself".

Those athletes have now resigned and people are re-examing their attitude toward them.

In the days when gold medals were worshiped, nobody lived an easy life. But the good news is that, things are changing today.

From medals to personal magnetism

picture_219971@2x.jpg
Emojis based on Olympic swimmer Fu Yuanhui's facial expressions are all the rage. [Photo/CFP]


Who would have thought that the biggest Chinese star to emerge from Rio 2016 will not be one of the world's fastest or most competitive. Fu Yuanhui is in a league of her own.

In one swoop the 20-year-old swimmer knocked down from the pedestal the rigidly hallowed image of the Chinese sportsman as the solemn embodiment of a nation's hope and put fun back into sports.

And she did it without knowing the aftermath - just like she did not know she had won the third place in the women's 100m backstroke semifinal on Aug 8 when she was interviewed.

The reporter seemed to prod her into an alley of cliches - excuses such as "I did not sleep well last night" or "I've been suffering from a mysterious pain all week" - to hint at a better performance in an ideal situation.

But no, Fu did not take it. She uttered something that has since turned into a nationwide meme, covered by the international press and parsed by the translation community.

Like Fu Yuanhui, jumper Zhang Guowei is also called the mud slide of the track and field. Although as he said his Rio trip ended just the time it started, it still cannot stop him becoming popular online. Many people said compared with his jumping, they would like more to see his dancing. This is because Zhang used to dance every time he crossed a certain height.

And recently his ID photo went viral and everyone started wondering: Zhang, how did you get your photo passed by the verification people?

picture_219972@2x.jpg
Zhang Guowei's different ID photos. [Photos from web]


Once restrained, young players not shy about expressing love

picture_219973@2x.jpg
Chinese diver Qin Kai gets a yes after proposal to his girlfriend, He Zi, at the Rio Olympics after the medal ceremony for the women's 3m springboard, Aug 14, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Chinese players might not be delivering their best-ever Olympic performance at Rio, but it seems they have made progress in one sport over the years - expressing their love.
In front of global TV audience, Chinese Olympic diver Qin Kai got down on one knee and proposed to teammate He Zi just moments after she won a silver medal in the women's 3-meter springboard. She said yes through tears of joy after their six-year-long romance.

"He made a lot of promises," He, 25, said of Qin's words, "but the thing that touched me the most is that I think this is the guy I can trust for the rest of my life."

Although romance was still taboo for some teams in the country until a decade ago, lovebirds are not so fresh nowadays.

Beijing Olympics shooting gold medalists Du Li and Pang Wei became the first Chinese Olympic champion couple when they married in 2009.

Lin Dan, China's two-time Olympic badminton champion, held a romantic wedding ceremony with former world top women's player Xie Xingfang in 2012.

It's a big change from the days when banning love in sports team was considered as rational and common in sports management.

Thanks to the changing attitude, Qin and He don't have to choose between medals and love.


Dejected athletes look forward to future

picture_219974@2x.jpg
(L-R) Deng Shudi, Lin Chaopan, Liu Yang, You Hao, and Zhang Chenglong on the podium with their bronze medals after the men's team final in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on August 8. [Photo/Agencies]


Gymnastics, China's traditional dominant events, failed to claim a gold in Rio due to athletes' stumbles as well as stringent referee results. However, Chinese gymnasts have decided to ignore the unfair treatment and practice harder in the future.

It's the first time that China did not win a medal in individual events at a single Olympic Games. China claimed only two gymnastics bronze medals in Rio - for its men's and women's teams.

"The only mistake happened on the dismount and that's because I didn't have any energy left," said the 21-year-old Liu Yang.

Although the 2014 world champion Liu had some grievances towards the unfair marking of the referees, Liu blamed himself for losing the match.

"I will keep on practicing and I am looking forward to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020," Liu said.

picture_219975@2x.jpg
China's Xu Lijia leans into a turn during the laser radial competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 8, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]


On the sailing field, Chinese sailor Xu Lijia, who was disqualified for three rounds in the women's Laser Radial class and failed to make the finals, ended her third Olympics with unsatisfying result.

"I won't end up complaining that the officiating was unfair, although I felt pretty sad about that," said Xu, who won China's first gold medal in the event in 2012.

Three opponents filed protests against Xu, citing interference and contact with their boats, in the second, seventh and eighth races.

The event's arbitration board disqualified Xu in all three races, throwing her out of the top-10 final qualification group.

"A Brazilian sailor has taken part in six Olympics. I have only competed three times, so I will not retire and will try to take part in future Games," the 28-year-old Xu said.

Historical breakthroughs set higher goals for Tokyo

It's hard to copy China's traditional strengths, and to exploit new sport fields is even harder. Olympic breakthroughs in Rio not only bring about surprise but also reflect changes of Chinese sports. Chinese athletes have participated in more sports fields with new attitude and made historical breakthroughs.

