In a country long focused on bringing home as many Olympic gold medals as possible, this years haul isnt what China expected.When Chinas 416-athlete delegation set off for Rio, state sports officials were banking on 30 to 36 gold medals. As the games end, it had won just 24 for the worst showing since Atlanta in 1996.Lagging in third place, Chinas total is a far cry from the countrys 51-gold performance in Beijing that topped the gold medal chart.But so what?The once-feverish obsession with the gold tally has slowly subsided among the Chinese public, which has shown more interest this year in lavishing adoration on athletes with personalities, such as bronze medalist Fu Yuanhui, rather than counting medals.Finally, the public desire for golds has returned to normal, said Lu Yuanzhen, a professor of sports at South China Normal University who has long argued that a mature nation should have a more relaxed attitude toward wins and losses in athletic competitions.The ordinary Chinese people have become more indifferent to the medal counts now they understand Olympic golds bear little impact on their real lives, Lu told The Associated Press.For decades, the Communist state has rallied national unity and pride on the countrys athletic performances on the world stage, especially in the Olympics. The entire country was moved to tears when Xu Haifeng, a pistol shooter, won the first gold Olympic medal for Communist China in Los Angeles in 1984. It was considered a sign that China finally was able to claim a place among world powers, a huge boost to national pride.The fever only grew as Beijing sought better Olympic performances and the ultimate goal of hosting the games. The Olympics was a national obsession, and gold medalists were household names and rewarded generously.Chinas gold medal tally climbed to 28 in Sydney, 32 in Athens and 51 in Beijing. In London, Chinese athletes still took away 38 gold medals and were second only to U.S. Olympians.But following the climax in Beijing, public obsession with Olympic golds began to fade, and voices of criticism grew louder against the state-run sports system credited with the countrys stellar Olympic performances.Critics argue the brutal system has sacrificed vast numbers of rank-and-file athletes, encouraged dishonesty -- such as doping, age alteration and game rigging -- in the name of national honor, and distanced sports from the public.When this years games began in Rio, state media lamented the lack of golds on the opening day, but Chinese sports fans stayed nonchalant. They were more interested in chasing athletes oozing with personality.The most telling example is Fu Yuanhui, a female swimmer who overnight became a social media sweetheart for claiming she had used primeval force in a semifinal. She eventually won a bronze. Shaped by the social media instead of the state parlance, Fus vernacular resonated with ordinary Chinese people, who were already bored with empty talks.Ning Zetao, another swimmer, came home empty-handed from Rio but still grabbed headlines because of his undiminished popularity back in China. And Chinese social media was full of encouraging words when swimmer Sun Yang failed to qualify for the 1,500-meter free style final, a sharp contrast to the days when the Chinese public hurled hurtful words at athletes failing to cinch the gold.The swimmers got a welcome from thousands of fans at a Beijing airport. Fu was scared. Nings appearance caused congestion, and besieged by fans seeking photographs and autographs, he could barely move.At recently as 2008, the public booed hurdler Liu Xiang when he could not get off the starting line in Beijing because of injuries.The public has gone to another extreme -- tolerance of non-champions and even adoration of them, wrote Li Ruyi, a veteran Chinese sports writer in a commentary on the news site ifeng.com.Under the most pressure are Chinese gymnasts, who came home with two bronzes this year, the worst performance ever in 32 years.It is also the first time that Team China, a longtime powerhouse in gymnastics, did not win a single gold since China returned to the Olympics in 1984. For the past several years, Chinas gymnastics officials have worried that the state system is running out of steam because the national team has a dwindling pool from which to recruit top talent, a consequence of isolating young talent in the state system.Even if there is more acceptance that every year wont bring a haul of gold, there is still a sense of alarm, and many dont like that China sits behind the United States and Great Britain in the race for golds.There are also whispers that Japan, the upcoming host of the 2020 Summer Olympics Games, could pose a threat to China. That prospect is likely to rekindle the countrys nationalistic sentiments, because of long-time animosity toward the neighboring country that invaded China and shamed the Middle Kingdom in the early 20th century.If the Chinese delegations achievements should indeed decline at this years Rio Olympic games, it begs some serious thoughts on the part of Chinas sports circle, wrote Liu Ge, a state media commentator in the party-run Global Times. The public can accept some mistakes and some failures, but the tolerance over the loss of one gold does not mean that Chinas sports circle should not care about the overall haul of golds and medals. Cheap NFL Jerseys .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. NFL Jerseys China . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. https://www.nflcheapjerseysfreeshipping.com/ . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Authentic NFL Jerseys China . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Cheap Football Jerseys . Its an influence in football and a big part of the game. When Alastair Cook and Ben Duckett strode into tea on 100 without loss it appeared England had given themselves the ideal base to push for a target of 273 in Mirpur. But the game changed the first ball after the interval and less than two hours later Bangladesh were celebrating a famous victory. Relive how ESPNcricinfos ball-by-ball commentary recorded Englands dramatic collapse.23.1 Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Duckett, OUT, skids through and Duckett is gone first ball! Stunning riposte from Mehedi, pushes through quicker, Duckett was playing for turn but was trapped on the back foot and in no position to save his stumps from being splattered!24.1 Shakib Al Hasan to Root, OUT, tossed up, nailed on the shin, and thats out! Root was non-committal on the front foot, he thinks for a moment then shakes his head and trots off to his death-bed. Should he have fronted up so soon after his illness? Its academic now ...31.2 Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Ballance, OUT, good grief, that is awful! A filthy long-hop, Ballance panicked himself into an aggressive response, and spanged a horrible leading edge high to mid-off! He traipses off in disgust, and Bangladesh have prised another opening!31.6 Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Ali, OUT, on the front foot, doesnt spin, spanks the pad and up goes the finger! Moeen reviews but this looked plumb to the naked eye. Halfway up the front foot, and no inside edge. Hitting leg and England are in strife once more!33.5 Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Cook, OUT, off the face of the bat and pocketed at silly point! That was a snaffle worthy of Eknath Solkar, just watching like a hawk as Cook loomed forward and keeping his hands soft on impact. AAmazing scenes, and that is ten in the match for Mehedi!37.dddddddddddd Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Bairstow, OUT, big inside edge, loops to leg slip for a dolly of a catch! Was a straight delivery, which gripped and turned to take the inside edge. Then flew off the pad for an easy catch. Another five-for for Mehedi42.3 Shakib Al Hasan to Stokes, OUT, done it! Shakib gets past Stokes outside edge with a straight delivery into off stump. Stokes goes down on his knees and Shakib brings out the salute celebration! Stokes just seemed to play down the wrong line. Straighter deliveries on this surface, offering so much, are dangerous42.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Rashid, OUT, first ball! With a ripper. This is quite full, Rashid is playing back, gets completely squared up. Hits the back leg. But he reviews. Has it pitched in line with leg stump? Thats the only question. Waiting for the graphics. Pitches in line. All over!42.6 Shakib Al Hasan to Ansari, OUT, three in four balls! Amazing scenes in Dhaka! Ansari flicks the ball off his pads and its grabbed by short leg, one of three men catching on the leg side. Actually, its even more amazing. Its a bobble from Mominul at short leg which is grabbed on the rebound by Imrul who is next to him45.3 Mehedi Hasan Miraz to Finn, OUT, its all over! Finn flicks across the line, gets taken on the back leg and Dharmasena raises the finger for one last time in this series. He was going to ask for a review, but England have none left. Mehedi finishes with 12 in the match, what a performance. ' ' '