Beijing(CNS)-- A total of 277 Chinese athletes have qualified for the 2012 London Olympic Games so far, Liu Peng, head of the General Administration of Sport of China, confirmed on December 27.
"They have the potential to make impressive showings at the London Games, but face serious challenges as well," Liu said.
Chinese athletes gave stable and respectable qualifying performances in various international tournaments in 2011, taking front runner status in various sports. So far 277 Chinese players have qualified for 159 events in 18 categories of the London Olympics.
"Based on our success in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, we are encouraged and confident about achieving good results in London," Liu said, but made it a point to emphasize that China must keep a cool head and carry out an objective analysis of the situation as it unfolds.
Major sports powers have attached more importance to and increased investment in competitive sports, and have constantly improved their logistics support, a situation which is contributing to the atmosphere of unprecedented intensity that surrounds the upcoming competition. Sports giants —including the US, Russia, the UK, Germany and Australia — not only have maintained their traditional advantages and strengths, but have also achieved a breakthrough in some new events.
China claimed 51 gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games, ranking first in the world. This time the team will not be on home turf, and is much more uncertain about their rivals and the nature of the challenges in London.
To complicate matters, China is losing its superiority in its traditional events and, with the exception of some individuals, has not made any significant breakthroughs in areas where their potential has been deemed promising.
The country has made advances in some basic sports like swimming and track and field, but is far from catching up with other sports powers in a range of competitons; in terms of basketball and volleyball it still lags far behind European countries and the US.
Liu indicates that China's preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games is beset with three problems: some athletes have not lifted their spirits up to the level of the 2008 Olympics; their training is not effective because of some outdated methods and concepts; and organization and logistics need to be more efficient.
"China will spare no effort to remain at the top of the medal tally in spite of severe challenges and difficulties," was how Cai Jiadong, head of the Department of Competitive Sports in the General Administration of Sport, summed up the team spirit.