Cycling Track
picture_219976@2x.jpg
The Chinese pair compete during the women's team sprint in the Rio Olympic Velodrome, Aug 12, 2016. [Photo/VCG]


China's Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi won the women's team sprint to secure China's first track Olympic gold on Aug 12.
As well as the athletes' performance, the race drew attention to the helmets of the duo, which were painted with the faces of famous Peking Opera characters, Mu Guiying and Hua Mulan.

Judo
picture_219977@2x.jpg
Cheng Xunzhao celebrates after winning the bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug 10, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]


Cheng Xunzhao won bronze medal in men's 90kg judo class to mark the country's male judoist best Olympic performance.

Swimming
The 21-year-old Xu Jiayu claimed a silver medal in the men's 100m backstroke final to become China's first male Olympic backstroke medalist.

Wang Shun finished third in the men's 200m individual medley final to become China's first male Olympic individual medley medalist.

Fu Yuanhui tied for bronze in the women's 100m backstroke to become the first Chinese female backstroke swimmer on the Olympic podium.

Sun Yang secured the men's 200m freestyle gold medal and he was the first Chinese swimmer to win in two Olympic Games.

Equestrian
Alex Hua Tian won 8th place in the Olympic equestrian event and made a breakthrough in this event for China.

Rowing
Duan Jingli's bronze is the first Olympic medal for China in the women's single sculls.

Athletics
Zhang Wenxiu threw 76.75 meters to add a silver medal of the women's hammer to the bronze she won in London four years ago, achieving the best in the class.

Although Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye, clocking 10.08 sec and 10.11 sec, were eliminated in the men's 100m semifinals, they made the best performance ever.

Dong Bin won historical bronze of men's triple jump after jumping 17.58 meters on his first attempt and failing to make a mark for the rest of the competition.

For the very first time, Xue Changrui has gained the 6th place in the men's pole vault final.

The Chinese team of Tang Xingqiang, Xie Zhenye, Su Bingtian, Zhang Peimeng was fourth in men's 4x100m relay to make the best at Olympic Games.

Synchronized swimming
Huang Xuechen and Sun Wenyan got second highest score of 192.3688 to win a silver medal in duet synchronized swimming, the team's best result at Olympic Games.

Marathon Swimming
Zu Lijun and Xin Xin both got the fourth place in the men's and women's 10km open water event, making the game's best results in Chinese history.

Taekwondo
Zhao Shuai won the men's under-58kg Olympic taekwondo title in Rio, making history to bring China's first Olympic gold medal in men's taekwondo. Zheng Shuyin of matched her boyfriend Zhao Shuai's Olympic feat when she won the gold medal in the women's +67kg taekwondo competition at the Rio Games.

Golf
Feng Shanshan clinched the first medal for Chinese golfers at the Olympic Games after the final round of women's event.

if they are not hungry let them fund their own training. wasting government money. get someone else who can win gold
 
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if they are not hungry let them fund their own training. wasting government money. get someone else who can win gold

Exactly.

Using billions of taxpayer money and thinking this is some kind of holiday for them.

You can have charisma and win gold. You don't need to lose gold to have charisma.

Look at Usain Bolt. The most famous and most popular Olympian ever.
 
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The attitude in the general public changed during this olympcis. The Chinese media and people no longer are obsessed with winning gold. That definitely is a good thing. It's a sign of a mature society that is confident and balanced. I don't think we need to worry about our athletes and coaches. All athletes and coaches at that level must be extremely competitive in their nature, otherwise they would not have made it there. Less pressure from the public will only help them win more.
 
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In China, a forgiving public embraces fewer gold medals
August 22, 2016

In a country long focused on bringing home as many Olympic gold medals as possible, this year's haul isn't what China expected.

When China's 416-athlete delegation set off for Rio, state sports officials were banking on 30 to 36 gold medals. As the games end, it had won just 24 for the worst showing since Atlanta in 1996.

Lagging in third place, China's total is a far cry from the country's 51-gold performance in Beijing that topped the gold medal chart.

But so what?

The once-feverish obsession with the gold tally has slowly subsided among the Chinese public, which has shown more interest this year in lavishing adoration on athletes with personalities, such as bronze medalist Fu Yuanhui, rather than counting medals.

"Finally, the public desire for golds has returned to normal," said Lu Yuanzhen, a professor of sports at South China Normal University who has long argued that a mature nation should have a more relaxed attitude toward wins and losses in athletic competitions.

"The ordinary Chinese people have become more indifferent to the medal counts now they understand Olympic golds bear little impact on their real lives," Lu told The Associated Press.

