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Chinese Swimmers May Suffer Medal Drought at Universiade
Chinese swimmers may suffer a medal drought at the 21st World University Games which begins on August 22, the Chinese coaches said Tuesday in Beijing.
Among the 29 Chinese swimmers, only Han Xue, a women's freestyle sprinter, had competed at the Fukuoka World Swimming Championships in Japan last month. The rest of the field are the second-tier athletes from the country.
Han, a former short course world record holder in the women's 50 meters breaststroke, turned to a freestyle sprinter in 1998. She was a member of the Chinese relay team who finished fifth in the 4x100m freestyle in Fukuoka.
Yao Zhengjie, head coach of the host team, said:"It is even difficult to win a medal because the Universiade is not the most important event for us this year. Our top swimmers have competed in the World Swimming Championships and East Asian Games so far this year. They will strive for good results at the National Games later this year."
The leading absentees are Qi Hui, world record holder in the women's 200 meters breaststroke and Luo Xuejuan, who came as a underdog at the world championships in Japan last month and swept two gold medals in the women's 50m and 100m breastestroke.
Yang Yu, the women's 200m freestyle silver medalist in Fukuoka, is also not on the list of the Chinese lineup.
"They are too young to qualify for the Universiade," Yao explained. The age limit for the University Games is between 18-28.
For many Chinese swimmers, the quadrennial Ninth National Games in November is the biggest event of the year and even in their career.
Chen Yan, former world record holder in the women's 400m individual medley, scored her career best at the National Games four years ago but was not qualified to reach the finals at Sydney Olympic Games last year.
"We didn't set any target for our swimmers for the Unviersiade. We just asked them to perform their best," Yao said. "If they are lucky enough they can get a medal from women's sprint freestyle, breaststroke and relay."
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