Well prepared and fully protected, China's Olympic teams have arrived
in Tokyo safe and sound on a mission to do their country proud at the
pandemic-hit Summer Games. With four days to go before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics open on Friday,
the majority of China's 431-athlete delegation had traveled to the
Japanese capital on chartered flights by Sunday, kicking off the
country's campaign to finish high in the medal tally at the multisports
mega event, which was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearing masks and protective goggles, and some behind face shields,
athletes and coaches from China's celebrated Olympics teams, including
table tennis, women's soccer and badminton, appeared in high spirits at
Narita International Airport over the weekend, to the excitement of
awaiting supporters and photographers. After an extra year of the waiting, Chinese Olympians have been
braced for not just athletic challenges, but also strict
pandemic-control restrictions at arguably the toughest Olympic Games in
history. "It takes a little longer than before, but the trip is fairly smooth,
and my whole team is in good condition and ready for title challenges,"
Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said
on Saturday after going through complicated formalities that included a
COVID-19 test upon landing in Tokyo. Some of the teams, arriving in peak hours at the airport, had to wait
up to five hours before receiving their negative test results and being
allowed to go. "It's understandable under this special situation during the COVID-19
pandemic, since epidemic-prevention is very important," said Jia
Xiuquan, head coach of the women's soccer squad, adding that, regarding
the requirements, the stricter the better. Led by 24 Olympic champions and guided by experienced coaches,
including 30 hired from abroad, the Chinese teams will compete on a goal
set by delegation chief Gou Zhongwen to stay at least within the top
three on the overall medal table in Tokyo, and to try to better China's
haul of 26 gold medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Gou, minister of the General Administration of Sport of China,
stressed that it's a top priority that all Chinese athletes have to
compete with sportsmanship and discipline, holding a zero-tolerance
stance against doping. China will count on athletes from six traditionally strong
sports-table tennis, diving, weight-lifting, shooting, gymnastics and
badminton-to bolster its medal hopes. Yet the host's improving strength
in both racket sports and the strong competition from the United States
in gymnastics and Germany in shooting have heralded tough battles for
gold. Designated to march into the opening ceremony as 111th among the
delegations, Team China will be spearheaded by two flag-bearers-men's
taekwondo reigning champion Zhao Shuai and women's volleyball star Zhu
Ting, who were confirmed by the Chinese Olympic Committee on Saturday as
being selected to shoulder the duty of honor. Zhu helped the Chinese women's squad claim a high-profile gold medal
in volleyball five years ago in Rio, and Zhao made history by winning
China's first Olympic gold in men's taekwondo when he triumphed in the
58 kg category in Brazil. "I really appreciate the trust from our delegation. It's a huge honor
for me to be named the flag-bearer. I feel greatly motivated by it,"
said 26-year-old Zhu, captain of the Chinese team. "Watching our national flag hoisted along with the national anthem is
always my goal, and that of the Chinese women's volleyball team as
well."
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