China has big dreams for Tokyo Olympics, but it’s not all about the medals

Name: China’s Tokyo Olympics delegation will be nation’s biggest yet for an international sporting event
Uploaded: 2021-07-16T12:00:18.000Z
Duration: 1 min 32 s
Description: China’s Tokyo Olympics delegation will be nation’s biggest yet for an international sporting event

The Chinese delegation will be hoping to improve its tally from previous Games but the country’s focus has broadened in recent years

Fans in China are just as likely to celebrate their heroes’ sporting spirit, regardless of their success in the various events

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China’s rising nationalism may put a bigger spotlight on its athletes’ performance at the Tokyo Olympics but the country’s sports fans are not only interested in medals. Photo: Reuters

Sarah Zhengin Hong KongandRachel Zhangin Shanghai

Published: 8:00pm, 16 Jul 2021Updated: 11:28pm, 16 Jul 2021

China is sending its largest-ever delegation to the Tokyo Olympics, where it will be looking to take the lead in the battle for gold.

This year’s Summer Olympics, which will run from July 23 to August 22, will be like no other, with spectators banned from the stadium and now-reluctant host Tokyo issuing its fourth Covid-19 state of emergency just days before the opening ceremony.

But the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic have not put a dampener on Chinese ambitions, with the country keen to burnish its battered international image and continue its drive to become a sporting power by 2035. To that end, its 413 athletes will be competing in a record 225 events.

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China’s Tokyo Olympics delegation will be nation’s biggest yet for an international sporting event

Guo Zhongwen, head of the 777-strong Olympics delegation, said in Beijing on Wednesday the athletes should take up the responsibility to “fight for the country” at the Games, as a key part of China’s effort to become a strong sporting nation.

“We must resolutely curb the continuous decline of the country’s Olympic performance in recent years and ensure we are first in gold medals and total medals at the Tokyo Olympics,” he said, adding that the delegation also had to ensure it maintained zero Covid-19 infections and good morals, urging a clean competition with no doping or other incidents.

China’s medal haul at the 2016 Rio Olympics was disappointing, falling behind the US and Britain in the gold medal tally, and earning 70 medals in total after the US with 121.

By comparison, the 2008 Summer Games Olympics hosted by Beijing – intended as a triumphant showcase of China’s growing economic might – saw Chinese athletes take the most gold, with 51 medals over the US at 36, and come a close second in the overall medals table, with 100 compared to their American rivals at 110.