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Prologue already visible for China at 2008 Olympics (3) |
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13:42, December 25, 2007 |
Four years is a neither long nor short time -- not enough to groom a talent from scratch, but enough to refine current ones.
While China is hoping to pick up some additional medals in fringe events in which historically it hasn't had a strong track record, some medal successes are almost guaranteed in the traditional strongholds.
The diving team, which took six out of eight golds in Athens, is one of the "dream teams" in China's Olympic squad.
"Ten of our 14 divers, competing in the world championships in Melbourne, had their international debut there," said Li Hua, director of Swimming Administrative Center.
The divers grabbed nine out of 10 golds on offer in Melbourne 2007, with men's 10-meter platform as the sole nick.
The Chinese gymnastics team, who only took one gold for China at the Athens Games, continued their comeback these years, managing five golds in the 2007 world championships in Stuttgart and winning a record eight golds at the 2006 world championships in Aarhus.
The team pulled off a less sparkling performance compared with the previous year due to tough-routine tactics, but Huang Yubin, Chinese gymnastics head coach, said he would continue to produce more complex routines ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
"In terms of our Olympic preparations, mistakes make us even stronger as our weaknesses came into spotlight and we still have time," said Huang. "Errors that cost us world titles were much welcome ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games."
According to Huang, Chinese gymnasts would continue to lift the difficulty of their routines for a higher A mark than opponents.
"Our team is in better shape than it was a year ago as far as the Olympics are concerned."
The divers and gymnasts were joined by other ace athletes, bringing home more world titles in 2007 and also keeping more Olympic qualifying tickets coming for China.
According to official statistics released in November, a total of 514 athletes of 26 sports including 211 events have qualified for the competitions in the Beijing Olympic Games.
"China is expected to field 550 to 570 athletes for 2008, the largest ever delegation to any Olympic Games," Cui told Xinhua, "and hopefully they won't let the people down."
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