Another big medal haul at the Summer Olympics is expected for China as the grand games begin in Athens on August 13.

　　For many, that means national pride and an emotional celebration. But for most competing athletes this might well be an all-or-nothing story.

　　China places a high premium on the importance of winning gold medals as proof of it's rising power in the world - a justifiable goal prevalent in many other countries.

　　The difference is in the way champions are groomed. While most Western athletes train in clubs and centers of their own choice, Chinese athletes are plucked into special sport schools at an early age, sometimes even as a toddler.

　　The sport schools - patterned after an old Soviet system - require students to live on campus and to learn little beyond sports.

　　The "mass production" system has benefited the country somewhat as it has churned out hundreds of elite athletes.

　　But some of these athletes are "losers" in a sense. After retirement from the pool, the track or the field, these athletes can be surprisingly vulnerable.

　　The problem of how to earn a decent living outside sports was spotlighted last year when a retired weightlifter died of respiratory disease. Cai Li, a Liaoning-born Asian Games champion, was unemployed as soon as he concluded his weightlifting career. Cai couldn't afford his medical expenses.

　　To be fair, China has improved the welfare of its athletes and the sports community in general. Several professional leagues have been established under market rules instead of through government money.

　　Rewards for becoming the best are also approaching international levels. Gold medalists in the Sydney Olympics earned 150,000 yuan (US$18,500) from the central government in addition to hundreds of thousands more from respective local authorities.

　　But the guarantee of bread and butter for average sports men and women should not be ignored.

　　To address the problem, the government should replace the sport school regime with a talent-grooming system that includes a normal education.

　　Athletes should be given a comprehensive education instead of just insulated sports training.

　　This might make a dent in the country's medal haul, but it would pay off in the long run because it teaches athletes how to live and take care of themselves in the real world when they can no longer jump, dive or throw a javelin.

　　It's also worth noting that a more profound shift in people's attitude toward sports may be equally as important.

　　Sports should be the joy, not just the pride of a nation.