For decades, the Communist state has rallied national unity and pride on the country's athletic performances on the world stage, especially in the Olympics. The entire country was moved to tears when Xu Haifeng, a pistol shooter, won the first gold Olympic medal for Communist China in Los Angeles in 1984. It was considered a sign that China finally was able to claim a place among world powers, a huge boost to national pride.

The fever only grew as Beijing sought better Olympic performances and the ultimate goal of hosting the games. The Olympics was a national obsession, and gold medalists were household names and rewarded generously.

China's gold medal tally climbed to 28 in Sydney, 32 in Athens and 51 in Beijing. In London, Chinese athletes still took away 38 gold medals and were second only to U.S. Olympians.

But following the climax in Beijing, public obsession with Olympic golds began to fade, and voices of criticism grew louder against the state-run sports system credited with the country's stellar Olympic performances.

Critics argue the brutal system has sacrificed vast numbers of rank-and-file athletes, encouraged dishonesty — such as doping, age alteration and game rigging — in the name of national honor, and distanced sports from the public.

When this year's games began in Rio, state media lamented the lack of golds on the opening day, but Chinese sports fans stayed nonchalant. They were more interested in chasing athletes oozing with personality.

The most telling example is Fu Yuanhui, a female swimmer who overnight became a social media sweetheart for claiming she had used "primeval force" in a semifinal. She eventually won a bronze. Shaped by the social media instead of the state parlance, Fu's vernacular resonated with ordinary Chinese people, who were already bored with empty talks.

Ning Zetao, another swimmer, came home empty-handed from Rio but still grabbed headlines because of his undiminished popularity back in China. And Chinese social media was full of encouraging words when swimmer Sun Yang failed to qualify for the 1,500-meter free style final, a sharp contrast to the days when the Chinese public hurled hurtful words at athletes failing to cinch the gold.

The swimmers got a welcome from thousands of fans at a Beijing airport. Fu was scared. Ning's appearance caused congestion, and besieged by fans seeking photographs and autographs, he could barely move.



At recently as 2008, the public booed hurdler Liu Xiang when he could not get off the starting line in Beijing because of injuries.

"The public has gone to another extreme — tolerance of non-champions and even adoration of them," wrote Li Ruyi, a veteran Chinese sports writer in a commentary on the news site ifeng.com.

Under the most pressure are Chinese gymnasts, who came home with two bronzes this year, the worst performance ever in 32 years.

It is also the first time that Team China, a longtime powerhouse in gymnastics, did not win a single gold since China returned to the Olympics in 1984. For the past several years, China's gymnastics officials have worried that the state system is running out of steam because the national team has a dwindling pool from which to recruit top talent, a consequence of isolating young talent in the state system.

Even if there is more acceptance that every year won't bring a haul of gold, there is still a sense of alarm, and many don't like that China sits behind the United States and Great Britain in the race for golds.

There are also whispers that Japan, the upcoming host of the 2020 Summer Olympics Games, could pose a threat to China. That prospect is likely to rekindle the country's nationalistic sentiments, because of long-time animosity toward the neighboring country that invaded China and shamed the Middle Kingdom in the early 20th century.

"If the Chinese delegation's achievements should indeed decline at this year's Rio Olympic games, it begs some serious thoughts on the part of China's sports circle," wrote Liu Ge, a state media commentator in the party-run Global Times. "The public can accept some mistakes and some failures, but the tolerance over the loss of one gold does not mean that China's sports circle should not care about the overall haul of golds and medals."


http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2016/08/21/in-china-forgiving-public-embraces-fewer-gold-medals.html
 
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Nation's athletes cheered for 'high spirit' at Games

By SUN XIAOCHEN/CAO YIN (China Daily)

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Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi (Gold)

Track cycling: Women's team sprint

The first Olympic cycling gold medal won by the "Bicycle Kingdom" is also the first for an Asian nation. China previously won three silvers and two bronzes.

They 'presented positive attitude of today's China,' top leadership says

China's top leadership congratulated the country's athletes on Monday for their achievements at the Rio Olympics.

The Communist Party of China's Central Committee and the State Council sent a joint congratulatory message to the athletes that said: "You respected competitors, judges, audiences and rules, showing excellent sport skills and great competitive style. You presented the positive attitude of today's China and the high spirit of the Chinese people."

The leadership also encouraged the athletes to make efforts to achieve even better results and to help further motivate Chinese to participate in sports.

"We hope your achievements can further popularize sports, promote the combination of sports and fitness, and encourage more people to enjoy sports," the message said.

Despite ending its Rio Olympics campaign with the lowest gold haul since 1996, the Chinese delegation has plenty to cheer about, on and off the court.

