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Summary United States caught China at the top of the London Olympics medals table.
China were caught by the United States at the top of the London Olympics medals table on a day of mixed fortunes for the ex-hosts on Thursday.Zhang Jikes mens table tennis win was the only success for China as the five-day leaders were matched on 18 gold medals by the American team, who totted up six new titles.China briefly celebrated their first ever cycling gold -- before they were cruelly relegated to silver for an infringement in the womens team sprint final.And badminton ace Yu Yang quit the sport in disgust after she was among a group of players disqualified in a match-throwing scandal which rocked the Games and made waves in Asia.This is my last time competing. Goodbye Badminton World Federation, goodbye my beloved badminton, Yu Yang said on her Weibo, or microblog.You have heartlessly shattered our dreams.In brighter news, top seed Zhang beat team-mate Wang Hao 4-1 to maintain Chinas grip on the table tennis competition. The womens final was also an all-Chinese affair.Im very excited, its my first time at the Olympics and it has been my dream to win the gold medal since I started playing, said Zhang, 24, who completed a career grand slam of the Olympic, world and World Cup titles.Leander Paes and Sania Mirza kept Indias tennis hopes alive with a victory in the mixed doubles. But Japans Kei Nishikori went crashing out of the mens singles at the hands of Juan Martin del Potro.In the Olympic Park Velodrome, Guo Shuang and Gong Jinjie dominated the womens sprint with two new world records, and then appeared to have won the final against Germany.But the Chinese pair were demoted to silver after judges spotted an illegal changeover.We have to accept it, said Gong. Todays events probably will be a driving force for the races after today. The achievement that we made today is undeniable.At Wembley Arena, Chinas defending badminton champion Lin Dan had to dig deep to see off Sho Sasaki, and Malaysian top seed Lee Chong Wei also reached the semi-finals as he continues his recovery from serious injury.It was a pleasing return to action after Wednesdays scandal, when eight womens doubles players were disqualified for trying to lose group games in a bid to secure easier quarter-finals.Lin will next face South Koreas Lee Hyun-Il and top seed Lee will play Chinas Chen Long, who ended the campaign of soon-to-retire Danish veteran Peter Gade.In the womens competition, Saina Nehwal became the first Indian player to reach the Olympic semi-finals, where she will face world champion Wang Yihan.Ki Bo-Bae added womens individual archery gold to her team title but there was bad news for Chinese basketball fans when NBA star Yi Jianlian suffered a knee injury in their 81-61 loss to Australia.
