Chinese rowing team gear up for Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese rowing team, which arrived in Tokyo last Saturday, has been gearing up for the Olympic Games.

The 45-strong team, including 30 rowers, will compete in eight events in the Olympic Rowing Regatta, which is slated from July 23 to 30.

China won its first Olympic rowing gold at the 2008 Beijing Games and one silver and two bronze separately at the 2012 and 2016 editions. The team has set the target on one gold medal in Tokyo.

Cui Xiaotong, Lyu Yang, Zhang Ling and Chen Yunxia, who snatched the gold medal in the 2019 world Championships, have remained unbeaten since then. Zhang Liang and Liu Zhiyu, who won the men's double sculls gold medal in the 2019 world Championships, are also strong contestants at the Tokyo Games.

"We are fine-tuning for the Games, with consideration of temperature, water current, wind direction in the venue of Sea Forest Waterway," said Xu Quan, coach of the Chinese rowing team.

"Our athletes are in good form, and we are full of confidence," Xu added.