China scored a perfect 100. They showcased the best Olympics so far, and also scored in the sporting field. They had shown signs of taking over the sporting arena, since the split up of the erstwhile USSR into many smaller nations. In the period of cold war, the US and USSR had a competition about outscoring each other in the medal tally. The USSR lead the way many times, much to the accusation of the US, that it was not all through fair means. Today, China has taken the mantel from the old USSR.
It is important to realize that this sporting establishment that started by only supporting amateurs, today has become the most professionally managed sporting establishment. It requires consistent and long term planning of the state, corporate and willing individuals to put themselves through torture for many years to achieve the success they seek. No wonder, smaller nations, with priority in terms of daily bread etc, are not so appropriately represented in the medal table. Hmmmm!! That sounds like a nice refuge for countries like India to hide under.
