Smiles will grip China today as it celebrates 100 days to go before the grand opening of Beijing 2008 - but anxious sports officials are wearing a scowl.
Concerns that China will fail to reach heightened medal expectations and stamp its authority on the international sports scene to please the masses has seen the government's powerful sports ministry come down hard on its elite sportsmen and women, coaches and sports-related civil servants.
In a surprise U-turn, the government started talking down the medal count a few months ago because it fears a backlash from patriotic fans, who have been led to believe the top spot was a done deal.
The age of sports celebrity, concerns over doping and changes in training methods have forced the sports ministry to temper the glory hunt.
The pressure of high expectations coupled with the cult of Olympic celebrity that has been sweeping the training grounds and advertising offices, has seen the once highly disciplined cogs in the mainland's vast sport machine challenge authority.
In a rare public censure, badminton superstar Lin Dan and celebrity diver Guo Jingjing were singled out by high-ranking sports ministry official Zhang Haifeng for their high-profile lifestyles and increasingly arrogant ways.