Chinese athletes bag gold medals in swimming, shooting, diving, and weightlifting events at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. (Photo : Getty Images)
China is now in second place in the 2016 Rio Olympics medal tally with a total of 13 medals, tailing the United States which has already recorded a total of 19 medals.
The real-time medal count tally posted at the NBC Olympics and the official Rio 2016 websites indicate that China is now placed firmly to the second rank with 5 gold, 3 silver, and 5 bronze medals.
This means that China is now tied up with the U.S. in terms of gold medals which delegates from the Middle Kingdom earned from Diving, Swimming, Shooting, and Weightlifting events in the ongoing 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
One of the gold medalists is Chinese swimmer Sun Yang who garnered his gold medal in the Men's 200-meter freestyle event where he ended the race within a 1:44.65 time frame. He also bagged silver from the Men's 400-meter freestyle event, tailing Australian swimmer Mack Horton.
Currently, Sun is one of the most trending athletes of the 2016 Rio Olympics particularly after Horton called him a "drug cheat," referring to the Chinese athlete's previous suspension from the sport after authorities found out that he had been using a stimulant while competing.
Apparently, the two Olympic competitors took matters too seriously while in training and got involved in a spat. Prior to the race, Horton complained that Sun had been splashing him during training sessions.
After bagging the gold, Horton defended his earlier comments about the Chinese swimmer being a drug cheat.
"I used the words drug cheat because he tested positive. I just have a problem with athletes who have tested positive and are still competing," he told reporters as quoted by BBC News.
Because of this, Chinese netizens called for an apology for their beloved Olympic athlete, something that the Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller declined.
"Mack obviously has very strong views about the need for clean sport, as every single one of us does. He has every right to express his views and his displeasure in that sense. We have no intention of making an apology," Chiller told the Sydney Morning Herald.
