BEIJING, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Games saw the rise of a new generation of Chinese athletes as more than half gold medals were contributed by the country's first-time Olympians, a Chinese sports official said here Sunday.

　　"A total of 25 individual gold medals were won by athletes who are making their Olympic debuts and they were also the main force for four gold medals in team events," said Liu Peng, chef de mission of the Chinese delegation.

　　Liu said almost two thirds of China's athletes are attending the Olympics for the first time. "The young athletes have become a major force in China's competitive sports," he said.

　　China's 639-athlete squad has so far won 50 gold medals, 20 silver and 28 bronze medals, putting the host on top of the medal table.

　　Commenting on the performance of the Chinese athletes, Liu said the Chinese delegation has generally "fulfilled its mission" and its harvest at the Beijing Games surpassed all the previous Olympic Games.

　　China maintained its traditional dominance in weightlifting, gymnastics, diving, table tennis, badminton, shooting and women's judo, grabbing 39 gold medals in these events.

　　Meanwhile, China's medal events have expanded from 18 sports in Athens to 20 in Beijing. Breakthroughs were seen in boxing, archery, rowing, gymnastic trampoline, fencing, sailing and women's team event in gymnastics.

　　Liu said the Chinese delegation also prided itself with zero doping offence. "During the Beijing Olympics, all Chinese athletes accepted anti-doping tests according to relevant international rules and there is not a single offence," he said.

　　The International Olympic Committee has carried out more than 4,600 doping tests during the Beijing Games so far, with six athletes expelled from the Games following positive tests of banned substances.

　　The Chinese official contributed China's "best ever" Olympic performance to the country's three-decade reform and opening-up experiments.

　　"Our results benefited from the support of the whole country and the whole nation and benefited from the stable political environment and solid economic development over the past 30 years," Liu said.

　　The chef de mission also thanked foreign coaches for their contributions. "The Chinese sports delegation has 38 foreign coaches and their efforts and hard work helped improve China's competitiveness," he said.

　　Amid the nationwide gold excitement, Liu cautioned the public to remain sober minded. "From medal account to the number of top eight finishers (in Olympic events), we are till clearly lagging behind," he said.

　　Despite ranking first with 50 gold medals, China was placed second after the United States with 98 medals in total. The United States has won 34 gold medals and 107 medals in total.

　　Questioned on the age of several Chinese woman gymnasts, including gold medalist He Kexin, Cui Dalin, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese delegation, said all Chinese athletes competing at the Beijing Olympics are age-eligible.

　　The official said the Chinese side has provided a series of legal documents, including the athletes' passports and ID cards to the International Gymnastics Federation and it was confirmed that the athletes are eligible for the Beijing Games.

　　China's He clinched the uneven bars gold medal at the Beijing Games after a tie with Nastia Liukin from the United States. She claimed the title under a tie-break rule.

　　Earlier, some foreign media raised questions about the age of He, saying she might not yet be 16, the minimum age for the Olympic eligibility.

　　Cui said the Chinese delegation paid great attention to the issue and thorough investigation showed that negligence in registration at previous domestic events was to blame for the confusion.

　　Cui said the discrepancy in He's age occurred when she was representing a different city to compete in China's city games.

　　"She was transferred to another city last year to compete in the city games and the inaccuracy occurred during the transfer, which led to the misunderstanding," Cui said.