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'So insecure': China caught in petty Olympic medal tally furore

Andrew Reid
·4-min read
Pictured here, Team China at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games.
Team China is seen here at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Games. Pic: Getty

Chinese media has been mocked by users online after an embarrassing attempt to try and come out on top of the Olympic Games medal count.

The official standing after three enthralling weeks of competition saw the USA top the medal count after a thrilling final day in Tokyo.

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Team USA finished wth 39 gold, 40 silver and 33 bronze (112 medals overall), just ahead of China's 38 gold, 31 silver and 18 bronze (87 overall).

The rankings on the medal tables are always based on how many golds a country has, with the Americans pipping the Chinese on the final day of competition.

On Wednesday, China was sitting on 32 golds, ahead of the USA's 25, before an 11th hour surge by the Americans.

The USA was trailing China on the final day with three medal opportunities.

In a frantic finale to the Games though, the USA won the women's basketball against Japan in what proved to be a late flurry of gold for America.

Soon after, cyclist Jennifer Valente won gold in the women's omnium at the velodrome.

And to cap off a fantastic day for Team USA, the women's indoor volleyball team won their first ever Olympic gold medal.

This took the USA's overall tally to 39 gold.

In a dramatic twist, however, China's Li Qian had a chance to level the gold medal tally in the women's middleweight boxing.

But British boxer Lauren Price clinched victory to deny China another gold.

It meant that when all was said and done, the USA was once again the most successful country at the Olympic Games.

Seen here, the USA women's volleyball team celebrate winning gold on the left and China's Qian Li on the right.
USA overtook China in the Olympics medal tally after the women's volleyball team won gold (pictured left) and China's Qian Li (pictured right) picked up a silver medal. (Getty Images)

Chinese media called out after fudging medal table

It did not stop state media in China from trying to manipulate the medal tally by including medals won by Taiwan and Hong Kong in its own tally.

Both Taiwan and Hong Kong compete under their own flags at the Games as sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), yet China considers them both to be part of the communist country.

In a re-jigged medal tally sent out on social media platform Weibo, China Central Television had the Chinese on top of the standings on 42 gold medals - three ahead of USA's 39.

This screenshot shows the 'revised' Olympic medal table as reported by China Central Television.
A screenshot of the 'revised' medal table as reported by China Central Television. Pic: Twitter

Some Chinese social media users also clumped Macau on the extended "China" tally - giving them 42 golds, 37 silvers and 27 bronzes for a total count of 110.

The petty move led to widespread derision on social media.

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