Three Chinese men, Qian Zhenhua, Liu Yan and Cao Zhongrong, will fight another 27 competitors for the title on Sunday.

The sole Chinese woman, Liang Caixia, entered the final round directly due to the lack of women participants. She wil compete on Saturday.

Team leader Xu Haifeng said it's the first time four Chinese athletes have competed in the final round of the pentathlon.

Ninety-three athletes from 24 countries took part in the qualifying round on Thursday in Cairo.

The Egypt stage is the fourth in the modern pentathlon series, after Britain, Germany and Hungary. The final round will be held in Italy.