Gold medal for public participation

Watching Chinese weightlifter Wu Jingbiao burst into painful tears, and bow and apologize in front of cameras after having to settle for a silver medal at the London Olympic Games was nothing but heartbreaking.

The 23-year-old's tears should not have been for failing to win the gold. Instead, they should have been tears of happiness. After all, a silver medal also represents triumph, although many expected him to win the gold.

No one should blame Wu, not even the athlete himself. Athletes should be applauded and celebrated as long as they try their best, regardless of what place they finish in a contest. This Olympic spirit, however, is not well understood by most Chinese, officials and the public alike.

Many Chinese still believe that the gold medal tally at the Olympics is proof of a country's strength in sports. Many may recall the humiliation in the 1936 Berlin Games when all but one Chinese athlete was eliminated in the preliminaries. It resulted in a Singapore-based newspaper mocking China as the "Sick Man of East Asia".

Chinese sharpshooter Xu Haifeng's gold medal in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles is widely regarded as an achievement that finally washed that disgrace off the Chinese athletes.

From then on, Chinese have proved that they can win gold medals, and lots of them, as was seen at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where China bagged 51 gold, more than any other country. China has proved that again during the first six days of the 2012 London Olympics.

There is nothing more to prove for China. And there is no need for Chinese to be obsessed with gold medals any more.

Wu's apology was apparently because of the high expectation people had from him. China's central and local governments have invested huge amounts to train each Olympic athlete and coaches have tried their best to prepare them for the events. As a result, the nation is infatuated with gold medals.

Perhaps that's why silver and bronze medalists, who too are great athletes, are often treated like losers. For example, Yi Siling was in the spotlight for winning China's first gold medal in 10-meter air rifle at the London Olympics, but bronze medalist Yu Dan was largely forgotten.

The good thing is that there seems to be a mass awakening on such blind pursuit and worship of gold medals. In news media and blogs both, people have voiced their support for Wu and condemned the over-glorification of gold medals.

We should start a debate on whether the gold medal tally really reflects the strength of a nation.

Despite China winning more gold medals than any other country in 2008, sports at the grassroots level in the country has long been ill funded and always lacked facilities.

My colleagues and I play soccer every weekend in Manhattan and Queens of New York City, and I know it is almost impossible to find such a field for free in either Shanghai or Beijing. In Beijing, you have to pay 1,500 yuan ($240) to rent a soccer field for two hours in a university opposite the China Daily office.

The lack of sports facilities in China has discouraged public participation in sports. It is in sharp contrast to what I have seen in cities outside China.

The Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for example, has two great museums for Afro-Brazil and contemporary art.

Yet what impressed me most during my visit there a month ago was the influx of young people jogging, biking and skateboarding in the park. That is also a daily scene in New York Central Park and along the banks of the Hudson River.

China has invested immensely in the Olympics for the sake of national pride, but it is public participation in sports that is worth more than all the gold medals. It is also a true reflection of a nation's strength.

The author, based in New York, is Deputy Editor of China Daily USA. Email: chenweihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/04/2012 page6)