The Chinese gymnastics team is going to fight for 7 golds in the 2004 Athens Olympics but is expected to finally collect only 2 or 3. This target was revealed by Gao Jian, director of the Gymnastics Sports Administration Centre.

The number seems a bit low considering the fact that China, a traditional gym powerhouse, produced a best-ever showcase and vaulted to the top of the world with five golds, two silvers and one bronze at the World Gymnastic Championships, which were held last August in the United States.

But Gao is sticking to his guesstimate.

"We were lucky in the world championship. Categories with gold hopefuls will not be changed at the Athens Olympics, but there will be no sharing of golds in the Olympics and it is certainly more competitive."

Gao admitted that emerging countries like the United States, who pocketed 5 golds in the world championships and Japan who won two, together with arch-rivals like Russia and Romania, will not let us have an easy go of it.

"I will be very pleased if we manage a 40-per-cent showing, which means collecting 2 or 3 golds, " said Gao.

According to Gao's speculation, in men's competition, China has its best chances for gold in the men's team, all-around, parallel bars, vault and pommel horse.

In the world championships, China took four of the five golds missing out only on the men's all-around, in which Chinese Yang Wei was edged out by American Hamm Paul by 0.064.

In the women's events, Gao has his eyes on the asymmetric bars and the beam, Fan Ye having taken the gold on the beam in the United States.

Thanks to the convincing margins in points among the winning Chinese, China will not have to spend too much time in choosing those for its Olympics roster.

"Participants in the world championships are going to be the main presence at Athens. If there is a shift, it will only be a matter of one or two gymnasts," said Gao.

Gao explained that it takes time to cultivate an excellent gymnast. You need to field a relatively stable team for a big event.

To achieve the gold goal, the Chinese gym squad is already engaged in winter training in preparation for the upcoming Olympics.

When asked about the importance of this training, Gao Jian said it has a "key role in his gymnasts' further improvement".

"We are going to extend the men's advantage by adding new elements and sharpening skills."

In Gao's eyes, even Li Xiaopeng, the Olympic and world champion, needs to improve his performance.

"The coach and I are thinking of new elements every day," said Li, a 13-time world and Olympic champion, who is almost sure to surpass legendary Chinese gymnast Li Ning's record 14 golds.

In their training, the women's team has been urged to learn from the men's team and to give more time to the improvement of vault and floor exercises.

"I am confident that, after a lot of hard work, we will not have to wait too long to see Chinese women's gymnasts dominating the sport worldwide," said Gao.

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