Chinese gymnastics "dream" team hails Athens' accomodation

The Chinese gymnastics "dream" team, who collected five golds at the world championship last year, on Monday spoke highly of the accomodation in the Athens Olympic Village.

"For us, it is much better than the Sydney Olympics where the rooms were small and the food was not that savory," said Chen Xiong, coach of the Chinese team who directly nurtured current gymnastics prince Li Xiaopeng.

Chen told Xinhua outside a training venue in Athens that the team was statisfied with the accommodation in the Village although no TV or refrigerator is provided.

"In the dinning hall, Asian meal is provided, and it is acceptable for our boys and girls. But the food is more or less like Japanese style. It could an icing on the cake if typical Chinese food could be provided in the village," Chen said.

The gymnastics tournament of the Athen Olympic Games will kick off on August 14 and its first gold medal (men's team) will be produced on August 16.

China claimed the men's team title in Sydney and have vowed to defend their crown in Athens.

The Chinese line-up is Li Xiaopeng, Yang Wei, Xing Aowei, Huang Xu, Teng Haibin and Xiao Qin, which is the same as that in last year's world championship where China were crowned in the men's team event.