1974: The Men’s and Women’s Competitions at the Asian Games

Gymnastics was new to the Asian Games in 1974, and there were a few surprises.

First, China was present. Though China was competing in more dual meets in countries like Romania and the United States, China was not part of the FIG or the IOC at the time due to the organizations’ recognition of Taiwan. The organizers of the Asian Games broke ranks by inviting China and revoking Taiwan’s membership. This was a big deal at the time. (More on that below.)

Second, China had quite the medal haul. On the women’s side, Chinese gymnasts swept the all-around podium, and on the men’s side, China won the men’s team title, beating Japan. The competition was held just weeks before the World Championships in Varna — with the Asian Games happening in early September and the World Championships in late October. As a result, Japan did not send its top gymnasts to the Asian Games, and to make matters worse, one of Japan’s gymnasts tore his Achilles during the first event.

As you’ll see below, Arthur Gander, the president of the FIG, took an essentialist position and attributed China’s success to their bodies, stating, “A Chinese is a very well-formed human being, better formed than a Japanese, for instance.” (Because all Chinese people have the same body?)

Finally — and maybe this is less of a surprise — there was reportedly tension between the North and South Korean delegations.

Quick Links: Men’s Results | Women’s Results | The FIG’s Stance on China | Japan’s Perspective | China’s Perspective | Confrontation between North and South Korea | Arthur Gander’s Perspective | Video | China’s Involvement in the Asian Games

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Men’s Results

Team

1. China	277.90
2. Japan	275.90
3. North Korea	273.55

A further breakdown of China’s scores:

FX	45.40
PH	46.20
SR	45.90
VT	46.00
PB	46.85
HB	47.55
Total	277.90

All-Around

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Horide, Kazuo	JPN	113.20
2. Cai, Huanzong	CHN	112.80
3. Lee, Youngtaek	KOR	110.55

Floor

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Horide, Kazuo	JPN	19.15
2. Song, Soon-bong	PRK	18.55
3. Kim, Sung Il	PRK	18.50

Pommel Horse

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Cai, Huanzong	CHN	19.15
2. Yang, Mingming	CHN	18.95
3. Kim, Gukhwan	KOR	18.75

Rings

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Kim, Gukhwan	KOR	18.90
2. Liao, Runtian	CHN	18.80
3. Song, Soon-bong	PRK	18.65

Vault

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Horide, Kazuo	JPN	19.38
2. Cai, Huanzong	CHN	18.98
3. Nozawa, Hideyuki	JPN	18.70

Parallel Bars

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Lee, Youngtaek	KOR	19.10
2. Nozawa, Hideyuki	JPN	19.05
3. Cai, Huanzong	CHN	19.05

High Bar

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Cai, Huanzong	CHN	19.40
2. Horide, Kazuo	JPN	19.25
3. Pan, Chenfei	CHN	19.15

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Women’s Results

Team

China	187.55
North Korea	186.95
Japan	183.95

Further breakdown of China’s scores:

VT	46.75
UB	46.70
BB	46.30
FX	47.80
Total	187.55

All-Around

Gymnast	Country	Total
1. Jiang, Shaoyi	CHN	75.95
2. Ning, Xiaolin	CHN	75.45
3. Xin, Guiqiu	CHN	75.25

Vault

1. Yoshida, Reiko	JPN	18.90
2. Hwang, Joya	PRK	18.75
3. Jo, Yoon-hi	PRK	18.70

Uneven Bars

1T. Jo, Yoon-hi	PRK	19.00
1T. Jiang, Shaoyi	CHN	19.00
3. Hwang, Joya	PRK	18.80

Balance Beam

1. Jiang, Shaoyi	CHN	19.10
2. Xin, Guiqiu	CHN	19.00
3. Jo, Yoon-hi	PRK	18.75

Floor Exercise

1. Jiang, Shaoyi	CHN	19.35
2. Ning, Xiaolin	CHN	19.15
3. Jo, Yoon-hi	PRK	19.00

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FIG’s Stance on China’s Inclusion

The FIG was not pleased that the People’s Republic of China was invited instead of Taiwan. (Reminder: China had left the FIG in 1964 over the “Two Chinas” policy.) Here’s what was recorded in the FIG’s bulletin:

In order to take part in the Asiatic Games, the federations must belong to this organization. As Taiwan no longer belongs to the “Federation for Asiatic Games,” it is decided by applying Art. 12 of the FIG statutes that there is nothing to prevent the gymnasts of the People’s Republic of China [from] participating in the Asiatic Games. However, the Executive Committee in its entirely [sic] deplores the fact that the organizatory committee has not seen fit to invite Taiwan who is a member of he [sic] FIG.

