Cannot afford to lose at Tokyo: Web users

Discussions in China on the country's "worst Olympic flop" in recent memory remains high as government officials urge Team China coaches to "deeply reflect" on their work.

The UK beat China to second in total gold medals at the Rio Games, with China bagging only 26 to the UK's 27, as China faltered in some of its traditionally strong events, such as women's badminton and gymnastics.

China topped the Olympic medal standings for the first time with 51 gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Games, which dropped to 38 in London four years ago.

"We will deeply reflect on the problems exposed at the Games," Liu Peng, director of the General Administration of Sports, told a press conference on Saturday.

He said that the Chinese teams had not done enough to realize that more countries are focusing more on the Olympic Games, and their training and management have reached new levels, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

Liu also said young athletes were not motivated enough when they faced fierce competition. He lauded the women's volleyball team's fighting spirit in winning its first Olympic title in 12 years.

The Chinese, who had been happy with the relaxed disposition of Chinese athletes at the beginning of the Rio Games, have started to discuss the causes for the poor performance and offering solutions to help the team make a comeback at the 2020 Games hosted by arch-rival Japan.

China's gymnastics team failed to win gold, settling for two bronzes - their worst-ever performance at the Olympic Games. Gymnastics has long been a traditional powerhouse of Chinese Olympians. Four years ago in London, China claimed four titles. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, it grabbed nine gold medals.

Wang Qi, China Sports Industry Group manager and a sports marketing expert, attributed the fiasco to sports authorities' zeal for quick success. "The Chinese athletes' inadequate fitness cannot be hidden by their remarkable gymnastics skills," Wang told the Global Times.

In badminton, China faced tough competition and wound up winning two golds after Chen Long defeated Malaysian Lee Chong Wei for the men's singles title, followed by Japan which won one gold and one silver. China's loss in the women's doubles was the first time Chinese shuttlers missed the gold medal in 20 years.

The badminton team's debacle is partly the result of outdated training programs, as Chinese athletes failed to match their rivals who boast greater physical strength and quicker responses, Wang said. He added there's a need to expand the shrinking talent pool.

Echoing Wang, He Wenyi, executive director of Peking University's China Institute for Sports Value, told the Global Times that sports authorities should work with their educational counterparts to popularize sports in schools, instead of simply depending on specialized sports schools to select and train youngsters, when those schools have already began lose their appeal.

Wang suggested more public access to public sports facilities, citing Zhejiang Province - the home of many Olympic athletes - as an example. "Zhejiang's government build many public swimming pools. The more facilities, the greater the chances are for discovering and training talent," he said.

Beating arch-rival in 2020

Though the Chinese have begun to prioritize national fitness and recreational sports over seeking national pride from competitions like the Olympic Games, they also expect a better performance from the Chinese team at the Tokyo Games.

Being forgiven for losing to Great Britain does not mean the Chinese would be willing to see the national team lose to the Japanese, an arch-rival since WWII, Wang said.

"[I would like to hear] China's national anthem played in Tokyo again and again four years from now," Sina Weibo user "Feiji feiyuanle" said.

The Chinese national team will face stiff competition from the 2020 host country, even in some of China's traditional strengths, such as table tennis.

"We face greater challenges as our new team faces a Japanese squad which will come of age at the Tokyo Games," Kong Linghui, head coach of China's table tennis women's team, was quoted by Xinhua as saying.