China Takes Asiad as Buildup for Athens Olympics

Home>>Sports

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, September 25, 2002

China Takes Asiad as Buildup for Athens Olympics

Chinese soccer team arrived in Busan Wednesday for the upcoming Busan Asian Games, with a simple target of semifinal berth but a lofty view to the coming future.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

Chinese soccer team arrived in Busan Wednesday for the upcoming Busan Asian Games, with a simple target of semifinal berth but a lofty view to the coming future.

Yan Shiduo, executive vice president of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), said China are taking the Asiad as a chance to blood new talents on their road to the Athens Olympic Games as well as the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

"This time we just send our U-21 soccer team to Busan, well below the Asiad age limit of 23. What's more, we don't use the wildcards, namely no one aged beyond 23, even 21." said Yan.

"Our players are going to train as soon as possible. Probably this afternoon they will begin their first training session," said Shen Xiangfu, head coach of Chinese team.

Chinese U-21 soccer team are likely to make up the core of the senior national squad in the coming years. Qu Bo, An Qi and Du Wei, three of the squad, have already been capped by Chinese former coach Bora Milutinovic at the World Cup in June and started in group matches.

Shen stressed that his squad were looking for experience rather than glory in Busan.

"The Asiad is just like a mid-term examination for us. It's an important part of our preparation for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. We believe the Asian Games will bring a lot to our squad."said Shen.

"South Korea and Japan are rather strong, but we have enough confidence about ourselves." said An Qi, the Chinese goalkeeper.

The squad outplayed Japan 1-0 in an U-21 friendly match in Shanghai on August 22, with a superb free-kick by the talented midfielder Xu Liang.

"We expect to play well every matches and we are confident about the Games." said Qu Bo, who got an offer from English premier league club Tottenham Hotspur but failed to get the work permit from British government after the World Cup.

Questions?Comments? Click here

China Sends Stewards to Asiad Equestrian

Asian Basketball Glory Belongs to China: UAE Coach

>> Full Coverage

China to Build up Oil Stockpile ( 19 Messages)

E-government, A Hot Cake on China's IT Markets ( 4 Messages)

Jiang Urges Army to Prepare for Military, Anti-Terror Struggles ( 12 Messages)

Source of Cult Members' TV Hijacking Pinpointed ( 5 Messages)

Popularizing Mandarin: a Long Way to Go ( 30 Messages)

"Whoever Plays with Fire Gets Burnt": Commentary ( 3 Messages)