Bulletin of Information, no. 2, 1974

This was from the Extract from the Minutes of the Executive Commitee Meetings held in Bienne April 10-14, 1974

Note: This was published before the competition began. You can read Arthur Gander’s thoughts after the competition below.

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Japan’s Perspective

Japan decided to send the country’s top gymnasts only to the World Championships, and when Igarashi Takeo tore his Achilles tendon during the first event, the team found themselves in a pickle. Here’s what the Japan Times, an English-language newspaper, reported.

Injury May Have Cost Japan Gold: Official

Toshihiko Sasano, vice president of the Japan Gymnastic Association and sport supervisor of the Japanese delegation in the Asian Games village, said in a telephone interview that Takeo Igarashi, 23, cut [i.e torn] his Achilles tendo[n] in his right leg in the first event, the floor exercise, and had to withdraw.

Sasano said Igarashi would undergo an operation Wednesday and would not be able to compete for at least a year.

Sasano said another top competitor, Kenji Igarashi, 23, was not in top form because he had injured his right hip while training four days ago.

“I do not intend to offer any excuse for our team’s defeat,” Sasano said.

Sasano said Japan’s top competitors in both men’s and women’s teams did not come to Tehran because they are in Japan training for the world championships in Bulgaria next month.

“We are in no way making light of the Asian Games but we have what we think a more important objective of preparing for the men’s teams fourth straight victory in the World Championships and also for the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976.

“The World Championships in Bulgaria next month have an important bearing on our competition in the Montreal Olympics,” Sasano said.

Sasano said the gymnastic men and women’s team events for the World Championships and the Asian Games were selected on Aug. 1.

“We didn’t want to take any chance of injuring in Tehran our competitors in the World Championships,” Sasano said.

“We are aware of the caliber of the Chinese in gymnastics,” Sasano said. “We went to China for two weeks in July. As a courtesy to them, we had our top member[s] compete. We won without difficulty.”

“We brought some of our most promising young competitors here and we believed we could beat the Chinese in the men’s team event,” Sasano said. “As for the women’s team event, we thought the Chinese would be better because they are somewhat superior to the Japanese.”

Japan Times, September 5, 1974

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China’s Perspective

“Friendship first, competition second” was the official mantra as Chinese athletes began competing globally, and it was through that lens that Chinese newspapers reported on the gymnastics competition at the Asian Games.

You can see that sentiment in one newspaper’s report on the women’s all-around:

Results of our athletes on September 4

According to Xinhua News Agency, Tehran, September 4, 1974, tonight, three five-star red flags were raised simultaneously in the gymnasium of the 7th Asian Games. Chinese gymnasts Jiang Shaoyi, Ning Xiaolin, and Xin Guiqiu won the women’s individual gymnastics medal respectively. The top three in the all-around final.

A total of twelve athletes from China, North Korea, Japan, Iran and other teams participated in tonight’s women’s gymnastics individual all-around final. The athletes who won the fourth, fifth and sixth place in this competition were North Korea’s Zhao Yunxi, Kim Chunshan and Huang Chaoye respectively.

The three Chinese women helped and encouraged each other in tonight’s competition. Twenty-seven-year-old Jiang Shaoyi moved skillfully, gracefully, and accurately in the four events. Her floor routine was well received by the audience. She scored 9.55 points for her floor routine gymnastics performance. The scores for the other three events were: 9.55 points for vault, 9.60 points for balance beam, and 9.40 points for uneven bars.

At the end of the competition, when the electric scoreboard showed three Chinese athletes won the top three women’s individual all-around finals, the audience applauded. Athletes and coaches from many countries came up to the Chinese athletes and hugged or shook hands with them. Many Iranian friends in the audience waved to the Chinese athletes on the competition field.

Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September 05, 1974

我国运动员九月四日比赛成绩
据新华社德黑兰一九七四年九月四日电　今天晚上，在第七届亚运会的体操馆里同时升起了三面五星红旗，中国体操运动员蒋绍毅、宁小琳、辛桂秋分别获得女子体操个人全能决赛的前三名。

参加今晚女子体操个人全能决赛的有中国、朝鲜、日本、伊朗等队的选手共十二名。获得这项比赛第四、第五和第六名的选手分别是朝鲜的赵允希、金春善、黄朝野。

三名中国女选手在今晚的比赛中，互相帮助、互相鼓励。二十七岁的蒋绍毅在四个项目的比赛中动作娴熟、优美、准确。她的自由体操，受到观众的好评。她的自由体操表演，得了九点五五分，其他三个项目的成绩分别为：跳马九点五五分，平衡木九点六○分，高低杠九点四○分。

比赛结束时，当电动记分牌上显示出中国三名运动员获得女子个人全能决赛前三名时，全场掌声雷动。许多国家的运动员、教练员走到中国选手面前，同她们亲切拥抱或握手。观众席上的许多伊朗朋友，向比赛场地上的中国运动员频频招手。

Note: Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily) is the official newspaper of the People’s Republic of China’s Central Military Commission.

A similar sentiment was highlighted in the recap article when the gymnastics competition concluded:

New Developments in Asian Gymnastics

According to Xinhua News Agency, Tehran, September 7, 1974. On the evening of September 6, when the last competitor in the horizontal bar final successfully completed his movements, the gymnastics competition of the Seventh Asian Games came to a triumphant end amidst the enthusiastic cheers of more than 10,000 spectators. Since the gymnastics competition of the 7th Asian Games started on September 2, the gymnasts from various countries have been praised by the audience for their high and exquisite skills, as well as their tenacious and tough wills and the style of mutual encouragement, solidarity and friendship they have shown during the competition. The high technical level and good style of competition are the remarkable features of this gymnastic competition.

Gymnastics in Asia has developed rapidly in recent years. In order to adapt to this situation, this Asian Games has added gymnastics for the first time.

The Chinese gymnastics team, which participated in a large-scale international competition for the first time since the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, came to Tehran with the ardent hopes of the party and the people on its shoulders. They carried forward the spirit of heroism, tenacity, and collectivism, brought the old to the new, promoted each other, fought in unity, and achieved outstanding results in the competition. Among the 14 events in the gymnastics competition, they won first place in eight events, including the men’s and women’s team competitions and the women’s individual all-around. Chinese gymnasts’ noble style, good technique, brand-new revolutionary spirit, and healthy shape displayed in the competition have been praised by the audience. They have won honor for the socialist motherland and contributed to the promotion of friendship and unity in the Asian sports community.

North Korean male and female gymnasts from the “Land of Thousand Miles” also achieved good results in the competition. Their brave and tenacious revolutionary spirit and hard-working and strict-demanding style left a deep impression on people. The North Korean women’s team, with an average age of only 16 years old, was the second team behind the Chinese team by only a little. On uneven bars, floor exercise, and other events, they have high difficulty in movements, new routines, and high levels. Seventeen-year-old Zhao Yunxi tied for first place with China’s Jiang Shaoyi on uneven bars. The North Korean men’s team, which has a prestigious reputation in the world, won third place this time.

The Japanese team sent Kazuo Horide, Takeo Igarashi, Kazuo Hanyu, and other outstanding athletes who participated in many international competitions to participate in this Asian Games. During the game, Takeo Igarashi and another male athlete were injured accidentally, which affected their results. However, the Japanese team still achieved good results, such as second place in the men’s team competition, third place in the women’s team competition, and first place in the men’s individual all-around.

Although the competition was intense, the whole game was always filled with a warm atmosphere of unity and friendship. Athletes from China, North Korea, Japan, Iran, Kuwait, and other countries have conducted joint training and friendly exchanges in the days before the competition, further enhancing their friendship. During the competition, they encouraged each other, helped each other, cared for each other, and there were many touching scenes. When Chinese athlete Cai Huanzong participated in the men’s individual all-around final, his body was a little uncomfortable. The North Korean and Kuwaiti athletes present took the initiative to massage him, so that he could relax his muscles and perform better in the competition. After the Japanese athlete Takeo Igarashi suffered a fall, the Chinese male athlete went to visit him. When a contestant performed successfully, contestants from many countries came forward to express their congratulations; when someone failed accidentally, friends gathered around to comfort and encourage him.

Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September  08, 1974

亚洲体操运动的新发展

据新华社德黑兰一九七四年九月七日电　九月六日晚，当参加单杠决赛的最后一名选手成功地完成自己的动作后，第七届亚运会的体操比赛在一万多名观众的热烈欢呼声中胜利结束了。第七届亚运会的体操比赛自九月二日开始以来，各国体操运动员在比赛中表演的高超、精湛的技巧，以及他们表现出来的顽强坚韧的意志和互相鼓励、团结友好的作风，受到观众的称赞。技术水平高，比赛风格好，是这次体操比赛的显著特点。


亚洲的体操运动近年来有了很快的发展，为了适应这种形势，本届亚运会第一次设置了体操的比赛项目。


无产阶级文化大革命以来第一次参加大型国际比赛的中国体操队，肩负着党和人民的殷切希望来到德黑兰。他们发扬英勇顽强和集体主义的精神，以老带新，互相促进，团结战斗，比赛中取得了出色的成绩。在体操比赛的十四个项目中，他们荣获男、女团体，女子个人全能等八个项目的第一名。我国体操运动员的高尚风格、良好技术和在比赛中表现出来的崭新的革命的精神风貌以及健康的造型，得到了广大观众的称赞。他们为社会主义祖国赢得了荣誉，也为增进亚洲体育界的友好与团结作出了贡献。


来自“千里马之国”的朝鲜男、女体操选手，在比赛中也获得很好的成绩。他们的勇敢顽强的革命精神和从难从严要求的作风，给人们以深刻的印象。平均年龄只有十六岁的朝鲜女队，仅以微弱的分数落后于中国队而取得团体第二名。她们在高低杠、自由体操等项目中，动作难度高，编排新，具有较高的水平。十七岁的赵允希在高低杠单项比赛中，和中国的蒋绍毅并列第一名。在国际上有一定声望的朝鲜男队，这次获得团体第三名。

日本队派出了多次参加国际比赛的堀出一夫、五十岚健夫、羽生和永等优秀选手参加这届亚运会。比赛中，五十岚健夫和另一名男队员不慎受伤，使成绩受到一些影响。但是，日本队还是取得男子团体第二名、女子团体第三名和男子个人全能第一名等好成绩。


东道主伊朗和科威特等国的体操队建队的历史虽然比较短，但他们虚心向其他国家的选手们学习，决心为发展亚洲的体操运动作出自己的努力。伊朗女队是在今年六月经过全国选拔赛后才开始建队的，从集中训练到现在还不到三个月。为了迎接亚运会，她们不顾天气炎热，坚持刻苦训练，技术水平有了很大的提高。特别是伊朗全国女子全能冠军达瓦卢格亚贾尔，在比赛中表现突出，进入了全能决赛的前十二名。


亚洲的体操运动，在高难度方面不断有所突破和发展。在比赛中，各国运动员表演了许多具有世界水平的高难度动作，就充分地反映了这一特点。许多选手在跳马项目中都跳出了难、新动作。特别是日本的堀出一夫，他的手翻接前空翻转体一百八十度再接后空翻转体一百八十度腾越，尤为惊险、优美。朝鲜选手金成日的单杠动作也很精彩，他的下杠动作是后空翻两周加转体一百八十度下，幅度大，落地稳。中国的蔡焕宗在鞍马中做出的单环直接挺身转体二百七十度，动作干净利落，姿态轻松优美。这些情况表明，各国选手为了提高亚洲体操运动的水平，正在作出积极的努力。


整个比赛尽管争夺紧张激烈，但始终充满着团结友好的热烈气氛。中国和朝鲜、日本、伊朗、科威特等国家的运动员，早在赛前的日子里，就进行了共同训练和友好交往，进一步增进了彼此的友情。比赛中，他们互相鼓励，互相帮助，互相关怀，出现了许多动人的场景。中国运动员蔡焕宗在参加男子个人全能决赛时，身体有些不舒服，在场的朝鲜和科威特运动员便主动为他进行按摩，使他放松肌肉，在比赛中发挥更好的水平。日本队员五十岚健夫不幸摔伤后，中国男运动员前去探望他。当一个选手表演成功时，许多国家的选手都纷纷上前表示祝贺；当有人动作不慎失败时，朋友们就围上去给他安慰和勉励。

The Chinese press also gave us some insight into the skills competed by a few gymnasts:

Jiang Shaoyi, a well-known Chinese athlete, gave an exciting performance on the uneven bars. Her actions include high-level moves such as doing a forward somersault from the low bar and then grabbing the high bar, and finally a full-twisting hecht dismount off the high bar and over the low bar. When she finished a set of movements and stood firmly on the mat, the audience burst into thunderous applause.

