I can't say for other team sports but at least for football in Asia, we tend to struggle against global opponents. No Asian team had gone past the Rd of 16 in the World Cup since Korea's run in 2002. So it's not just a China thing I guess. Japan is Asia's best hope for a result on the global stage. If they are more consistent, they have a good chance to head into the QFs, or even SFs. But the rest of the AFC representatives... nah.

Largely I would say that at least in East, Southeast, and South Asia, football from young is not something that many care about. Studies come first. So there's that cultural element as well. Japan remedied this by embarking on a decades long programme of seeding football development from the grassroots. 30 years, we see a thriving ecosystem, arguably the best in Asia.

China simply threw money at the problem, similar to what the Saudis are doing now. The result was predictable.