Former Chinese gymnastics world champion Zhang Shangwu shows his medals on the street in Beijing, 15 July 2011. Zhang, a gold-medal winner at the 2001 Beijing Universiade, retired because of injuries and later started busking in Beijing. [Photo/IC]

China's sport authority has apologized for a notice on its website that said results of the 13th National Games will be published based on medal rankings.

The announcement, published on Jan 30, was inconsistent with the sport authority's report to Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Jan 26. The report clearly said that there will be no publication of provincial gold medal rankings at national sport events.

The administration admitted their mistake and promised to rectify it. "We attach great importance to this issue. The notice got published without strict scrutiny and it was done in error. We will correct it and avoid repeating the mistake in the future," said Zhang Haifeng, a senior official in the General Administration of Sport of China.

The CCDI said it will carry out investigation and trace accountability. "We will review every link of the chain and find out whether it was in accordance with rules and regulations," said Shi Zehua, deputy team leader of CCDI's discipline group.