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.
?
"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)
