【正文】
ese fans outside the Bird’s Nest were weeping over Mr. Liu’s withdrawal.Mr. Liu was not the only one under extreme pressure, a trend examined by my colleague Andrew Jacobs in Beijing. A weightlifter sobbed on national TV that he had “disgraced the motherland” for only getting a silver medal. Two Chinese women were among eight badminton players expelled from the London Games for allegedly gaming the system to improve their medal chances, an episode that led to lamentations in China of “pathetic” and “shameful” behavior.The People’s Daily said in a mentary that China’s obsession with gold medals and “championism” have eroded its spirit of sportsmanship.But the pressure on athletes and coaches is nothing new. When the Chinese high jumper Zhu Jianhua won “only” the bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics, the windows of his home were smashed by angry locals. When the splendid gymnast Li Ning failed to win a medal in 1988, after having won three golds for China in 1984, state media reported that “he was met with a tide of anger and even hate mail containing razor blades and ropes upon his arrival home.”For the London Games, pared to the Beijing medal haul, “if we win a few less gold medals, ordinary people could abuse us,” said Xiao Tian, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese Olympic delegation in London.Despite many acid remarks online decrying China’s pursuit of gold medals as overzealous, patriotism is alive and well. Perhaps it gets a little bit carried away at an Olympics. But what’s the difference between the “USA! USA!” chants at the basketball arena and the shouts of “China! Fight stronger!” at the table tennis venue? And what’s the