China to Send Eight Gymnasts to Gymnastics WorldsChina will send an eight-gymnast team to the World Gymnastics Championships to be held in Ghent, Belgium from Oct. 27 - Nov. 4, the top official revealed Saturday.The squad, which featured gymnasts aged from 17 to 19 years old, has no medal contention but purposes to gain experience as well as to try the new rules of the sports. Zhang Jian, China's top gymnastics official, said:"Our top gymnasts are gunning for the National Games which starts only a few days after the worlds." The quadrennial National Games, which has been considered a showdown among clubs, is the prime multi-sports games of the country. "It is difficult to perform peak at the two congesting events within one month," Zhang said. Zhang Shangwu, a surprise rings winner at the World University Games in Beijing, will spearhead the team which features seven male and one female gymnasts. Huang Yubin, Chinese head coach, said:"Most of them have never competed in the international events. They may return home with empty hands, not to mention the possibility to defend the men's team title." The all-conquering Chinese men's gymnasts claimed their fourth consecutive team title in Tianjin, China, in 1999 and their first team champion at Sydney Olympics last year. "Our focus is Athens Olympic Games in 2004," Huang said. The official roster for the Ghent World Championships will be announced next week. |
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