The tremendous success of the Games encouraged Beijing to bid for the 2000 Olympics and prove its full ability to host the world's greatest sports gathering.
Following the 11th Asian Games, China has achieved continuous and steady development in sports, and sports reform has made significant headways. A long-term plan for sports promotion was worked out and put into practice, and with the promulgation of the Sports Law in October 1995 a breakthrough was made in the institution of a legal system for sports in the country. While mass sports have been more active and widespread, with a great increase in the number of networks and organizations at the grass-roots level, and sports exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions have been expanding continuously, China's overall strength in competitive sports has remarkably increased. Statistics show that since 1959 when Rong Guotuan won China's first world title in the men's singles event at the 25th World Table Tennis Championships, Chinese athletes had won a total of 1,608 world titles and set world records on 1,087 occasions by the end of 2002. During the last 13 years from 1989 to 2002, Chinese athletes collected 1,254 world titles and surpassed or rewrote world records on 705 occasions, accounting for 77.9% and 64.8% respectively of the total numbers of world titles won and world records set in 43 years.
China first took part in the quadrennial Asian Games in 1974. Since 1986 the Chinese delegation has been high on top of the gold medal table for five times in a row.
As regards its participation in the Olympic Games, China did not take part in the 22nd Olympics held in Moscow in 1980 which was boycotted by two-fifths of the IOC-recognized NOCs to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Since 1984 China has participated in five Olympic Summer Games, in which 85 Chinese athletes, on 108 occasions, won 80 gold medals in 55 events of 10 sports including diving. When the 23rd Olympics were held in Los Angeles in 1984, China sent a delegation of 353 members. China's first gold medal at the L.A. Games was won by Xu Haifeng, a marksman who also became the first Chinese to win such an honor in Olympic history. Altogether the Chinese athletes took 15 gold, eight silver and nine bronze medals, a remarkable Olympic debut. They had every reason to rejoice over this bumper harvest, particularly when they recalled their country's performance 52 years before at the 10th Olympics, which also took place in Los Angeles, when the only Chinese participant Liu Changchun was eliminated in the men's 100m and 200m sprint preliminaries.
China did not fare so well at the 24th Olympics held in Seoul in 1988 as far as medal standings (five golds, 11 silvers and 12 bronzes) were concerned, mainly because of the participation of the Soviet and Eastern European athletes. Even so, the Seoul Games was a happy occasion for all. It was the only Olympics in the '80s attended by both the Soviet Union and the United States, and was an unmistakable sign of relaxation of international tensions.
At the 25th Olympics held in Barcelona in 1992, China collected 16 golds, 22 silvers and 16 bronzes to place fourth in medal standings behind the Commonwealth of Independent States, the United States and Germany.
At the Centennial Olympics held in Atlanta in 1996, China maintained its fourth place with 16 golds, 22 silvers and 12 bronzes following the United States, Russia and Germany.
At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 China won an unprecedented haul of 28 golds to rank third in gold medal standings, accomplishing the strategic plan laid down in the 1980s. At the 19th Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City in 2002, short-track speed skater Yang Yang (A) ended China's Winter Olympics gold medal drought by beating a strong field to win both the women's 500m and 1000m races.
With the deepening of reforms in sports, a new pattern has formed with sports being managed by both state and society as a whole. As a result, more than 20 national sports administrative centers have been set up to govern various competitive sports originally under the direct administration of the State Sport General Administration. A considerable portion of funds to sports training, competition and facilities construction comes from enterprises and individuals instead of exclusively from government budgets. Sports industry is flourishing. The National Fitness Program has witnessed a vigorous development throughout the country, as the Chinese sports authorities have paid equal attention to raising athletic standards and promoting sports among the masses of people. Meanwhile, new chapters have been opened in scientific research and publicity. It is the belief of many that with Beijing's successful bid for the 2008 Olympic Games sports in this country, Olympic or non-Olympic, will develop to a new high in the lead-up to the Games, which will in turn help make further contributions to the global Olympic Movement.
(COC)
Email to Friends
Print
Save