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Youthful team ready for Games
By Yu Yilei (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-08-10 06:16

Chinese Olympians have mixed feelings about the Athens Olympic Games.

Some are frequent participants in the world's most watched sporting event, but most are going to make their Olympic debut, resulting from a policy aimed at fostering young talent for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

With the Games set to start on Friday, the pressure is mounting among on those Olympic debutantes but a relaxed feeling is prevailing among the Olympic veterans.


Chinese gymnast Cheng Fei practises on the balance beam during training in Athens August 9, 2004. The Athens 2004 Olympic Games will run from August 13-29. [Reuters]

Le Maosheng, the 1999 World Weightlifting Championships titlist who holds the world record in the men's 62-kilo category clean and jerk, is one of them.

"Since I entered the Olympic Village, I felt light-hearted and I did not undergo heavy pre-Games training," beamed Le who is eyeing a gold medal in his second Olympics.

"What I mostly did was walking around and relaxing," he said.


Members of Chinese gymnastic team exercise during a training session at Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, August 8, 2004. [Reuters]

He even found time to joke about his stylish volcano-like haircut he has had since the 2000 Sydney Games.

"I have it for a long time so that it becomes so firm and cannot even damage it when I sleep," said the 26-year-old from Hunan Province. "So I do not need much time to do it every morning."

Le suffered a setback at the Sydney Games four years ago when he failed to pick up a medal despite being tipped as a hot favourite for gold.

He now feels different, but still hopes he can grab a gold at Athens.

"I am calm now because I have been there," he said. "What I need is just to give it my best."

Those who had already achieved success in Sydney are taking a relaxed approach to the Athens Games.

"I am excited to land here and felt fresh after going through hard training at home," said Tian Liang, the 2000 Sydney Games men's 10-metre platform winner.

Tian is facing an unprecedented challenge from other divers after dominating the event for a long time before 2002. He lost in several major international tournaments including his world title at the 2003 Barcelona World Championships.

However, Tian managed to recapture his form by winning the title at the Athens World Cup at the beginning of this year.

"It's great to come back and I really hope to repeat it again," he said. "It would be nice if I can beat the same divers in the same venue."

But for debutantes among whom some are internationally-acclaimed athletes, dealing with the Athens Olympics is still a tough job.

Zheng Jie, the first Chinese player entering the last 16 of a tennis Grand Slam event, said it is even harder for her to play in the Olympics than in a Grand Slam event.

"You know, you wait four years for the Olympics," the 2004 French Open quarter-finalist said. "I think playing in Olympics is more difficult than playing in a Grand Slam event because you are playing for your country."

Zheng's brilliant showing at the French Open certainly helped her become a member of the Chinese delegation to Athens.

"There are only 64 singles players here and you need to rank among the world's top 50 or 60 to qualify for the Olympics.

"It's easy to be here."

She is reluctant to predict how far she will go this time.

"I don't know because this is my first Olympics," she said. "But I will give my best and hope I will not let the fans down."



 
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