China primed to shine at Paris Olympics

With the stage set and Olympic glory up for grabs, the Chinese delegation will go all out to demonstrate its athletic prowess in Paris, while promoting friendship, unity and integrity at the sporting gala.

Boasting a blend of youth and experience, the 716-strong delegation, including 405 athletes, is primed to compete in 236 medal events across 30 sports at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which open on Friday in the French capital and close on Aug 11.

The Paris Games will host the biggest Chinese delegation, in terms of both number and variety, at an Olympics held outside of China.

Since China made its debut at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, the nation has won a total of 263 gold medals at Summer Olympics.

The Chinese team competing in Paris is confident of another productive performance, with the majority of its medals drawn from the six sports it is traditionally strong in — table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, shooting, weightlifting and diving.

Chinese Olympic athletes in these six sports have won a whopping 192 Olympic gold medals over the past four decades, and are expected to spearhead another gold rush in the French capital.

With the attention of the globe focused on one of the world's biggest sporting events, the Chinese Olympic Committee has called on its Olympians to not only strive for athletic success, but also use the occasion to promote sportsmanship, fair play and the country's vibrant image to the world.

"We have to take the Olympic stage to demonstrate the superb competitive level and good spirit of Chinese athletes, as well as to present the thriving, prosperous and bright future of our country in the new era from the sports perspective," Gao Zhidan, president of the COC, said earlier this month after the delegation was announced.

In his pep talk to the delegation, Gao said the most important task was that all Chinese athletes respect and honor anti-doping regulations, stick to strict doping control routines, and make sure medals are won in a fair and clean manner.

"We've pledged to make the best efforts and adopt more rigorous measures against doping to guarantee that we have zero doping violation cases prior to, during, and after the Games," Gao said.

Led by 42 Olympic champions, the Chinese delegation also hopes to test its up-and-coming athletes against the world's best. More than half the athletes, 223, are making their Olympic debuts in Paris.

The delegation, with an average age of 25, is made up of 136 male and 269 female athletes, with 37-year-old Olympic champion race walker Liu Hong the oldest competitor, and 11-year-old women's park skateboarder Zheng Haohao the youngest.

Striving for perfection

Leading China's charge are the country's dominant table tennis squad and its diving "dream team", which are both aiming for gold medal clean sweeps in their respective programs.

As the sport's undisputed powerhouse, the table tennis squad is looking to achieve perfection in Paris when it comes to gold medals won.

China has won 32 of a possible 37 gold medals since table tennis debuted at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games.

Three years ago, at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, China won four of the five table tennis gold medals on offer. The hosts Japan unexpectedly defeated China in the mixed doubles, which has helped motivate the Chinese players to strive for complete triumph this time around.

Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, has warned the squad against complacency.

"We cannot take for granted that these five gold medals belong to China," said Liu, a two-time Olympic champion at the 1996 Games.

"All five gold medals in Paris are reserved for the brave and the wise, for those who excel the most. We just need to fight for them as hard as we can in every event."

Led by the world's top divers across multiple events, the Chinese diving team is also on a mission to extend its Olympic supremacy in Paris by achieving something never done before — a clean sweep of all eight titles at a single Games — after having bagged seven golds at the last Tokyo Olympics and the Rio 2016 Games.

As challenging as it sounds, the squad believes the target can be achieved in Paris, with a 10-strong roster that includes the reigning world champions in all eight Olympic diving events.

"We've always been very confident in our strength. We are expecting to perform to the best of our ability in Paris and are trying to deliver the best possible results," said Zhou Jihong, a former Olympic champion diver and director of the National Aquatic Sports Administrative Center.

Since arriving in Paris on July 21, the team has had training sessions every day at the Olympic Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis to fine-tune the divers' routines. The diving competition starts on Saturday, when the first gold medal will be awarded in the women's synchronized 3m springboard.

"Actually, I felt quite calm, more relaxed than I'd expected, after getting to the Olympic venue. Mentally, I feel at ease and ready to go," said Chen Yiwen, who will attempt to win China's first gold at the Games with partner Chang Yani in Saturday's synchro final.

However, they could be pipped in winning China's first gold by the shooting team. The 10m air rifle mixed team final is due to be held around the same time as the diving session on Saturday.

Two world champion pairs — Sheng Lihao and his partner Huang Yuting, and Han Jiayu and Du Linshu — have been sharpening their skills at the Olympic shooting range at Chateauroux, about 250 kilometers south to Paris, in preparation to going for gold.

Major breakthroughs

In two of the biggest Olympic sports, China's fast-improving swimmers are determined to prove that they can compete with the sport's traditional powerhouses — the United States and Australia — on all fronts, while the track and field team is expected to deliver more breakthroughs.

Led by "butterfly queen" Zhang Yufei and "breaststroke king" Qin Haiyang, China's 31-member swimming squad has been preparing for the Games in the coastal city of Deauville in northern France since July 6. The swim team is hoping to better its Tokyo performance when it harvested six medals, including three golds.

Zhang, the reigning 200m men's butterfly Olympic champion, and Qin, the 200m men's breaststroke world record holder, represent a new generation of Chinese swimmers that pose a legitimate threat to the world's best swimmers.

Four new world records set at Olympic trials in the US, Australia and Canada over the past two months, however, have underlined the tough challenge Chinese swimmers face to continue their winning ways when the swimming program gets underway on Saturday.

Sharing the spotlight with Zhang and Qin is teen sensation Pan Zhanle, who broke the 100m men's freestyle world record by clocking 46.80 seconds in the leadoff leg of the 4x100m men's freestyle relay at the Doha world championships in February.

Powered by Pan, Team China won both men's freestyle relays and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay in Doha. Combined with victory in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay, it was the country's best result in swimming relays at the long-course world titles.

"It will be my first time participating in the Olympics," Pan said. "My main goal is to relax and not feel too much pressure. I'm not concerned about the results for now; I just want to give it my all."

Nine artistic swimmers will participate in the Paris Games, including twin sisters Wang Liuyi and Wang Qianyi, world champions in the duet event.

China's track and field team will be anchored by five-time Olympian Gong Lijiao, who wants a golden end to her career in Paris by defending her women's shot put title. However, she faces stiff challenges from Canadian Sarah Mitton, the best performer in the world this year, and two-time world champion Chase Jackson of the US.

"This is my fifth Olympic Games," said 35-year-old Gong.

"Although I am very familiar with the event, I'm still doing my best to prepare. I want to produce a good performance at my final Olympics and have no regrets. My goal is to always strive for the championship and to achieve my personal best."

Leading the way for the men is long jumper Wang Jianan, who won China's first men's world championship gold medal in 2022. The 27-year-old three-time Olympian wants to finally stand on the Olympic podium after falling short at the previous two Games.

Last year, Wang defended his Asian Games title in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, with a jump of 8.22m. This season, he secured second place with a jump of 8.04m at the Diamond League event in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in April.

"I believe the most important thing is to prepare well, cooperate with my coach and team, and make any adjustments that are needed," he said. "I hope to perform well in Paris and to make up for the disappointment in Tokyo."

Surprises, diversification

Aiming to demonstrate the country's improving competitiveness across a wider range of sports, the COC has also pinned high hopes on events, such as tennis, fencing, Taekwondo, cycling (track and BMX), boxing and sports climbing, to produce more medals and develop emerging stars on the Olympic stage.

To improve competitiveness in sports dominated by Western nations, such as swimming, track and field, fencing and cycling, the Chinese delegation hired 42 foreign coaches, trainers and medical staff from 17 countries and regions to help prepare for the Games.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn