Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 24, 2002
Guangdong Aim High at China's Non-Olympic Sports National Games
South China's Guangdong Province have set a target of retaining the top rank at the gold medal tally at the 2nd Non-Olympic Sports National Games slated to open on Saturday in Mianyang, of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
South China's Guangdong Province have set a target of retaining the top rank at the gold medal tally at the 2nd Non-Olympic Sports National Games slated to open on Saturday in Mianyang, of southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Guangdong scored a shining triple by top-ranking for the total gold medal, medal tally and team standings at the inaugural Games held two years ago in Ningbo of east China's Zhejiang Province.
This year Guangdong are determined to secure a second ranking while trying to defend their number one place, by winning a total of 28 gold medals. They are to face 53 other delegations from across the country.
A total of 6,000 athletes and coaches are expected to be in Mianyang, which is 120 kilometers northeast of Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital.
The southern Chinese province feature a largest delegation this time for the second version of the non-Olympic sports national games, with 248 athletes in their contingent. They are expected to perform well in 60 events of 14 sports such as underwater swimming, water skiing, acrobatic gymnastics, bowling, lion and dragon dance, dragon boat racing and aircraft modeling.
Ye Xiquan, deputy head of the Guangdong delegation, said that their athletes are a mixture of professionals and amateurs. but such amateur athletes as those from the rural areas are of the top standard in the province.
Sichuan Province, hosts of this year's Games, and Shanghai, who ranked second at the 2000 Games, are thought to be the main challengers for Guangdong.
Also on the competition program for the Games through June 4 are such sports as marine modeling, Chinese-style wrestling, parachute-jumping, roller-skating, go, chess, bridge, rock climbing, billiards, sports dancing, body-building and orientation.
Except for six sports, professional and open groups are to be set for all the other sports.