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RIO DE JANEIRO -- At the Riocentro Pavilion 3, the only sound in the table tennis arena was a steady tapping as the two competitors in the gold medal match struggled for points.On one side of the table was Xue Juan. On the other, Li Qian. Both Chinese Paralympians in wheelchairs. Their match was one of two to decide a gold medal on Monday that featured athletes from China only.After Xue defeated Li, and Zhang Bian beat Gu Gai in the later match, each winner quietly acknowledged the victory, wheeled to the middle of the table and shook the hand of her countrywoman.There were no screaming fans, and little celebration. But in Rio, the scene has become routine, across the menu of sports. China is dominating the Paralympics.After competition ended on Tuesday, China held a huge lead at the top of the board with 147 total medals (63 golds) through six days of competition. The next closest country, the United Kingdom, had 75 medals in all.The Ukraine (72) was next with the United States (61) in fourth and host Brazil (43) in fifth.China has topped the medal board in the last three Summer Paralympics, beginning at the 2004 Athens Games.This year, China has more than 300 athletes, a physical representation of the countrys commitment to keeping its spot as a Paralympic powerhouse, but it can also be seen as a strategy: More athletes competing means more opportunities to collect medals.This was evident soon after China stepped foot on Brazilian soil. Last Friday, China won 14 medals in swimming, including two all-China podiums in mens 50- and 100-meter butterfly races. The victories have not stopped.Some athletes, however, have been raising questions about Chinas dominance in Rio.Philip Craven, the International Paralympic Committee president, was asked at a news conference on Monday about complaints that Brazilian competitors had been making about potential cheating by Chinese athletes.We had a very informal, short board meeting this morning of the IPC and that issue was brought up to us and it is something that we will look into in the future, not to do necessarily with doping, we always look into that anyway, but with regard to what particularly the Brazilian athletes are thinking and saying, Craven said.A spokesman for the IPC later said Craven was referring primarily to whether some Chinese athletes had been classified properly. Russia was banned from Rio for systematic doping, raising suspicion about cheating generally.The Paralympic Games, which date back to an English competition in 1948 and became the Paralympics in 1960, were once an event in which the United States routinely topped the medal count.The U.S. finished first in medals for nine consecutive Paralympics from 1964 to 1996. China, meanwhile, did not begin sending athletes to the Paralympics until the 1984 Games.The 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games were awarded in 2001 to Beijing over four other cities. Three years later, at the 2004 Athens Games, China not only cracked the top five in total medals for the first time but also placed first.Penny Briscoe, the British chef de mission in Rio, said the value in winning a bid to host the Summer Games cannot be underestimated in relation to the development of sport for the Paralympics.Briscoe recalled jumping and screaming alone in her house when London was announced as the host city for 2012. Even though the UK was the home of the Paralympic Movement, and had already seen success in the past, winning the bid to host the Summer Games led to an increased focus on the Paralympics.It was massive and such a morale boost, Briscoe said in a phone interview. It gave everyone maybe more sense of purpose than any other four years.Matt Cramer, director of high performance for United States Paralympics, said the U.S. often has different challenges than some of the other high profile names atop the Paralympic leaderboard.One thing is that we are creative but we are also very smart with our resources, because we get no federal funding, Cramer said in a phone interview.As a result, the American Paralympic program invests in initiatives, both long and short term, that are aimed at identifying and developing the athletes who show potential.We gauge success in the most simplistic way -- we look at an athlete that is in the system and has shown a positive trajectory that will hopefully lead to medal, Cramer said. But we dont just hope and cross our fingers, we really invest in them.China, too, has invested in long term plans for success in the Paralympics. In 2007, the huge China Disability Sports Training Centre was opened in Beijing.Britain also invests a lot in its Paralympic program, though Briscoe said it can be difficult to compare other countries to China because of the sheer size of its disabled population. In 2012, the Beijing Review reported that Chinas disabled population was about 85 million. According to the United Nations, the entire population of Germany entering 2016 was about 80 million.Regardless of the number of athletes competing for each nation, it is still up to the individual athlete to win.In the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on Tuesday, China was at it again.Yang Bozun and Zhang Xiaotong claimed gold medals and world records in the 100-meter mens and womens breaststroke finals for blind competitors. Neither was the top finisher in qualifiers.By the end of the night, China had won eight medals and broken five world records.After her race, Zhang was asked about the secret to Chinas success at the Paralympic Games.It is because we train very hard in China and it is a whole teamwork for the entire China team, Zhang said through a translator.Whatever it is seems to be paying off.