China looks beyond medals at Asian Games

China has topped the medal table at the Asian Games on 11 consecutive occasions. While they are aiming for 12 in a row at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the success of their campaign in Japan will not be judged solely by the final tally of gold medals.

As the competition unfolds, the Games will test whether China can turn dominance in its traditional strongholds into a broader and more balanced sporting strength. That means building greater depth in athletics, swimming and aquatic sports, and seeking improvement in football, basketball and volleyball.

China has sent 815 athletes as part of its 1,274-member delegation to compete in 38 sports and 369 events. The athletes have an average age of 24, and 548 of them — nearly two-thirds of the team — are making their Asian Games debuts, placing generational renewal at the heart of the campaign.

The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which run from Sept 19 to Oct 4, will also offer a good indication of how the country's competitiveness in a broad range of sports is evolving in the run-up to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The framework for that assessment is the "633" strategy set out in the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for sports development, released by the General Administration of Sport of China in July. Sports administrators' stated goal is to build the country into a sports powerhouse.

The 633 plan places 12 sports into three categories. They are the six traditional strengths — diving, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, table tennis and badminton; three foundational sports — athletics, swimming and water sports; and the three major ball sports — football, basketball and volleyball.

At a State Council Information Office news conference in Beijing on Sept 3, Gao Zhidan, minister of the General Administration of Sport of China, said the country would "promote the comprehensive and balanced development of competitive sports". This, he said, requires a strategic shift from "making breakthroughs in key areas" to "comprehensive development" centered on the 633 sports during the five-year period.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games provide a snapshot of that transition, with different sports facing different questions — from maintaining established advantages and renewing talent to expanding the competitive base and rebuilding strength in the three major ball sports.