Matthew Mitcham of Australia performs a dive during the Men's 10m Platform Final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games diving event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Matthew Mitcham claimed the gold of the event with 537.95 points. (Xinhua/Zhao Peng) Photo Gallery>>>

    By Sportswriter Gao Peng

    BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Matthew Mitcham spoiled China's bid on Saturday to sweep all the eight gold medals in diving, but the host nation made sure it would top the gold medal count when the Beijing Olympics come to a close.

    The sporting success was overshadowed with a string of refereeing controversies and doping scandals.

    Ukrainian weightlifter Igor Razoronov, who finished sixth in the 105-kilogram division on Monday, had been kicked out of the Games after testing positive for the steroid nandrolone, the International Olympic Committee said.

    The 33-year-old Ukrainian was the sixth athlete caught for doping during the Aug. 8-24 Games and he could face a two-year ban.

    Meanwhile, Cuban Angel Valodia Matos was banned for life from taekwondo for kicking a referee and China's Chen Zhong was eliminated in a controversial ruling.

Gold medalist Rakhim Chakhkiev (2nd R) of Russia poses on the podium during the awarding ceremony of Men's Heavy (91kg) medal matches of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games boxing event at Workers' Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. (Xinhua/Lu Mingxiang) Photo Gallery>>>

    Leading 3-2 in the men's 80kg bronze medal bout against Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov, Matos slumped to the floor rubbing his leg before he was disqualified for running out of a minute's injury time. After a verbal dispute, Matos kicked the referee in the head before being escorted out of the arena.

    The World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) announced the life ban for Matos and his coach a few minutes later.

    Chinese double Olympic champion Chen Zhong won her quarterfinal duel with Briton Sarah Stevenson, but later had her victory overturned following a protest by the British team. Tournament officials ruled that referees missed counting a kick in the closing seconds that would award Stevenson the win.

    The Chinese team, however, accepted the decision.

    "As it (the initial decision) was an obvious mistake, and we are the hosts, we want to show sporting spirit and we would not object to the reverse of the decision," said Zhao Lei, vice president of the Chinese Taekwondo Association.

    Mitcham pulled off one of the major upsets on the penultimate day of the Games when he came from behind to win the men's 10m platform title, edging local favorite Zhou Luxin into second place.

    Zhou had led the six-dive final until the last round, but was given a mediocre 74.80 points for his last dive. Mitcham then produced a scintillating dive to earn four full mark - 10s and beat Zhou by nearly five points.

    The 20-year-old Australian went ecstatic and hugged his coach after the competition.

Kimberly Glass (C) of the United States spikes the ball during the women's volleyball gold medal match at the Beijing Olympic Games in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Brazil beat the United States 3-1 and won the gold.(Xinhua/Qi Heng) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Absolutely sure, I never thought it was possible. I wasn't even really sure of my medal chances at all," said an elated Mitcham. "After the last dive I though 'that's it, silver medal, fantastic'. Then I looked up and I'd come first."

    Zhou, five months younger than Mitcham, said the mental instability cost him the gold.

    "I was in good mental form at the beginning, but it didn't stay until the last dive. It's a pity," said the Zhou. "But I'm still young. I can draw lessons from this competition to help my future life."

    Nevertheless, the Chinese have a lot to celebrate for.

    By the end of Saturday, they had won 49 gold medals, well ahead of the 34 garnered by the United States. With just 12 gold medals at stake on the last day, China has virtually secured the glory of winning the most golds.

    It is the best ever performance for the world most populous country in the Olympic history, while a second-place U.S. finish in Beijing marks a first for the Americans since the 1992 Games in Barcelona. The United States has won the gold-medal race in 16 of the 26 modern Olympic Games.

    China's huge success were highlighted with Saturday's triumph in table tennis and canoeing.

    In a repeat of its clean sweep of medals in women's singles table tennis event, the Chinese trio of Ma Lin, Wang Hao and Wang Liqin finished 1-2-3 in the men's singles competition.

