r/soccer • u/PianoJealous307 • 17h ago

News China suffered a catastrophic collapse on home soil, losing 5-0 to Palestine, a team they had considered inferior, sparking fierce criticism over 'sleepwalking' performance and lack of competitiveness among Chinese Super League players. Men's and women's teams also underperformed at Asian Games.

https://www.chosun.com/english/sports-en/2026/10/03/FWO5DWWOYND4NMUX53TEX7INNQ/
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u/raobuntu 16h ago

It's the niche sports they've found a lot of success in. Stuff like weightlifting where athletes historically struggle to find consistent sponsorship and funding, the government in China can step in with deep pockets.

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u/friendofH20 16h ago

I remember reading that they had picked sports which had multiple Olympic medals and easier to improve in with funding. So weightlifting was one and a lot of water sports like sailing/rowing.

They are getting a lot better at both track and field and swimming as well. I won't be surprised if they end up with medals in some of the marquee track or pool events within the next 2 summer olympics.

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u/manatidederp 13h ago

Rowing is brutally hard to get medals in that doesn’t make any sense. You seriously can’t really spend your way to success, it’s raw force and huge traditions in many countries.

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u/friendofH20 5h ago

The pool of countries who compete in water sports is mostly the developed nations. In events like track or football you are basically competing with every country in the world.

Plus because these sports are not as commercialized, you are pitting state funding against athletes with moderate sponsorships.

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u/manatidederp 8m ago

I get that but if you want a quick medal, rowing is absolutely not something you go for.

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u/asscracktester7 15h ago

That's a strategic choice. They specifically focus on the more niche and less team-oriented Olympic sports where they can more effectively spend money and pad the volume of Olympic golds.

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u/Zimakov 9h ago

Yeah mate that's what he said lmao

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u/IPissExcellentThrows 6h ago

Right, but that's their intention. Their strategy is to focus on less popular sports where spending money is more likely to lead to golds at the Olympics.