BEIJING - When China hosts the Summer Olympic Games this month it will be going
for gold. Not only does the country see the event as a golden opportunity to
showcase the achievements of its monumental modernization drive, but also as a
chance to emerge as the Olympics' top gold medal winner.
The fact that it stands a more than sporting chance of achieving its goal is
all the more astonishing, given that China made its Olympics debut only in 1984
in Los Angeles. Prior to this the International Olympic Committee's recognition
of teams from Taiwan as the official representatives of China had kept Beijing
away.
But despite its long isolation from the event, by the 1996 Atlanta
Games China had already made it to fourth place in the medals tally with 16
golds. In Sydney, four years later, China finished third with 28 golds. In
Athens, where India, the only other country with a comparable population,
finished with just a single silver medal, China's 32 gold medals saw it second
only to the United States. The logic of its ascent to the number one spot in
Beijing appears inexorable.
The sporting achievement of a country that was for decades dismissively
referred to by countries in the West as the "sick man of Asia" is the result of
a complex of factors including nationalism, strong state support and funding
and a clearcut medals-focused Olympics strategy.
"For China, doing well in the Olympic Games is an opportunity to establish
international prestige and earn 'face' on the world stage. Since sporting
achievement is indicative of the level of a nation's development, we feel we
could change the world's impression regarding China by performing well at the
Olympics," said Xie Qionghuan, former deputy secretary general of the Chinese
Olympic Committee.
Xie, currently a professor of sports sociology at the Beijing Sports
University, was only echoing a belief that was articulated by the People's
Republic's founding father, Mao Zedong. "If our bodies are not strong, how can
we attain our goals and make ourselves respected?" Mao asked in an article
published in 1917.
The spirit of avenging nationalist pride that has ever since underlain China's
sporting efforts has been backed up by hard cash and other forms of state
support. China does not make public what it spends on sports programs, but it
is estimated to be several hundred million US dollars annually.
Xie added that a clever Olympics strategy has targeted sports "suitable to the
physiques and talents of East Asian peoples". He gave the examples of events
such as table tennis, badminton and gymnastics, in which China has come to
excel. These are sports that require quick reflexes and flexibility rather than
raw physical strength and stamina.
Some critics have claimed that China's success at the Olympics is somewhat
undermined by the fact of its having targeted "soft sports", underdeveloped in
other countries, like shooting and taekwondo as well as women's sports in
general. About 63% of China's medals in Athens were won by women - excluding
mixed sports - compared with about 40% for the US and Russia
China's relentless drive for Olympic glory means that even this is changing. In
Athens, Liu Xiang became China's first men's Olympic gold medallist in track
and field, the glamour sport of the Games. And while a decade ago the Chinese
were serious contenders in only a handful of sports like table tennis and
diving, in Athens they competed in every sport except for baseball and
equestrian events. In 2008, China will compete in all 28 Olympic sports.
China's sports system is adapted from that of the former Soviet Union. It
relies on an extensive network of scouts and coaches who ferret out the best
sporting talent from the country's vast pool of youngsters studying in primary
schools. Potential future champions are given detailed physical exams to test
whether their bone structure and bodies are likely to develop in a way
appropriate for a certain sport: height is key for volleyball, strength for
weightlifting, agility for gymnastics.
Those chosen are then funneled into a pyramid-like sports training structure.
At the top of the pyramid are some 300 elite sports training schools nationwide
where 46,000 youngsters aged six to 18 undergo intensive daily training. Below
this tier of top schools are another 3,000-odd, level-2 specialist sports
schools with about 400,000 children in training. Finally at the base, 6 million
youth hone their skills at 11,400 regular schools that also happen to
specialize in one or another sporting category.
Shishahai Sports School is one of the Chinese capital's most successful
top-tier training institutions. Adjoining a popular bar and entertainment
complex in central Beijing, the school churns out Olympic gold medallists with
regularity and is a window onto China's sporting system as a whole. In Athens,
students from Shishahai alone won five gold medals, three in individual and two
in team sports.
Specializing in six Olympic sports - table tennis, badminton, gymnastics,
volleyball, boxing and taekwondo - the school has an annual budget of about $30
million. Two-thirds of this comes from the government.
A visit to the cavernous gymnastics training hall revealed row after row of
toddlers, some as young as five. Looking cute in leotards, many had missing
baby teeth. They lined up obediently, their expressions neither sad nor happy,
for hours of bone-aching exercises. Others hung from rings or cart-wheeled
perfectly across long mats.
The coaches were stern. There seemed to be few allowances made for their age or
the fact that at five and six they had virtually no say in the decision to
enter training. No Buddhia-like controversy is known to have erupted in China.
(Buddhia was a little boy who ran a 60 kilometer race in 2006, but was later
prevented from training by child welfare authorities in India who deemed him
too young to train so hard.)
"Sacrifices are necessary to be a champion," said Liu Hong Bin, the school's
director, by way of explanation for the harsh regime.
However, the emphasis on sacrifice for the glory of the country to the
detriment of the personal fulfillment and on occasion even health of individual
athletes is perhaps the most trenchant criticism of China's sports machine.
For many athletes, playing through injuries is standard practice. The
celebrated diver Hu Jia for example will be participating in the Olympics
despite damage to both retinas of his eyes. Champions also face tremendous
pressure from the state not to retire even if they feel burnt out.
Sports historian Zhao Yu holds that the government-led nature of sports in
China leads to an over-emphasis on medals and winning, while developing
grassroots love of sports remains neglected. "We are not a real sporting
country because we lack a popular base. Most Chinese kids in normal schools are
purely focussed on academics and sports are rarely seen as beneficial or
important. Our success in the Olympics is artificially engineered from the
top," he said.
Xie believed that the focus on gold medals was appropriate to a particular
historical juncture in China to prove to the world what the country is capable
of. He concurred with Zhao, however, arguing that "now we [the Chinese] should
reconsider our sports value system and also focus on the enjoyment of sports
and the spirit of sports rather than merely winning".
But despite his call for a revaluation of China's sporting priorities, Xie
concluded with a reiteration of the fact that those countries that fared well
in the Olympics tended to be "big countries, strong countries and rich
countries". Doing well in the Olympics was thus an indication of the overall
development of a country, he said, adding that the opportunity to host the
Games had made "the whole country excited and helped China gain in confidence".
Clearly, the Olympics are about far more than sporting success for China. They
have been used by the authorities to rally the nation together and to
legitimize Beijing's authority. They have also been used as a platform to push
through major changes to Beijing's material and metaphysical topography. As a
result, the city has a brand new look and reputation.
However, while the Games are undoubtedly about more than sports alone, when it
comes to the actual sporting competitions, China is unlikely to disappoint. The
United States should look to its laurels.
Pallavi Aiyar is the China correspondent for the Hindu and author of
Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China (Harper Collins India, May 2008). For
a review of the book, see Middle Kingdom deciphered.
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