The curtain came down on the 4th East Asian Games (EAGs)?in Macao yesterday, rounding off a nine-day, 234-event extravaganza that attracted over 1,900 athletes. The Chinese mainland topped the medal tally with 127 golds, followed by Japan with 46 and South Korea with 32.

A header goal from midfielder Chen Tao helped Chinese Mainland beat North Korea 1-0 in the soccer final yesterday afternoon to secure the mainland's?last gold and cap their dominance of the games.
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"In the first half my players controlled the game and in the second half tried to get scoring chances, but it was a very hard match," said national team coach Zhu Guanghu.

Also on the final day, Chinese Taipei beat Japan 60-55 to win the men's basketball title while their women's team lost to Chinese Mainland 71-67.

Ranked second in the 2004 Olympics medals table, the mainland dominated sports like swimming, diving, athletics, weightlifting, gymnastics, rowing and shooting, but also won golds in wushu, taekwondo, dancing and dragon boating.

Spearheaded by Liu Xiang and Olympic women's 10,000m winner Xing Huina, the mainland won 26 of 45 athletic events. Liu Xiang and Guo Jingjing, who were both mobbed on arrival, successfully defended their titles, while Luo Xuejuan, Olympic gold medalist in the women's 100m breaststroke, lost to her 13-year-old teammate Wang Qun.

Chinese mainland hauled 33 swimming golds while Japan, regarded as Asia's top power in the sport, won seven and South Korea picked up two.

Despite the overwhelming performance by the Chinese players at the games, domestic sports officials were quick to point out that the chasm in the medals table between the mainland and its neighbors was not a reflection of a gap in ability.

"Japan and South Korea didn't send their best. Some events the two countries are good at, such as judo and archery, are not included in the EAGs program," said Cui Dalin, deputy chef-de-mission of Chinese mainland yesterday.

The games' chief organizer Manuel Silverio said the total cost of the games was about US$500 million, one-third of Macao's 2004 revenue.

Australia, who sent over 300 athletes to Osaka, Japan for the 3rd EAGs in 2001, was excluded from the event in Macao due to their membership of the equivalent Oceanian organization, which is against EAGs admission rules.

Silverio said although the Australian Olympic Committee had long requested inclusion in the games, they finally decided to say no.

Since the EAGs began in Shanghai in 1993 with the aim of promoting sports exchanges between the national Olympic committees in the region, China and other members have paid more attention to the competitions, as did Australia.

On granting Australian permission to take part in the 3rd EAGs, the host Japan compromised by disallowing them to win medals.

It is possible for Australia to join the EAGs in the future, said Silverio, adding that "The crux of the matter is that Australia has to withdraw from the Oceanian organization first."

The next EAGs will be held in Hong Kong in 2009.

(China.org.cn, China Daily November 7, 2005)