Paris 2024 Preview: China chasing continued success

BEIJING, July 13: With less than two weeks until the opening of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, China announced a 716-member delegation, including 405 athletes, on Saturday, aiming to win more glory at the quadrennial sports extravaganza.

China has consistently finished in the top three positions in the Olympic medals table since Sydney 2000, and this trend is expected to continue in Paris.

Much of China's Olympic success relied on its squads in diving, shooting, gymnastics, table tennis, badminton and weightlifting - which have contributed a whopping 192 of China's total 263 gold medals at the Olympics since Los Angeles 1984.

During the Paris Olympic cycle, the country's "six ace squads" maintained a high level of performance across various competitions. Consequently, China is projected to finish second in total medals and should challenge the United States for first place in gold medals, according to Nielsen's Gracenote's latest Virtual Medal Table (VMT) forecast.

After missing out on the mixed doubles title in Tokyo, China's table tennis team will look to secure a clean sweep of all five Olympic titles this time around.

"We cannot take for granted that these five gold medals belong to China. All five gold medals are in Paris, and they are reserved for the brave and the wise, for those who excel the most," said Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association.

China's table tennis icon Ma Long is now gearing up for his fourth Olympic appearance, leading China's men's team alongside world champions Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, while Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu headline the women's squad.

"We have been fine-tuning our form for quite a long time, and we will give our all to achieve the best possible results in Paris," said women's world number one Sun Yingsha, who will compete in singles, mixed doubles, and team events.

China's diving squad includes five Olympic champions. Cao Yuan will become a four-time Olympian, while Quan Hongchan, Chen Yuxi, Wang Zongyuan and Xie Siyi will be competing in their second Olympic Games.

In the world championships held in February, China's diving team collected nine golds out of 13 events, and are hoping to continue that momentum in Paris.

"Our opponents are making rapid progress, and they will cause more trouble to the Chinese divers at the Olympic Games. But we are ready for the tense competitions and looking forward to a good performance," Chinese Diving Association president Zhou Jihong remarked.

China's shooting team will be another ambitious squad to watch, as it expects to improve on the haul of four gold medals it won three years ago.

As usual, the first gold medal of the Paris Olympics will be determined in shooting when the mixed team 10m air rifle event starts hours after the opening ceremony. China, represented by two pairs - world champions Han Jiayu and Du Linshu, and Olympic silver medalists Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting - stands a good chance of claiming the coveted honour.

China's weightlifting team won seven golds and one silver at the last Olympics, but due to the limit of six athletes per event, they cannot replicate that success in Paris. The team boasts four Tokyo Olympic champions: Li Fabin, Shi Zhiyong, Hou Zhihui and Li Wenwen, while newcomers Liu Huanhua and Luo Shifang are also promising.

China's badminton team has secured two Olympic qualifications in all five individual events, making it the only team to achieve full participation in each individual event. During the Paris Olympic cycle, China has maintained its dominance in mixed doubles and women's doubles, with Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong and Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan ranking top in the world for a long time. But China's shuttlers face tough competition in the men's singles and men's doubles respectively.

With China striving to establish itself as a world-class sporting power, its attempts to expand its prowess to more mainstream sports, such as athletics, swimming and team ball sports, will undergo a stern test in Paris.

In athletics, China's star sprinter Su Bingtian, who ran an Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the men's 100m semifinal and finished sixth in the final at the Tokyo Olympics, will miss the Paris Olympics with injury. The country's hopes of winning a gold medal will rest on race walkers Liu Hong, Yang Jiayu and Ma Zhenhong. Gong Lijiao (women's shot put), who is set to make her fifth Olympic appearance in Paris, and Feng Bin (women's discus throw) are also likely to be podium contenders.

China's women's basketball team was given a favourable draw for the Paris Olympics, avoiding defending champions the USA and hosting France in the group stage. Their real test will start from the knockout stage.

Injuries have lately plagued the team, who won only one game in six overseas warm-up matches, including two heavy defeats to Australia.

"The team is overcoming difficulties and actively preparing. We are diligently training every day, and hoping to adjust the team's condition as quickly as possible," said head coach Zheng Wei.

As the country's only world title-winning ball sports team, China's women's volleyball squad delivered a major confidence boost by winning four matches in a row at the Hong Kong leg of the FIVB Women's Volleyball Nations League last month.

"At the Paris Olympics, we will give our all in every match and showcase the spirit of Chinese women's volleyball," said head coach Cai Bin.

Elsewhere, China's post-00s athletes will try to captivate global attention with medals in emerging Olympic sports such as breakdancing, sport climbing, skateboarding and surfing.