China's Xi lauds Olympic team for 'morality and style' amid doping scrutiny

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Aug 20 hailed the Chinese Olympic delegation for maintaining high standards of "morality, style and cleanliness" in its pursuit of gold metals at the Paris Olympics.

His comment comes amid renewed scrutiny over doping issues involving Chinese swimmers and increased government efforts to address fan culture in sports after fans used social media to attack and spread rumours about the country's Olympians.

At the Great Hall of the People, Xi lauded the athletes for their achievements, exemplary discipline and manners.

"On the field, (Chinese Olympians) obeyed the rules, respected the opponents... maintained good race discipline and civilised etiquette," Xi said in his meeting with the athletes.

The Chinese swim team has faced heightened scrutiny since revelations in April that 23 swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication in 2021 but were permitted to compete in the Tokyo Olympics that year.

Swimmer Pan Zhanle, who set a world record in the 100m freestyle in Paris, disclosed that he underwent 21 doping tests from May to July prior to the Games.

China's anti-doping agency has hit back at the US Anti-Doping Agency for what it calls "hypocritical double standards", and has urged the International Testing Agency to increase testing of US track and field athletes.

China has increasingly focused on sports development, which Xi believes reflects the growing strength of the country itself.

The authorities have also actively addressed disruptive and aggressive fan behaviour. In early August, Beijing police arrested a woman suspected of defaming a table tennis player and her coach.

Pan, meanwhile, has disbanded his fan group page on social media platform Weibo and told state broadcaster CCTV that he prefers to maintain a low profile.

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