In 2004, the 28th Olympics took place in Athens, Greece. China sent a large group of 407 athletes to compete. The whole team won 32 gold, 17 silver and 14 bronze in all and excelled Russia's 27 gold medals by occupying 2nd place in ranking. On Aug 22, Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the tennis women's doubles final, which marked the first time China won a medal in tennis. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Aug 23, 2004, Wang Xu won the women's 72 kilos wrestling competition, becoming China's first gold medalist in wrestling at the Olympics. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Aug 28, 2004, Meng Guangliang and Yang Wenjun won China's first gold in rowing by taking the title of the men's pair champions. [Photo/Xinhua]

On Aug 27, 2004, Liu Xiang won the men's 100m hurdles, it was a strenuous effort for Asian athletes to stand out in the short-distance competitions. [Photo/Xinhua]