MKsportsmen's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games on August 4, 2024. Photo: VCG " src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-08-04/64be4b5d-6645-4271-ad21-2e508b645ea8.jpeg" />

Chinese paddler Fan Zhendong defeats Truls Moregard of Sweden 4-1 to win the table tennis men's singles gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games on August 4, 2024. Photo: VCG

  

Chinese tennis player Zheng Qinwen celebrates her historic victory after winning in women's singles gold medal match against Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in France on August 3, 2024. Photo: IC

With 18 golds, China was sitting on top of the Olympic gold medal table as of Sunday evening, followed by the US and host France, with many being claimed by Gen-Z athletes in fields outside China's traditional strengths. China also bagged 15 silvers and 9 bronzes so far.

Through the young generation's performance across the arenas, their interactions with other athletes and the audiences, and their voices in the media, the world can see a vibrant, confident, fashionable, friendly, brave and outspoken China, analysts said.

Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday that China has maintained its dominance in some traditional strengths such as diving, table tennis, badminton and shooting, but more importantly, Chinese athletes have achieved groundbreaking successes in swimming and tennis. 

The overall performances of the Chinese swimming team have served as a riposte to the skepticism and disregard that clouded the Chinese delegation. 

Gold medalist Pan Zhanle's world record breaking feat in the 100m freestyle swimming is as historic as hurdler Liu Xiang's victory in the 110m hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as "both triumphed in sports that European and American athletes had dominated for a long time," Liu Yu said. 

Pan, 19, broke his own world record to clinch gold on July 31, marking the first time a Chinese athlete has won gold in the men's 100m freestyle at an Olympic Games. 

"Given the abnormal frequency of doping tests and speculation from foreign media, the Chinese swimming team's performances are all the more remarkable," Liu Yu said. 

Another history maker is 21-year-old Zheng Qinwen who on Saturday became the first Asia-born player to claim gold in a tennis singles event at the Olympics, when she beat her opponent Croatia's Donna Vekic in straight sets. 

"Athletes like Pan and Zheng have become the national pride and they are sure to inspire younger generations in the years ahead," Liu Yu noted. 

Gen-Z athletes have also made their marks in the global sporting showpiece through their unique demeanor and relaxed attitude, which have captured the attention and admiration of spectators worldwide.

Chinese shooters Huang Yu-ting and Sheng Lihao, who clinched China's first gold in Paris 2024 in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, gained widespread attention for their interesting internet names and their composure in intense competition on Chinese social media. 

The attitude and demeanor of Gen-Z athletes have shifted people's focus from tallying gold medals to embracing the excitement of sports and the true spirit of the Olympics, Liu Yu said. 

The average age of the Chinese sports delegation to the Paris Games is 25. Eleven-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest member of the Chinese delegation, is one of the Gen-Z athletes aiming for medals in emerging Olympic sports. Many of her peers are striving in sports such as breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing. 

Outspoken, brave and friendly

The performance of Chinese athletes in "Western-dominated" sports like swimming and tennis has become a loud response to biased comments, disrespectful actions and even groundless accusations with racist opinions from some people and media in the West. 

Swimmer Pan revealed to media the disrespectful behaviors he felt from Australian and US swimmers in a relay event, and responded with his clean record and gold medal. 

When some Western media continue the doping smears, Zhang Yufei, a female swimmer and bronze medalist in Paris, rebuffed the skepticism over Pan's new world record at a press conference on Thursday with confidence. 

 Zhang lays bare Western double standards by asking "Why are Chinese athletes questioned when they achieve fast times, yet no one doubted Michael Phelps when he won seven or eight gold medals? Similarly, Katie Ledecky has dominated long-distance swimming from 2012 to 2024, winning gold in every event, yet no one questioned her performances?" 

Li Xiang, a sports commentator and Olympics reporter, told the Global Times on Sunday that these Chinese athletes have shown that China's Gen-Zers will not tolerate or keep silent to the provocations, and they will fight back directly. More importantly, they are capable of responding to groundless, biased and even racist accusations with their strengths and performance in the arenas. 

They can represent China's image in the new era to the world. They are outspoken with an attitude, interact with their peer athletes and spectators positively and serve as "envoys of people-to-people exchanges," Li noted. 

After Chinese pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha claimed gold for table tennis mixed doubles on July 30, they asked North Korean silver medalists Ri Jong-sik and Kim Kum-yong and South Korean bronze medalists Shin Yu-bin and Lim Jong-hoon to pose for a group selfie.

It was a perfect portrayal of sports' capacity to unite, as the athletes' smiles illuminated the sentiment that triumphs and titles, though important, are not the only takeaways, said a comment published on August 2 by the Xinhua News Agency.

Some Western media have always been trying to depict China as a rigid authoritarian country with no freedom and fun, and that Chinese people are not cool at all, but Chinese Gen-Z athletes tell the opposite story in Paris, breaking bias and lies circulating in the West.

"They are the best symbols of China's soft power today," Li noted.