BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — China introduced on Tuesday its 886-strong squad for the nineteenth Asian Games, and numerous acquainted faces might be competing in Hangzhou once more. Following are 10 Chinese veterans who will return to the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Ma Long (Table Tennis)
Five Olympic gold medals, 13 world championship titles, 9 world cup titles, document 64 months as world No. 1 together with a consecutive 34 months from 2015, Ma is extensively thought to be the best desk tennis participant of all time.
His extraordinary achievements additionally embrace successful 5 Asian Games gold medals from Doha 2006, Guangzhou 2010 and Incheon 2014. 34-year-old Ma will make his fourth Asiad look after lacking the final version in Jakarta, collaborating within the males’s staff occasion.
Ding Xia (Volleyball)
Known for her swift motion and inventive offensive play, 2016 Rio Olympic champion Ding might be enjoying at her third Asiad following a silver medal at Incheon after shedding to hosts South Korea, and a gold at Jakarta with eight straight-set victories.
Earlier this yr, Ding missed the nationwide staff’s coaching camp on account of a knee surgical procedure and was then omitted of the Volleyball Nations League squad on account of a sprained ankle in May. As a sub setter, Ding is anticipated to carry expertise and momentum to the staff.
Gong Lijiao (Shot Put)
Gong received her second straight gold in girls’s shot put on the Jakarta Asian Games, following a silver in 2010. Since her first look on the athletics worlds in 2007, Gong has pocketed two gold, two silver and 4 bronze medals. She turned a Grand Slam winner after being topped on the Tokyo Olympics with a private better of 20.58 meters.
Gong was not happy along with her efficiency after ending third on the World Championships in August and expressed her willpower keep it up. Will the 34-year-old attain her 21 meters aim in her fourth Asian Games?
Zhang Yufei (Swimming)
25-year-old Zhang is the youngest on the checklist, however her achievements aren’t any much less gorgeous. Just two days after wrapping up her World Aquatics Championships journey with 5 medals, together with two golds, Zhang kicked off her Chengdu Universiade marketing campaign this August and accomplished a gold medal sweep in all 9 occasions she competed in.
Having received one gold in 2014 in addition to two golds and a silver in 2018, the Olympic champion stated that she goals to win seven golds at her third Asian Games.
Xiao Ruoteng (Gymnastics)
Xiao captured the crown within the males’s all-around on the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in 2017 and led China to a staff good on the worlds in 2018. After taking an all-round silver, a ground train bronze and a staff bronze on the Tokyo Olympics regardless of accidents, Xiao has lengthy develop into the inspiration of China’s nationwide staff, with the flexibility to resist stress and regular the staff at key moments.
Xiao got here up brief on the Jakarta Games with one silver and two bronze medals. After a prolonged damage lay-off, the 27-year-old has set his sights excessive.
Sun Yiwen (Fencing)
Injuries have all the time been one thing Sun has to take care of. After successful a historic gold within the girls’s epee particular person on the Tokyo Olympics, Sun did not compete in any respect for a very long time till returning to the worldwide subject final November.
Sun took a world cup bronze and her first-ever fencing worlds medal after ending third on the Milan World Championships this July, lifting her world rating from the bottom ninety fifth to the present ninth. The 31-year-old is set to win her maiden Asiad particular person gold and the third consecutive staff title in Hangzhou.
Xue Chen (Beach Volleyball)
Xue made the Chinese nationwide staff in 2002 on the age of 13 and began her Asian Games journey in Doha with companion Zhang Xi to win gold, half a yr after turning into the youngest-ever seashore volleyball champion on the Shanghai Open when she was 17.
The pair then defended the title at Guangzhou 2010. Along with a number of titles within the FIVB World Championships and an Olympic bronze, Xue/Zhang made the FIVB Roster 100 in 2021- the checklist of the best 100 volleyball gamers from 2010 to 2020.
After lacking out on the Incheon and Jakarta Games, Xue returned to the Hangzhou roster, aiming for China’s six consecutive girls’s seashore volleyball gold on the Asiad since 2002 with companion Xia Xinyi.
Xie Zhenye (Athletics)
At Incheon 2014, Xie received the lads’s 4x100m relay gold with teammates and set a brand new Asian document, earlier than withdrawing from the 2018 version on account of damage.
China’s males’s sprinting staff has been having a tough time just lately. And with out star sprinter Su Bingtian, 30-year-old Xie should surrender on his most important occasion – 200m – to compete within the males’s 100m and 4x100m relay in Hangzhou.
Asian document holder within the males’s 200m and as soon as China’s quickest man in 100m, the Zhejiang native needs to say gold at house.
Wang Shanshan (Football)
Wang helped China win the 2022 Asian Cup in India after a 16-year wait. The 33-year-old, who performed each as a ahead and a defender, put out decisive performances within the semifinals towards Japan and the ultimate towards South Korea. She was then named the 2022 Chinese Women’s Footballer of the Year.
Wang’s most spectacular Asiad efficiency could be a gaggle recreation towards Tajikistan in 2018, by which she got here off the bench to attain 9 targets in lower than 40 minutes. Will captain Wang lead the staff to a different Asian Games title since 1998?
Shen Lijun (Weightlifting)
The Chinese weightlifting staff returns to the Asian Games in Hangzhou after their absence at Jakarta 5 years in the past. 30-year-old Shen is the one athlete who was within the Incheon 2014 roster, as he took a silver within the males’s 62kg class.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Shen clinched the 67kg gold and equaled the Olympic whole document of 332kg. Shen dominated the lads’s 67kg on the World Weightlifting Championships earlier this month, pocketing three gold medals in snatch, clear and jerk, and the mixed whole. He will compete in Hangzhou together with three different Olympic weightlifting champions.