By Chen Jibing

At the Beijing Olympic Games, China topped the gold medal table for the first time. The relationship between medals and a country's sporting prowess, power, or sportsmanship itself has become a hot topic.

If judging by the medal table, I would unhesitatingly vote for Australia as the top 'Sporting Power' in the world. This country, with a population of 21 million, ranked sixth in the gold medal table and on total medal tally even fought its way into the top five. Next would be Holland and Britain: Holland, with a population of less than 19 million, ranked tenth on the gold medal table; Britain, with a population of over 60 million though, won 19 gold medals, ranking the fourth.

This is not as simple an evaluation as the so-called "per capita medal tally". If so, Jamaica, which won 11 medals, including 6 gold, but has only a population of less than 3 million, would be the Number 1 Sporting Power in the world. But in contrast to Jamaica, which won all its medals in a single sports discipline – sprinting – the three countries above won medals across a variety of events. This applies particularly to Australia, with its achievements across track & field and swimming, the "gold standards" of sporting endeavor.

Many people are now questioning China's fixation with 'putting gold medals first'. They believe that it negates the concept of 'building health through the promotion of sporting activity', which is itself a major factor in social development. But in my opinion, the Olympic Spirit and the objective of encouraging sporting activity are two different things. The Olympic Spirit embodies the constant pursuit of "higher, faster and stronger" and medals are simply a manifestation of that spirit. The point is not about the importance we attach to gold medals, but how we should win them.

I once spent several months living in Sweden, a model welfare state. The public sports facilities there are impressive. In Gothenburg, the second largest city, with a population of 800,000, there are several large public stadiums. Thousands of students go there after school to play football, basketball and tennis. These stadiums are free to citizens. Coaching and instruction by members of staff members are also available for free. At the weekend, a large number of people gather at these centers of activity for the whole city. More impressively, numerous golf courses and driving ranges line the rural roadsides, frequented by cute, lively kids rather than rich entrepreneurs. In an ordinary Swedish family, there are always one or two cars, a sailboat and three or four sleds. It is normal to see a basketball hoop or a swing in the driveway.