A successful visit to London?

China's Olympics chief says he's happy with the way things have turned out

China's performance at the London Olympics has met expectations so far, Liu Peng, president of the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC), said on Thursday.

Liu was speaking at a celebratory dinner at China House, the main hospitality and business center of the COC throughout the London 2012 Olympic Games.

When Liu made the speech, China was leading the gold medal league table, with 36 gold, 23 silver and 19 bronze medals. The US has since taken the lead.

"Our athletes fought hard at this year's Olympics. Their performances have won great acclaim from the entire Chinese population, and we have received congratulatory messages from people in different walks of life," Liu said.

"These good results were won due to China's rapid economic and social development caused by our country's opening up in the past 30 years."

Many Chinese athletes said they were thrilled about their performances at the Olympics.

"I'm very happy about my result," said women's singles table tennis gold medalist Li Xiaoxia, 24, who failed to qualify for Beijing 2008.

When she won on Aug 1, she said she had dreamed of the achievement since she was a little girl, and raced to the stands to get a Chinese flag to wave around.

"My biggest achievement at the London Olympics was that I mastered myself to achieve my results. It was a better result than I expected," she said.

Like Li, men's singles table tennis gold medalist Zhang Jike, 24, was competing in his first Olympics.

"I think luck played a part in my performance, but I also had to practice very hard," he said.

Zhang said the amount of support he received from Britain's Chinese community exceeded his expectations.

"Before I departed for the Olympics, my coach and older teammates warned me about the potential challenges of competing abroad," he said. "But they did not tell me that we would receive such a warm welcome and broad support.

"From our pre-Olympic training in Leeds to actually competing in the Games in London, we have received tremendous support. Everywhere I go, I see friendly Chinese faces and, when I was competing, many Chinese cheered for me."

Zhang said that he felt particularly proud to see China's flag rise when he won gold.

"When I saw the Chinese flag, I felt an incredible strength," he said.

Attending the Olympics for a second time were mixed doubles badminton players Zhao Yunlei, 25, and Zhang Nan, 21. The pair won gold.

"It was quite lucky, but we also had a lot of support from our teammates. We cooperated very well, but I think some things can be done better," said Zhang, who is also Zhao's boyfriend.

Zhang said that the fact China did not win the mixed doubles badminton gold in 2008 put some pressure on him for the 2012 Games, but he is glad to have won.

During the London Olympics, the Chinese embassy in Britain took special care to look after members of the COC and Chinese athletes, said Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The embassy helped China House recruit volunteers and organize various events. China House first appeared during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and this year made a debut appearance at the Summer Olympics.

The embassy also helped the COC deal with emergency issues.

"For example, when badminton player Wang Xin injured her knee, the embassy quickly helped her obtain a visa to travel to Germany for treatment," Liu said.

Contact the writers at cecily.liu@chinadaily.com.cn and zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn.