BEIJING: China has been swept by a wave of patriotism sparked by the country’s success at the London Olympics even the headline-grabbing scandals have not dampened the mood.
From table tennis and shooting to diving and swimming, the gold medals have poured in, and hundreds of millions of Chinese have been glued to the wall-to-wall coverage of the Games on state TV.
The controversies that have hit the country’s campaign, unproven claims of doping in the pool and a badminton match-throwing disturbance have largely been met with anger or defensiveness.
For a country that has always put huge emphasis on Olympic success to project itself as a leading world power, it is unsurprising that any setbacks to its carefully planned campaign are extremely sensitive.
Unsubstantiated allegations of doping levelled at swimmer Ye Shiwen, 16, who won gold in the women's 400m individual medley in a world-record time, sparked public outrage.
“The truth is that Westerners can’t accept the fact that the Chinese swimming team has improved enormously,” said Wang Hou, adding his voice to those of thousands of web users who have denounced what they see as the West’s arrogance.
And while there was some shame after badminton star Yu Yang retired from the sport after being disqualified for throwing a match, many chose to blame the system instead of the player.
China is at the top of the medal table, ahead of the second-placed United States, with 20 golds, 13 silvers and nine bronzes, and there are plenty more opportunities with a week of the Games still to go.
The country’s 2012 Olympics heroes so far include table tennis player Zhang Jike, swimmers Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, diver Wu Minxia and Yi Siling, who won in the 10m air rifle competition.
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