In the horizontal bar final, Cai Huanzong successfully made a difficult movement of L-grip connected with a single-arm turn of 360 degrees and later a double flyaway to finish during the final on high bar. This set of movements was very beautiful and novel, and won enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Jiefangjun Bao (PLA Daily), September  07, 1974

我国著名选手蒋绍毅在高低杠上的出色表演，扣人心弦。她的动作包括弹低杠前空翻再抓高杠等难度很高的动作，最后以高杠腾身回环弹低杠转体三百六十度下。当她做完一整套动作，稳稳当当地站在垫子上时，全场响起了雷鸣般的掌声。

蔡焕宗在单杠决赛中成功地做出了扭臂握接单臂转体三百六十度的高难度动作，后空翻两周下。这套动作做得非常优美、新颖，赢得观众的热烈掌声。

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Confrontation between North and South Korea

According to the South Korean press, there was a lot of tension between the North Korean and South Korean delegations.

Unforgivable rampage by coach and athletes from North Korea

…On the 3rd day of the Asian Games gymnastics event, North Korean coach and athletes vented their frustrations by uttering profanities and even attempted to assault Kim Sangmin, the judge from South Korea, resulting in the audience’s displeasure.

The reason behind their irrational behavior outside the competition venue was the belief that Judge Kim did not award them fair scores.

However, ironically, in the men’s gymnastics event on the 2nd day, it was judges from North Korea who gave unfair scores.

Among the four judges, two were from North Korea, and while they lowered the scores of South Korean athletes, they gave high scores to North Korean athletes, causing South Korean athletes to fall behind by as much as 1.75 points in the gymnastics event.

Chosun Ilbo, September 5, 1974

북괴(北傀)감독—선수(選手) 행패극심

…북괴(北傀)감독과 선수들은3일 아시아경기 체조종목에서 불순한 욕지거리를퍼붓고평행봉국제심판인 한국(韓國)의 김상민(金尚民)씨를 구타하려고 시도하여 관중들의 빈축을샀다.

경기장밖에서의 그들의 이같은 몰상식한 행동의 이유인즉 김(金)심판이 그들에게 공정한 점수를주지않았다는것.

그러나 정작 2일 남자 도수경기에서 불공정한 평점을매긴것은 북괴(北傀)심판들이었다.

심판4명중 2명은 북괴(北傀)심판들인데 그들은 한국(韓國)선수들의 점수는 깎아내리면서도북괴(北傀)선수들에게는 좋은 점수를주어 이때문에 한국(韓國)선수들이도수종목에서만도 1·75포인트나 뒤지는 결과를 초래했다.

Note: I have no way to research North Korea’s perspective on the events.

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Arthur Gander’s Thoughts

Gander, the FIG’s president at the time, gave his thoughts on the Chinese gymnasts, confessing that he did not like where gymnastics was heading. (Reminder: In 1973, the Women’s Technical Committee had tried to ban Olga Korbut’s skills.) According to him, there were too many acrobatics, and the Chinese were preserving the artistic side of the sport. As mentioned in the introduction, he also engaged in essentialism, saying that Chinese gymnasts have the right body types for the sport.

Meanwhile the Japanese were thinking it was a pity that they had left their eight top gymnasts at home to prepare for the world championship next month at Varna, Bulgaria. Led by 27-year-old Chiang Shao-yi, the Chinese women won nine gymnastics medals, including five gold, and they had onlookers wondering what they will do for an encore after they gain international experience. The Chinese men were not nearly as strong but they took nine medals as well, not bad for a bunch of beginners.

“We have worked very hard for a year,” Chiang said. She has been a gymnast since she was an 11-year-old primary school student in Yunnan province. Now she is an instructor in her sport at the Physical Culture and Sports Institute in Peking. Gymnastics have always been popular in China, she explained, especially among students, but it has been only during the last 20 years that artistic gymnastics have been widely practiced.

“The main thing is to improve or raise the standard through friendly exchanges,” she said. “For instance, we visited the United States last year and we learned a lot from the American players.” Quite a lot, it appears. On Tuesday the Chinese men and women won the team titles. The next day Chiang and teammates Ning Hsiao-lin and Hsin Kuei-chiu finished 1-2-3 in the all-round, and two nights later Chiang was brilliant as she won three of four possible gold medals and had an almost perfect 19.35 (out of 20) for her two performances on the floor. The same evening Tsai Huan-tsung won four medals for the men to boost the Chinese gymnasts’ total to 18.

