It's Official: This is China's Worst Olympics Since 1996

Despite some big highlights — notably Fu Yuanhui and the women's volleyball team — China had a disappointing turnout at the Rio Olympics, placing below second place on the medal table for the first time since 2004.

Capturing 27 golds, Great Britain edged out China by just one gold medal, securing their second place spot on the final medal table. Meanwhile, both countries lagged behind the US, which earned 46 gold medals in these Games.

China sent 416 athletes to Rio — its largest ever team at the Summer Games. It was the worst ever showing for Team China since 1996, when the national team earned just 16 golds. The team picked up 28 golds in 2000.

State media were quick to dismiss the poor performance, with the Global Times insisting that the Chinese public were "unfazed" by China's "sluggish medal winning."

"The time in which we relied on sports to show our strength or prove our reputation is over, particularly after 2008," sports doctor Luo Le told GT.

Meanwhile, two-time ping pong gold medalist Ding Ning was China's flag bearer at the closing ceremony last night.

[Images via China Daily, Weibo, Google]