China Unveils 177-member Delegation for Universiade 　　China will send a 177-member delegation for the 20th Universiade slated for July 3-13 in Palma, Spain, Chef de Mission Gao Jian said in Beijing on June 16. 　　A total of 124 Chinese athletes will compete in nine of the 12 sports on agenda, namely athletics, basketball, diving, fencing, gymnastics, judo, swimming, tennis and volleyball. 　　Duo to conflicts with Olympic qualifiers in schedule, China will skip the competitive sports of men's soccer, water polo and yachting, the Chef de Mission said. 　　The Chinese delegation is composed mainly of young athletes, together with a string of veterans, including Olympic diving champions Sun Shuwei and Fu Mingxia, World Cup champions Wang Tianlin, Wang Rui and Yang Lan. 　　Apart from diving, China is pinning medal hopes on the sports of swimming, gymnastics and fencing with the participation of Asian Games swimming champions Deng Qingsong, Cao Na and Qian Min, and gymnasts Liu Xuan, Kui Yuanyuan, Bi Wenjing who had all reaped gold medals in previous major international meets. 　　Both Wang Haibin and Xiao Aihua are also strong bets for medals in fencing as they had been crowned several times in the international arena. 　　"We also have strong potentials in some events in both athletics and judo as well as the women's volleyball," said Gao Jian. 　　"However, our goal is to tune up our young athletes to prepare for the upcoming Olympics and to enhance friendship with athletes from other countries and regions," said the official. 　　The Palma Universiade is expected to attract some 6,600 athletes from 132 countries and regions. 　　The Chinese athletes, who had competed in all the Universiade since 1964, will leave for Spain on June 28. (Xinhua) SportsNews 1999-06-17 Page8 Full Story in Chinese