Team China ends Paris campaign on high note

At Beijing 2008, it won 48 gold medals and 100 overall.

On Sunday, the United States edged past China to finish on top of the Paris Olympics chart with a total medal haul of 126, including 40 golds.

The first-ever clean sweep of all eight gold medals up for grabs in the Olympic diving discipline by China's "dream team" and the world-conquering Chinese table tennis squad's complete collection of all five titles have only cemented the nation's stranglehold on these sports.

More encouraging, a series of major breakthroughs — such as China's first tennis singles Olympic gold, won by women's ace Zheng Qinwen, swimming prodigy Pan Zhanle's world record-breaking win in the men's 100m freestyle and teen cyclist Deng Yawen's trailblazing golden finish in BMX freestyle park — have all heralded China's strong foray into Western-dominated sports with much balanced athletic prowess.

Zhou Jinqiang, vice-president of the Chinese delegation, said on Sunday at a news conference in Paris that the overall performance at the Games could be summed up with one word-"breakthrough".