国内英语新闻:Chinese athletes should be respected for their excellence, Chinese delegation chief

LONDON, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- When Chinese athletes achieve sport excellence, they should be given respect instead of skepticism without any factual information, Chinese delegation chief Liu Peng said here on Sunday.

Liu gave the remarks in the Chinese delegation briefing on the last day of the 17-day Olympic Games after Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, 16, was questioned for her stunning performance.

Ye bagged double individual medley gold medals and two records - a world record and an Olympic record - in her Olympic debut.

Ye's good results aroused questions about whether or not she had doped to achieve success, which the athlete strongly denied a couple of times.

"We are very happy about Ye's performance -- two gold medals and a world record," said Liu. "Some are just biased and have no evidence to justify their skepticism. They should face the reality with objectiveness and fairness and give due respects to the athletes."

The chef de mission said China had been firm in cracking down on doping cheats.

"The Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese delegation abide by the World Anti-Doping Code and firmly oppose the use of banned drugs," he said. "Our stand against doping and effective anti-doping drive have earned the recognition from the World Anti-Doping Agency and relative international organizations."

China carried out more than 3,000 doping tests on the pool of athletes who likely went to London.