Chinese Olympian swimmers to compete Short Course Worlds

Chinese swimming unveiled a 25-member squad Thursday in Beijing for the Short Course World Championships to be held from October 7-11 in Indianapolis, the United States.

Luo Xuejuan, women's 100 meters breaststroke champion at the Athens Olympic Games, is on top of the list together with former world record holder Qi Hui and butterfly expert Zhou Yafei.

China won 3 golds, 4 silvers and 5 bronzes at the Short Course (25 meters) Worlds in Moscow two years ago. However, they set a low tone for the Indianapolis trip.

Shang Xiutang, vice chairman of the Chinese Swimming Association, said: "We have no plan to grab a gold or medal this time because we are not fully prepared."

After the Athens Olympic Games, most of the Chinese swimmers have competed in the National University Games and National Summer Championships while newly-crowned Luo was busy to show off at social activities.

"We are lack of training and preparation. So we don't expect good results, but we will take chance to test our athletes," Shang said.

Following are the name list of the 25-member squad:

Women: Luo Xuejuan, Qi Hui, Zhou Yafei, Chen Hua, Chen Xiujun, Gao Chang, Li Jie, Li Ji, Pang Jiaying, Luo Nan, Tang Jingzhi, Zhu Yingwen, Zhan Shu, Zhang Tianyi;

Men: Chen Zuo, Liu Yu, Wu Peng, Yu Rui, Wang Haibo, Zhao Tao, Zhang Lin, Liu Weijia, Lai Zhongjian, Qu Jingyu, Huang Shaohua.