China Rethinks Sports Obsession As Rio Olympics Near

Change is unfolding at Shanghai’s No. 1 Children’s Sports School Pudong New Area, a small cog in a state-run machine that has churned out Chinese Olympic champions for 3 1/2 decades.

China’s sports system has been enormously successful since the country returned to the Olympic fold in 1980, culminating with the host nation topping the medals’ table at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with only a slight dip into second place behind the U.S. in London four years later.