This mass participation, moreover, added a political component to sports, which explains why ideological training and political study became part and parcel of the training program of Chinese athletes. After the Cultural Revolution, when Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping called for economic reforms to modernize China, sports were once again seen as an important component to bring this about. When the Chinese women's volleyball team defeated Japan in the 1981 World Championships, it aroused more enthusiasm than the 1978 decisions that started the modernization program. The victory over the longtime Asian rival inaugurated the revival of Chinese national pride and patriotism that had been dormant during the Cultural Revolution. In the 1980s and 1990s, China has become a true competitor in the international sports arena.
Chinese athletes hold world and Olympic records in various disciplines.