2008 Olympics to Give Wing to Chinese Sports, Chinese Olympic Chief

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 13, 2001

2008 Olympics to Give Wing to Chinese Sports, Chinese Olympic Chief

Buoyed by the success in Sydney Olympics last year, Chinese sports aims to gain more ground in the 2008 Olympics at Beijing.

Buoyed by the success in Sydney Olympics last year, Chinese sports aims to gain more ground in the 2008 Olympics at Beijing.

Addressing Thursday's launch ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games organizing committee, Chinese Olympic Committee president Yuan Weimin said that to host the games will be a great boost to the development of Chinese sports.

"We believe that through the hosting of the games, our sports will rise a notch and reach a new high in the 2008 Olympic Games," he said.

Chinese sports has been a force to be reckoned with since it broke the Olympic gold medal drought in Los Angles in 1984, wining 16 golds each from the Barcelona and Atlanta Games.

It peaked in Sydney Olympics by finishing third overall and winning an unprecedented haul of 28 golds from such traditionally strong events as table tennis, badminton, gymnastics and diving.

But the euphoria was diluted by its poor performance in such team events as soccer, basketball and volleyball, and China is still a poor cousin in the world arena of medal-rich athletics and swimming.

"China will try to compete in all the 28 Olympic sports in 2008, " said Yuan.

"We aim to enhance the Chinese overall sporting strength, gain more ground in our favorite events, and make breakthrough in medal-rich events such as athletics and swimming, and improve our ball games," he added.

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