Sport authority 'sorry' for highlighting medal rankings

Former Chinese gymnastics world champion Zhang Shangwu shows his medals on the street in Beijing, 15 July 2011. Zhang, a gold-medal winner at the 2001 Beijing Universiade, retired because of injuries and later started busking in Beijing. [Photo/IC]

The General Administration of Sport of China (GASC), the country's top sports governing body, has apologized for a notice on its website that said results of the 13th National Games will be published based on medal rankings.

The announcement, published on Jan 30, was inconsistent with the sports authority's report on Jan 26, when a discipline inspection group of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) had finished examination into the administration as part of a national campaign of anti-corruption.

The Jan 26 report statement clearly said that it will no longer rank provincial teams by number of medals earned at the National Games, the country's biggest domestic sports event, or reward indirect contributors－local sports officials and supporting crews－for medal victories at the Olympic Games or Asian Games.

According to the Jan 26 report, GASC has vowed to drop the old "gold-is-everything" mentality in a "rectification report" after the inspection group discovered a number of malpractice cases and principle violations caused by the body's centralized bureaucracy.

The obsession with medals in Chinese sports circles has long been controversial. Medals may motivate athletes to train hard. But they also create incentives for such things as match-fixing and the use of performance-enhancing drugs when the rewards for winning at the Olympics or National Games are great.

The administration admitted their mistake and promised to rectify it. "We attach great importance to this issue. The notice got published without strict scrutiny and it was done in error. We will correct it and avoid repeating the mistake in the future," said Zhang Haifeng, a senior official in the General Administration of Sport of China.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s top anti-graft agency, said it will carry out investigation and trace accountability. "We will review every link of the chain and find out whether was done in accordance with rules and regulations," said Shi Zehua, deputy team leader of CCDI’s discipline inspection group.