---This story has been corrected to show that the table tennis was played in Riocentro Pavilion 3, not Riocentro Pavilion 2. Mark Jackson Pacers Jersey . Artturi Lehkonen, Joni Nikko and Ville Leskinen had the other goals for Finland (1-0) while Juuse Saros stopped 28 shots. Tim Robin Johnsgard had the lone goal for Norway (0-2). Alize Johnson Jersey . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. http://www.authenticbasketballshoppacers.info/aaron-holiday-pacers-jersey/ . 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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tony Stewart is at peace with however his final season in NASCAR comes to an end.There are eight races remaining in his storied career, but he is on the verge of being knocked out of the 16-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup championship field. Stewart is 15th in the standings, so he either needs a win Sunday at Dover International Raceway or the drivers ahead of him in the standings need to have some serious trouble.Down to his last chance to add to his legacy, Stewart said Wednesday during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame that hell try to win at Dover and will be disappointed if he doesnt advance into the second round of the Chase.But he is so frustrated with the current state of NASCAR, hes ready to hang up his helmet and focus on sprint cars and dirt races.Stewart had to claw his way to a 23rd-place finish last weekend at New Hampshire, and said nothing he tried could overcome his discomfort with the current rules package and tire combination.Were in an era where technology has taken over, he said.Long gone, he noted, are the days when a team could chip away at its race car all weekend and driver talent made a difference on race day. Now, the teams that unload with fast cars on Fridays are typically the ones contending for wins two days later.On Friday, you can pretty much tell who is a contender and who is not, and 10 to 15 years ago, it didnt used to be that way, he said. There were guys that could work through the weekend and get things right. Now youve either got it or you dont when you come off the truck on Friday.The most frustrating part for the three-time champion is that theres very little he feels he can do as a driver to improve his chances every week.Thats part of why Im ready to do something different -- because I cant make a difference anymore, he said. I cant go out there and do different things with my feet and different things with my hands and run a different line and fix the problem. I used to be able to do that. I cant do that anymore, and you get so frustrated, you cant see straight.You try everything in the book that you know, and it doesnt help.Stewart has spent hhis entire career being outspoken, and noted Wednesday that the group text hes on with most of the active drivers discuss nearly unanimous complaints every week.ddddddddddddYet he tends to be the only one to take the gripes public, risking a NASCAR fine, and Stewart said hes more than ready to relinquish that role.The money lost doesnt bother him, but hes gotten to the point where he doesnt think his words make a difference.Ive been fighting that fight forever, and its not something I am willing to go into depth on, but its another reason I am ready to exit, he said. You can only beat the drum so long and it can only fall on deaf ears for so long before you say, `OK, the people who can make it better cant make it better.Stewart admitted hes exhausted after 18 years of shouting in the wind.Ive had my fill of fighting the fight, he said. At some point, youve got to say `Why do I keep fighting this fight? Theres a lot of stuff to be frustrated about right now.In retirement, Stewart will stay busy. He is a half-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, which is moving to Ford next season and adding an Xfinity Series team.He owns Eldora Speedway in Ohio, a lower-tier racing series, and plans to race between 40 and 50 times next year in sprint cars. His first race is already scheduled -- he wont reveal what it is, but said it wont be the Knoxville Nationals and will be a pavement race -- and hes excited to not live by the rigorous, 38-week NASCAR schedule.Hed still like to make a run at a fourth title, and his competitors arent counting out his ability to race his way into the second round on Sunday.Im still a competitor, I still want to win, I want to win as much as I did the last 38 years ... if we dont make it, Im going to be disappointed, he said.As for the old-school ability to just make something happen Sunday? Stewart isnt sure.Right now, I am in a large dark room, dont know where the wall is, let alone the light switch, Stewart said. If I can find it, you can guarantee Ill flip it in a heartbeat. ' ' '