Gold medalists Meng Guanliang (3rd R) and Yang Wenjun (3rd L) of China, silver medalists Sergey Ulegin (L) and Alexander Kostoglod (2nd L) of Russia, bronze medalists Christian Gille (2nd R) and Thomasz Wylenzek (R) of Germany stand on the podium during the awarding ceremony of the men’s canoe double (C2) 500m final at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in the Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. (Xinhua/Gong Bing) Photo Gallery>>>

    Ma Lin, who beat Wang Liqin 4-2 to advance to the final, outclassed world number one Wang Hao 4-1 (11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 11-9) to win his first major title.

    Wang Hao, who was seeking redemption for his loss to South Korea's Ryu Seung-min in the 2004 final, had to settle for the silver medal again. Earlier, Wang Liqin overwhelmed Jorgen Persson of Sweden in straight sets to take the bronze.

    Meng Guanliang and Yang Wenjun, who won China's first ever Olympic canoeing gold medal in 2004, successfully defended their crown in the C2 500m race. They both fell into the water after their boat crossed the finish line.

    Inspired by the deafening cheers from more than 14,000 home fans, Chinese women's volleyball team defeated three-time champion Cuba 3-1 (25-16, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20) to secure the bronze.

    "Many players cried after we lost to Brazil yesterday, and how to adjust their mental state was a big problem for us," said Chinese head coach Chen Zhonghe. "Fortunately, we made it today."

    China, the 2004 gold medalist, was humiliated 3-0 by Brazil in the semifinals.

    "I'm still happy with this tournament, although we didn't get a gold or silver medal, we tried," said Chen.

    Brazil captured its first ever gold medal in women's volleyball after beating the United States 3-1 (25-16, 21-15, 25-13, 25-20) in the final.

    The Americans, coached by former Chinese legendary player Lang Ping, also equalled their previous best result - in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

Ma Lin of China competes in Men's Singles Gold Medal Match against Wang Hao of China of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games table tennis event at PKU Gymnasium in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Ma Lin defeated Wang Hao 4-1, and won the gold medal of the event. (Xinhua/Xu Jiajun) Photo Gallery>>>

    After failing to win a gold in sprint events, the United States finally restored pride in track and field by claiming both the men's and women's 4x400m relays.

    Kenya also celebrated a double gold on the track with Wilfred Bungei in the men's 800m and Nancy Jebet Langat in the women's 1,500m.

    Meanwhile, Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele matched female compatriot Tirunesh Dibaba when he won the men's 5,000m race on Saturday to add to his 10,000m title. Dibaba became the first woman to complete the distance double with victories in 5,000m and 10,000m in Beijing.

    High jumper Tia Hellebaut cleared 2.05 meters to give Belgium its first ever Olympic gold in athletics, and Norway's Andreas Thorkildsen retained his javelin title with a throw of 90.57 meters.

    Russia swept both synchronized swimming golds for the third consecutive Games after adding the team title to Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova's duet win.

Simona Peycheva of Bulgaria competes with the ribbon during the individual all-round final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games rhythmic gymnastics event in Beijing, China, Aug. 23, 2008. Simona Peycheva ranked 10th in the event. (Xinhua/Cheng Min) Photo Gallery>>>

    With legend Diego Maradona watching in the stands at the full-packed Bird's Nest Stadium, Argentina beat Nigeria 1-0 for its second straight gold in men's soccer. Lionel Messi set up for Angel di Maria to score on 58 minutes.

    Lisa Leslie scored 14 points to steer the U.S. team to a 92-65 win over Australia for their fourth consecutive women's basketball title.

    Elsewhere, South Korea stunned baseball powerhouse Cuba 3-2 for the gold, Norway grabbed the women's handball gold with a 34-26 win over Russia, and a defensive Germany edged Spain 1-0 to win its first Olympic title in men's hockey since 1992.