The heated discussion some Indian media outlets have sparked on the sizable Indian team's zero-gold performance at the just-concluded Paris Olympics represents a good beginning for the South Asian giant to think seriously about how to seek breakthroughs in competitive sports on the world stage.

That Pakistan obtained one gold medal, in the men's javelin at the Games, the first gold India's neighbor has won at the Olympics in about 40 years, has further spurred the discussions.

Some Indians have pointed to the Chinese team's good performance in Paris — China grabbed 40 gold medals the same as the United States — urging the Indian government to heed the lessons of China.

That the two countries have similar population size and both are at similar development stages are the major reasons why some Indians have made the comparison. But those do not mean China's experience in sports is of direct reference value to India.

According to the Indian media, the overall investment in sports in the country is only about 1.13 percent of that of China. Although both are developing economies, the sport market, industry and infrastructure in China are markedly more developed than those in India.

China has demonstrated its unique institutional strengths in competitive sports, except soccer. Under its pyramid-style State-run sports system that stretches from the grassroots level to the national teams, China can concentrate its funds and resources to cultivate the most talented athletes standing out from a large talent pool, providing them with scientific and professional training since childhood.

Also China attaches great importance to the development of mass sports and youth sports. Efforts in this regard have been made in a systemic way in combination with the country's endeavors to promote national fitness, sports economy and industry.

The country has stuck to the two-track model of development in sport long before its dazzling debut in the LA Games in 1984, when it won 15 golds, and ranked fourth on the table in terms of the number of gold medals won.

Those in India looking forward to seeing their country overtake China on the medal table of the Olympics should not only focus on the gold medals but China's long-term huge input into the sports sector and relevant industries over the past more than seven decades.

It is the huge part of an iceberg below the surface of the water that truly floats the whole colossus, and it is the deep root that ensures the tree can stand tall.

GUANCHA.CN