China Aims to Dominate at Busan, but 2008 Olympics is Goal

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, September 29, 2002

China Aims to Dominate at Busan, but 2008 Olympics is Goal

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China will do all it can at the Busan Asian Games to maintain its dominant stranglehold over Asian sport, but an ongoing youth movement is aimed at preparing a new crop of athletes for the 2008 Olympic Games, officials said Sunday.

"The mission for the Chinese delegation is to secure a top finish in the golds and medals standings and maintain our lead in Asia," said Li Furong, deputy chef de mission of the Chinese delegation.

"It will not be an easy job and we will work hard for it," he told a press conference.

China has sent its biggest delegation ever to the Asian Games, but nearly 80 percent of the 685 athletes have never participated in an international sports meet, he said.

"The average age of our athletes is 23.3 years," Li said. "So our task is arduous and we are going to have to overcome a lot of difficulties if we really want to get good results."

At the last Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998, China won 129 gold medals for the top finish with South Korea and Japan standing second and third with 65 and 52 golds respectively.

Since debuting in the Asian Games in 1974, China has clinched the top place in gold medals and total medals five times.

"We want to win medals, but we are also here to train our youth," Yang Shuan, secretary general of the delegation said.

"Winning gold medals is important, but to strengthen our younger athletes and give them sharper psychological preparation and training is also important," he said.

With South Korean and Japanese athletes increasingly appearing in top world rankings, China would be hard pressed to dominate as it has in the past, he said.

In most all of the 26 sporting events that Chinese athletes are competing in at the Asiad, a youth movement is well underway, including major sports like atheltics, basketball, volleyball, badminton, gymnastics and swimming.

"Of course it is a very important task to train our younger athletes, this is not only for the 2004 Olympics, but more importantly for the 2008 Olympics," He Huixian, team spokeswomen said.

China's successful bid to host the 2008 Beijing Olympics -- its first-ever -- has spurred a nation-wide sports movement that aims to bring more sporting opportunities to its huge population of 1.3 billion people and extend its dominance in Asia to a world.

In the past two Summer Olympic Games, China has ranked third in gold medals and total medals behind the United States and Russia.

Although Chinese officials refuse to publicly state their expectations for the 2008 Games, it is an unspoken hope that with the home field advantage, either one or both of their rivals can be overtaken.

Source: Agencies

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