Lower rewards for gold medals sign of the times

THE GOVERNMENT is paying China's gold medal winners at the Rio Olympics 200,000 yuan ($30,159), less than half the 500,000 yuan it paid the country's gold medal winners at the 2012 London Olympics. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:

The payments are not only material compensation for the sweat and tears the athletes have shed to win a medal, but also a carrot to encourage athletes to work hard to be the best. The less competitive in sports some countries are, the more they are willing to reward their athletes for winning an Olympic medal.

In the past, with the mindset of "gold medals above all else", all the nation's sports resources and facilities were devoted to winning Olympic medals.