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Pressure is on for Chinese Athletes to Perform Better

Despite a very impressive overall performance at the Asian Games, the Chinese athletics team is under intense pressure to perform even better. With the 2008 Olympic Games just around the corner, the Chinese government has invested time and money to bring its teams to peak performance so that they will not put themselves to shame as representatives of the host country.

The Chinese athletics team earned itself a whopping 165 gold medals in the recent Asian Games in Qatar ? more than double the number of medals (58) won by second placed Korea and three times more than Japan?s team that came in third place. Nevertheless, Mr. Liu Peng, chef de mission of the Chinese team said, ?We are well aware of our weaknesses when analyzing our performance. We must re-double our efforts to meet the coming greater challenges.?

The Chinese government invested personnel and finances in its athletics team and is expecting even better results than what was produced in the Asian Games ? an event that was viewed by many as a dress rehearsal for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Chinese sportsmen and women are keenly aware that they will be representing literally millions of people and the pressure is made tenfold more intense because there are many countries in the world with athletes who are better in certain fields, such as swimming.