As the Olympic flame was extinguished at Maracana Stadium on Sunday night, Team China concluded the 16-day competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with 26 gold medals. That put it in third place in the gold medal tally behind the United States, with 46, and Great Britain, 27.

China also won 18 silver and 26 bronze medals to finish second in the total medal count in Rio with 70, following the US delegation, which bagged a whopping 121.

The Rio Games marked some hard-earned victories in high-profile events and major breakthroughs in some less-developed sports.

As a huge audience watched back home, China's women's volleyball team overcame its wobbles in the group stage to clinch the final victory against Serbia on Saturday and take the gold, which it also had won in 1984 and 2004.

Following the unexpected victory, praise for the team's "never say die" spirit went viral on social media, with hundreds of millions of users posting compliments on the team's micro blog.

Cai Zhenhua, the country's vice-sports minister, said, "Hopefully, the women's volleyball team's fighting spirit will inspire other collective ball game squads to work harder."

In other highlights, the Chinese track cycling duo of Gong Jinjie and Zhong Tianshi, guided by French coach Benoit Vetu, won the women's team sprint gold medal on Aug 12, after setting a world record of 31.928 seconds in the first round.

It was the first cycling Olympic gold medal won by China, which is known as the "kingdom of bicycles".

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Zhao Shuai (Gold)


Taekwondo: Men's 58 kg

Zhao is China's first male taekwondo Olympic champion. Chinese women have won five gold medals in the past four Olympics, and the men have won two bronze medals.

On Wednesday, 21-year-old Zhao Shuai beat Thailand's Tawin Hanprab 6-4 in the men's 58kg taekwondo final, delivering the country's first men's gold medal in the sport.

"I am really excited to stand up for Chinese men in the sport for the first time to show that we can also compete and win in this event," said Zhao.

On the track and the field, Chinese athletes also put on their best performances at the Olympics by winning six medals, including two golds, to cement the country's emerging status in the Western-dominated event.

China won the fewest gold medals since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, when it won 16, and it was the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics that China finished third in the gold count.

The country suffered a big slump in such traditionally strong events as shooting, gymnastics and badminton-events that boosted China to 51 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the most of any nation-due to a lack of experienced athletes and fiercer competition.

Among the setbacks this year were the Chinese gymnastics squad's zero-gold finish in Rio, the first time since 1984, and the single gold for the once title-sweeping shooting team.

At the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, the Chinese gymnastics team won a total of 14 gold medals, while its men's and women's shooters took home a combined seven gold.

At a news conference on Saturday, Sports Minister and Chinese delegation chief Liu Peng attributed the lackluster performance to a lack of experience and an underestimation of opponents' improvements.

"The good results at previous world championships and other lead-up events blocked our eyes, which affected our assessment of the progress achieved by our main rivals in these events," Liu said.

"Apparently, our relatively young team needs more high-intensity drills to grow more mature, as the lack of experience hampered the delivery of their A games in many sports."

Among the 416 Chinese athletes sent to Rio, 73 percent were competing for the first time in an Olympics.

Cao Yin contributed to this story.

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Xu Jiayu (Silver)


Swimming: Men's 100-meter backstroke

Xu became the first Chinese male swimmer to win an Olympic medal in the backstroke, and the third man to stand on the podium for an individual event, after Zhang Lin and Sun Yang.

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Cheng Xunzhao (Bronze)

Judo: Men's 90 kg

In earning the bronze, China's first men's judo Olympic medal, Cheng upset Greek Olympic champion Ilias Iliadis, who won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

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Dong Bin (Bronze)


Track and Field: Men's triple jump

Dong won China's first Olympic medal in triple jump and, at the Indoor World Championships earlier this year, also became the third Chinese to be crowned.

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Duan Jingli (Bronze)

Scull: Women's single sculls

Duan's victory was China's first-ever medal in the event. The nation's previous best performance was fourth place by Zhang Xiuyun at the Beijing Olympics.

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Wang Shun (Bronze)

Swimming: Men's 200-meter individual medley

Though Ye Shiwen won women's 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley in London, Wang's is China's first Olympic individual medley medal by a male swimmer.
 
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"Bullshit article" Two words are good enough.
 
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How IOC presidents rate Olympics
Xinhua, August 22, 2016

Following are what IOC presidents said about the Olympic Games at closing ceremonies:

Juan Antonio Samaranch on Atlanta 1996

"A most exceptional Olympics."

Samaranch on Syndey 2000

"I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever."

Jacques Rogge on Athens 2004

"These Games were unforgettable, dream Games."

Rogge on Beijing 2008

"These were truly exceptional Games."

Rogge on London 2012

"These were happy and glorious Games."

Thomas Bach on Rio de Janeiro 2016

"These were marvellous Olympic Games."
 
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