Olympics-Chinese Olympians given warm welcome on Brazil return

BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) - China's Olympic team were given a warm welcome from big crowds waving banners and photographs at Beijing airport on Tuesday upon their return from a disappointing Rio Games. China's largest overseas Olympic delegation of 416 athletes managed 26 golds, their lowest tally since the 1996 Atlanta Games, and 70 medals overall in Brazil. Surprise failures in traditionally strong sports such as badminton, shooting and gymnastics left China third in the medals table, behind the United States and Britain. Speaking in Rio, Team China's chief Liu Peng said the poor showing had exposed problems that they will seek to address in time for the next Olympics, Tokyo 2020, but commended the team's overall patriotism and sportsmanship. (Reporting by Reuters TV. Editing by Patrick Johnston)