China announces 886-athlete team for Hangzhou Asiad.docx

Xinhua Updated: 2023-09-13 09:16Chinaannounces886-athleteteamforHangzhouAsiadf*in+MembersofChinesedelegationfortheHangzhouAsianGamesattendtheinauguralmeetingofthedelegationinBeijing,capitalofChina,Sept12,2023.Photo/XinhuaBEIJINGChinaannouncedadelegationof1,329members,including886athletes,fortheupcomingHangzhouAsianGameshereonTuesday.The19thAsianGameswilltakeplaceinHangzhou,eastChina'sZhejiangProvincefromSeptember23toOctober8,duringwhich437femaleand449maleChineseathleteswillcompetein407eventsof38disciplines.AmongtheChineseathletes,whohaveanaverageageof25,36areOlympicchampions.IhopethatpeoplefromallovertheworldcanjoinustoenjoyChinesecultureinHangzhou.China'sgymnastsaregettingreadytoshowourselvesontheAsiadstage,"saidZouJingyuan,anOlympicchampionwhoclinchedtwogoldmedalsattheChengduUniversiadeinAugust.China,sBaoShanju,whowongoldinthecyclingtrackwomen'steamsprintattheTokyoOlympicGamesin2021,said,"OurteamparticipatedinmanyinternationaleventsthisyeartopreparefortheAsianGames.WetrainedhardandfeltconfidentofachievingourbestinHangzhou."ForformerOlympicchampionLeiSheng,thejourneytoHangzhouwillbethesecondtimehetakespartintheAsianGamesasafencingcoach,afterhavingcompetedinthreepreviousAsiads."Itisadifferentmindsetasacoach.Ineedtotrymybesttohelptheathletesimprovetheirskillsandperformancesatinternationalevents,"Leisaid."TheAsianGamesisagreatopportunityforthemtolearnfromathletesofothercountriesandgainexperience."Astherewillbe630ChineseathletesmakingtheirdebutattheAsianGamesinHangzhou,Leisaidthatyoungcompetitorsmustbebravetowin."Don'tjustfocusontheresults,butthecompetitionprocess,Leinoted.GaoZhidan,directorofChina,sGeneralAdministrationofSport,deliveredaspeechtothedelegationonTuesday,encouragingathletestoattainnewheightsinboththeHangzhouAsiadandthe2024ParisOlympicGames."ThewholeteamshouldmakeconcertedeffortstodemonstrateChina'ssportingstrength.TheHangzhouAsiadalsorepresentsagreatplatformforculturalexchangesbetweentheAsiancountriesandregionstowardsasharedfuture,'1Gaosaid.