China's long march to Olympic glory sets new benchmarks

Beijing: As the XXIXth Olympic Games wind down, one thing is clear that the United States of America is no longer the world's top sporting nation.

China has now over taken USA in the medals tally by a huge margin and won't just finish on top but have already set new benchmarks for the world to follow.

There are 302 events that are being played out in a span of just over two weeks and the Beijing Olympics have truly lived up to the expectations of every sporting fan in the world.

But China has done more than just be good hosts. They have also become the world's biggest sporting superpower and it is a country that won it's first Olympic gold only in 1984.

Now in just a little over 20 years they have stumped the world with their sporting prowess.

"The most important thing is that we had the confidence. I admit that we did think a lot before going to sleep at night, about how we can give a good performance on the competition and about what we should do if we fail. Anyway, we made it with our confidence which helps us challenge all kinds of problems," Yang Wei, China's Olympic gymnast, says.

With the gold for only a few events yet to be decided and the Chinese leading the medals tally by a big margin, a change in the rankings before the Games end seems unlikely.

"I think that first place for gold medals is definitely out of their (USA) reach," Wang Hailang, a Beijing resident, says.

The Chinese dominated not only the events that are traditionally their domain - the atheletes that ventured into newer events too returned with a rich haul only adding to the joys of their countrymen.

"So now this proves even more that we are a strong nation in sports. It shows the nation's strength has grown, so as a Chinese person, I'm very proud. Today I dressed up and I've got my flag - to let everyone see I'm a Chinese person," Meng Zhihan, an ethnic Mongolian living in Beijing, adds.

It's been an incredible journey from China - from being just another Asian country struggling to make a mark in sports, to the international giants of the sporting arena - overshadowing even the USA.

(With inputs from Mendra Dorjey and Rudraneil Sengupta)