China's Olympic and world swimming champions to compete in Chengdu

CHENGDU, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Olympic gold medalists Zhang Yufei and Li Bingjie as well as newly crowned world champion Qin Haiyang will compete in the upcoming FISU World University Games, Liu Zhenqing, deputy leader of China's swimming team, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Qin shines at the ongoing World Aquatics Championship as he has pocketed three gold medals in Fukuoka, Japan.

"We have 35 swimmers here. 29 of them have been in the Universiade Village, and the other six who are in Japan will join us when the World Aquatics Championships close on July 30. We will compete in every swimming event during the FISU Games," said Liu.

Zhang, winner of women's 200m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games, claimed her maiden 100m butterfly world title at the World Aquatics Championships.

Qin won both men's 100m and 50m breaststroke at the Fukuoka worlds with new Asian records, and helped China stand on top of the podium in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, along with Zhang, Xu Jiayu and Cheng Yujie.

Li, member of women's 4x200m freestyle relay winning team in Tokyo, brought China a bronze medal in the 1500m freestyle at the World Aquatics Championships.

Besides these elite swimmers, China's team also has a hearing-impaired athlete, Peng Huidi. "Peng is a student of Central South University. She may not achieve a good result here, but she will show us her outstanding determination," Liu commented.

Liu said China's swimming team is targeting at least six gold medals at the Games, whose competitions begin on August 1.