China heaps praise on its Olympic heroes

"The motherland is proud of you, and the people are proud of you," the State Council, or cabinet, said in a message carried by government media.

China's government heaped praise on the country's Olympic champions on Sunday, celebrating its best-ever gold medal haul as a boon for "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." "The motherland is proud of you, and the people are proud of you," the State Council, or cabinet, said in a message carried by government media.

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As the Athens Olympics wound to a close on Sunday, China began counting down to its hosting of the 2008 games in Beijing - a source of enormous pride for the communist leadership.

The country's achievements in Athens "greatly increased China's confidence in hosting the 2008 Olympic Games," the cabinet said. China won a record 31 gold medals in Athens as of Sunday morning - second only to the United States and exceeding sports officials' stated hopes of "some 20 gold medals."

While China won 28 golds in Sydney in 2000, authorities had downplayed expectations of a similar tally in Athens because the delegation included a smaller number of Olympics veterans. Instead, China's team mostly comprised first-timers seeking experience ahead of 2008.

Among this year's highlights, the Chinese women's volleyball team struck gold for the first time since 1984, back when the squad inspired exuberant hero worship and was dubbed "the pride of the nation."

State television planned replays of Saturday's gold medal match - in which China came from two sets down to beat Russia - as well as highlights from 1984.

"The excellent performance by China's athletes again shows the spirit of the Chinese nation's unremitting efforts to improve itself," the government said.

It also cheered athletes' "good sports ethics," a veiled reference to efforts to combat the use of performance-enhancing drugs. China was plagued by doping scandals in the 1990s, but has had none in Athens.

The government urged athletes "not to be complacent in victory or disappointed in defeat" but to "make even greater contributions to pushing forward the Olympic cause and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

"The motherland and the people thank you and look forward to your triumphant return."