Behind the increasing number of gold medals Chinese athletes have bagged is the popularity of a wider range of sports in the past three decades. The more people that get involved in a particular sport will certainly provide more candidates for coaches to select from. The achievements of so many athletes in such a wide range of sports arouse more interest from more people.

A commentary in the English language newspaper China Daily says that an increasing number of gold medals for Chinese athletes in an increasingly wider range of sports are because more Chinese have developed an interest in the sports they did not take part in before. Now it is quite common for many to pay for their regular exercise such as swimming, tennis, table tennis or badminton at a sporting venue.

The paper also says that people should not only focus on the glory of medalists, but also on the persistent efforts they made to change their fates by hard work, sweat and toil. With a harvest of medals for China in these Olympic Games, more and more people are expected to take part in sporting activities. This will be one of the most valuable legacies the Games will leave for its host country.