China poised to deliver top performances at Rio Games

National team expands traditional prowess to swimming, track and field

Encouraged by track and pool successes at recent world championships, China's best athletes expect more breakthrough performances at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

With memories of China's haul of 38 gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics still fresh, and the clock ticking down toward the quadrennial sporting gala, Chinese athletes' preparations for Rio are in full swing.

A traditional global powerhouse in events like table tennis, badminton and weightlifting, China is poised to deliver a more balanced performance at the Rio Olympics with newly demonstrated prowess in swimming and track and field, two mainstream disciplines long dominated by Western athletes.

"The results at the Beijing Worlds helped us build up confidence, especially in events we weren't good at before," said Feng Shuyong, head coach of the national team.

Progress on the track

Track successes at the IAAF Beijing World Championships last month showed a new wave of Chinese athletes has cast off the shadow of star hurdler Liu Xiang's retirement to reinstate the country's status as a legitimate challenger to the world powers in athletics.

Motivated by boisterous home crowds, Chinese athletes ended the championships with nine medals - one gold, seven silver and one bronze - to finish 11th in the binneral event's medal table.

"We are excited to see more balanced progress achieved by China at the World Championships, showcased by podium finishes in all four disciplines of walking, running and jumping as well as throwing, for the first time in the history of Chinese athletics," said Du Zhaocai, director of the Chinese Athletics Association.

Led by 26-year-old sprinter Su Bingtian, the men's 4x100m relay team finished a surprising third in the final and then was upgraded to runner-up after the United States was disqualified for a bad exchange, making history by clinching Asia's first silver medal in the sprint relay at the world championship level.

Su also became the first Asian athlete to reach the 100m final after equaling his national record of 9.99 seconds in the semifinals of the men's 100m.

Long jumper Wang Jianan, 19, leapt more than 8.18 meters to claim the first bronze medal for an Asian athlete in the event, while teammates Gao Xinglong and Li Jinzhe finished fourth and fifth, marking the first time three Chinese jumpers qualified for the final.

On the last night of the championships, high jumper Zhang Guowei won a silver by clearing 2.33 meters, while female javelin thrower Lyu Huihui won a silver with a throw of 66.13meters.

The solid improvements in Western-dominated events have boosted the confidence of Chinese athletes in their Olympic preparations and attracted the world's attention.

"It's very obvious that China will play a huge part in the development of our sport going forward," said Sebastian Coe, the IAAF's new president. "The relay silver is pretty indicative of the progress that Chinese athletes have made."

Splashes in the pool

Led by world and Olympic champion Sun Yang and rising star Ning Zetao, China's swimming team aims to maintain its elite performance of five Olympic gold medals in London at next year's Rio Games.

The ambition was buoyed by the team's fruitful medal haul at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, earlier this year.

Highlighted by Sun's 400m and 800m freestyle victories as well as Ning's breakout win in the 100m free sprint, China bagged five gold, one silver and seven bronze medals, finishing third on the medal board following two traditional swimming powers, the United States and Australia.

Apart from Sun's dominance in distance freestyle events, Ning, 22, made up for China's loss in the sprints by unexpectedly winning the 100m freestyle with a strong stroke in the final meters, delivering the first gold medal for Asia on a world stage.

Sun and Ning's victories strengthened China's rising power in the men's pool, while the subpar performance of swimming prodigy Ye Shiwen, who won gold in the women's 200m and 400m individual medley in London, cast a shadow on the defense of those titles at next year's Olympics.

Dominance challenged

Boasting deep talent pools and advanced training expertise, Chinese athletes have long been dominant in six events diving, table tennis, badminton, weightlifting, shooting and gymnastics - on the Olympic stage for years.

However, the gap between the mighty Chinese contingents and the world challengers has narrowed.

The once invincible Chinese diving "dream team" lost a gold medal in the women's 10m platform at the Kazan Worlds, drawing concerns over its gold sweeping prospects in Rio.

On the weightlifting stage, China lost the starting five weight classes at last year's Asian Games, all of which it won at the Asiad in 2010, to emerging forces Kazakhstan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, raising questions for its Rio campaign.

China's once all-conquering badminton team also faces tough challenges, especially on the women's side, which lost the singles title at the world championships in August.

Men's star shuttler Lin Dan's attempt to rekindle his momentum for a record third Olympic gold medal in a row will attract worldwide attention.

Claiming all five gold medals on offer at the ITTF World Championships in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the Chinese table tennis team seemingly remains unbeatable, while the shooting and gymnastics squads still have to test their mastery at upcoming world championships and Olympic qualification events.

Contact the writers through sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/30/2015 page24)