Politics and money can determine sporting success at the Asian Games, and the world's other major sporting events, as much as athletic prowess.
Understanding this helps make sense of what appears to be odd results, allegedly unfair judging at events and purported corruption within the governing bodies of the world's sports federations.
The Olympic ideal of fair play is just that, an ideal. The reality is the Fairytale Theory of Sports.
This states that international sporting competitions are firstly an expression of sublimated territoriality and aggression, which means instead of fighting wars to prove dominance countries do battle on the playing field.
Athletes and fans are the foot soldiers of an invading army, dressed in their nation's colors, aiming to vanquish their rivals. Politicians will identify their administration with sporting success if they can and most people assume they too are superior if athletes of their race take home gold.
Secondly, sport is big business. In addition to income from gate receipts, there are TV rights to sell and spin-off merchandizing. Sports pays the wages of millions of athletes, officials and workers in peripheral industries -- such as sneaker manufacturers and the media.
Countries or cities no longer hold major sporting for prestige alone. Events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup are opportunities to print money. They also have "invisible" benefits in terms of advertising. Who knew where Busan was before it hosted the Asian Games?
All of which brings us to the fairytale. For sporting success is a dream come true, not just for an athlete but for those who support them.
To make it all work, sports events must have the edge of genuine competition. If there is no effort or we know the results are determined in advance, then there is no interest and the house of cards falls. For example, Taiwan's baseball industry collapsed because match fixing was exposed in the mid-1990s and is only now recovering.
If the major powers did not get their proportion of medals at the Games then we would suspect the competition was rigged because we assume the strong will beat the weak.
Hence, we are not surprised when the US tops the Olympic gold medal table or China heads the Asian Games standings. For these two powers this is a sign of their superiority that they do so. Equally, for a smaller country to beat the majors is proof of that nation's vigor and a source of pride.
If the same countries always won, then there would be no interest from the other participating nations and their sports industries would wane. Holding the World Cup in Asia and South Korea coming fourth has undoubtedly strengthened soccer in the region.
A delicate balance must be achieved. Encourage the weak to become strong, ensure the strong are not too dominant. Give a medal here to stimulate a nation's sporting industry, take one from there because it already has enough.
Taekwondo is an example of a sport that has been given International Olympic Committee (IOC) approval because it redresses the sporting imbalance that has favored the US and European countries. The draw and officiating in taekwondo and boxing undoubtedly favored the host country at this Asian Games.
A host country must be soothed with gold and perhaps this explains "home advantage."
It is hoped that wushu will become an Olympic event in time for the Beijing Games in 2006, so China will stand a chance of winning more gold medals than in Sydney or Athens. This may explain why China did not win as many medals in wushu at this Asian Games as it could have. By giving the medals to other, weaker countries, it makes its case for inclusion in the Olympics stronger.
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