Attitude to sport changed

Seen from the largest-ever delegation of athletes China sent and the restricted participation of Russian athletes, Chinese athletes were expected to give a commendable performance at the Rio Olympics.

However, halfway through the games China lies third in the medal table, which heralds the possibility that Chinese athletes may reap fewer gold medals than in previous games.

Since the Athens Olympics in 2004, China has always been higher than third in the medals table, and Chinese have come to consider being first or second normal for the Chinese team.