Arthur Gander is the president of FIG, the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique. He is a German Swiss who wears baggy pants and has a tendency to pound the table when he speaks. He was once a member of the Swiss national gymnastic team and had been a gym teacher until his retirement. And he was aghast at the expulsion of Taiwan from the Asian Games, but the Chinese gymnasts won him over with their performances.

“There is no event in which they are lagging,” Gander said. “They are equally good in all. They have wonderful moves and technique, and a virtuosity and precision that is a rarity even among Japanese men. The trend in gymnastics is toward acrobatics, as demonstrated by Olga Korbut. I’m not a fan of it, but it seems everyone is doing triple saults now, and triple twists, and quadruple twists. The art of gymnastics is suffering. The Chinese show more artistic performances. They are total perfection. To watch them makes your heart laugh.”

He found a table nearby and began to pound on it. “I did not expect them to be this good, but they convinced me. A Chinese is a very well-formed human being, better formed than a Japanese, for instance.” He pounded some more. “Or a Swiss. That is one advantage. The Chinese men are most beautiful, and the women are better formed than most women from other countries as well.”

Because they do not belong to FIG, the Chinese were performing at a disadvantage. As outsiders, they were not able to place a judge on the panel. “There was another thing regarding the rules,” said Gander. “Every other team practiced in the big hall where the competitions took, place although it was against the rules. Nobody said anything. The Chinese were the only ones following the rules and practicing in the practice hall. They like to keep in the background.”

“A Great Plunge forward for China,” Sports Illustrated, Sept. 16, 1974

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China’s Inclusion in the 1974 Asian Games

From 1954 to 1970, Taiwan represented China at the Asian Games, and during this period, the “Two Chinas” issue was a highly political issue for sporting events, including the Asian Games. The turning point came in 1974 when Iran hosted the Games. Here’s an excerpt from an academic paper on the subject:

From the early 1970s China and Iran developed a close relationship. In September 1972 the Iranian royal family and government were invited to visit Beijing and they received there a warm welcome from Chairman Mao Zedong. Subsequently at the Asian Games Federation (AGF) board meeting in September 1973 in Bangkok, Iran proposed accepting the PRC as a member, and revoking Taiwan’s membership. The proposal was supported by Japan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but opposed by Thailand and Malaysia. After some intense debate, the AGF officially admitted the PRC as a member of the AGF on 16 November 1973 and Taiwan was excluded.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was particularly cautious about this change. At its 74th session in September 1971, the IOC stated that politics should not mix with sport. It claimed that if the AGF did not invite all the countries that were IOC members to attend the Asian Games, then the IOC would not acknowledge the 7th Asian Games which would be held in Tehran in 1974. Other international federations warned that their member countries would be forbidden to compete with non-member countries at the Tehran Asian Games.

With the support of Iran and the AGF, Beijing announced on 17 November 1973 that it would send a team to represent China at the 7th Asian Games in Tehran. It was the first major international event to be attended by China since 1966 when the Cultural Revolution had begun and during which China had been isolated. The government saw the Games as a golden opportunity to restore the PRC’s status in the Asian world. The Sports Ministry issued the ‘Work Plan for Competitive Sport’ on 3 December 1973. The goal it set was for the Chinese national team to achieve positions in the first three places in most of the events at the Asian Games. As the Games approached in 1974 it became the major task of the Sports Ministry and two-month selective trials were held to train and select the best athletes for the Games.

Deng Xiaoping, who was recently free from his political opponents, the ‘Gang of Four’, became a vice-prime minister and began to push the country towards economic recovery and developing international relations. He saw the Games as an excellent opportunity to restore and develop China’s relationship with other Asian countries. Zhao Zhenghong, vice-minister of the Sports Ministry, asked him for advice, ‘What shall we do if athletes from China and Iran encounter each other at some events?’.4 With his usual pragmatic manner, Deng replied: ‘If you have two gold medals in your pocket, you should use one to pay what you owe to Iran’.5 China did.When it met Iran in the final of the water polo China lost the game by one point: 8:9.6

In September 1974, the PRC attended the Asian Games in Tehran – the PRC’s first since 1951. Altogether, 269 of its athletes competed in 14 events, it won 33 gold medals and came third in the medal table. China’s return to the Asian Games and its impressive performance were regarded as a major breakthrough in Asian sport and Asian politics especially given that China was still in the middle of the Cultural Revolution.

F. Hong and L. Zhouxiang, “China, the Asian Games and Asian Politics, 1974-2006,” The International Journal of the History of Sport, 29.1 (2012).

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