Regimented system and robust network: The secret behind China's sporting rise

At the end of the 19th edition of the Asian Games, the medal tally, not surprisingly, has three familiar names on top - China, Japan, and South Korea. The three have featured in the top three in each edition since the 1978 Games and while Japan and Korea have often traded second and third places, China have rarely, if ever, relinquished pole position.

- SHANTANU SRIVASTAVA

China debuted at the Asian Games only in 1974-the Games began in 1951-and it took them two editions to warm up. The 'warm-up' meant a third- and a second-place finish in 1974 (106 medals) and 1978 (151 medals), and once China finished on top in 1982, they have proved an immovable rock.

Hangzhou marked the 11th consecutive Games where Chinese athletes proved to be the best in the continent, amassing 383 medals that make it their second most productive Asiad since Guangzhou 2010 when they claimed 415 medals. In terms of gold medals won, this was their best haul with 201, going past the 199 gold medals they won in 2010.

This year, China had more medals than Japan and South Korea combined, reasserting their status as the top sporting power in the continent. The domination has once again raised the jaded question: What makes China so good at sports? "That's a tough one to answer.

It's like writing a book," said Mark Dreyer, a journalist-turned-author who has written a book on the subject. Titled Sporting Superpower - An Insider's View on China's Quest to be the Best', Dreyer's book sought to answer the milliondollar question. But getting a granular understanding of the subject demands a deep dive into the Chinese social and cultural ethos where sport is not really a recreational pursuit but an unforgiving national brand-building exercise.