The stage is already set, but the performers have just been introduced.

China Tuesday announced its 633-member delegation - of which 407 are athletes - to the Athens Summer Olympic Games, which open on August 13.

The 407 athletes represent the nation's largest Olympic contingent ever. They will compete against 10,100 counterparts from around the world in the ancient city that gave birth to the Olympic movement more than 20 centuries ago.

The long-awaited announcement officially kicked off a flurry of predictions from Chinese media and members of the public about how many medals - especially gold medals - our athletes will bring home.

China finished third in the gold medal standings four years ago in Sydney, trailing only the United States and Russia.

The medal tally expectation for Athens has been set high because this will be the last Games before Beijing hosts the global extravaganza in 2008.

"Our target is to ensure our leading position in the second group," says Li Furong, vice Chef-de-Mission of the delegation. "Specifically, I think we can win some 20 gold medals."

The second group refers to the likes of Canada, Germany, Australia, France and the Republic of Korea.

Much importance -perhaps overblown - has been attached to the relationship between national glory and China's gold medal harvest in Athens.

It is understandable and quite natural that the more medals athletes grab in this global showcase, the more glory they bring to their home country.

But such expectations not only exert tremendous pressure on the athletes but miss the tenet of the Olympic Games, which values participation over winning.

Sports, a "privileged area of freedom," should be free of any imposed social, political or economic functions.

This ancient sports gathering is a stage to bring together world-class athletes who demonstrate the very essence of sportsmanship and international goodwill.

Our hope is that along with shiny medals, China's athletes will continue to pursue the high standards of sportsmanship and goodwill they have always shown in past Olympics.