Team China is shifting up a gear and training three times a day as the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Games approaches, officials told reporters last weekend.
"We are busy training with three sessions a day," Fu Guoyi, head coach of the Chinese women's judo team, said during a visit to the training camps of China's judo, wrestling, tennis, handball and field hockey teams.
"One hour in the early morning, two and a half hours before noon, then another long session in the afternoon," said Fu, whose women judoka are hoping this summer to surpass the five medals they hauled out of Athens in 2004, including one gold. With stiff competition from Japan and Europe, they know the task is going to be anything but easy.
China has already qualified 538 athletes for 27 events at this summer's Olympics, said Cui Dalin, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sport. Its female tennis stars are also set to show up in Beijing, making this the first Games in which China is competing in all (28) events.
With another 50 athletes expected to bolster Team China's squad, the home side is expecting to 580 to represent it in August - the largest team in the country's Olympic history.
The deputy sports chief also downplayed China's medal prospects, saying that its lack of stars in the medal-laden swimming and athletics events give Russia and the US a major advantage.
"The US and Russia recently predicted what medals they could win in Beijing," said Cui. "I would say their predictions are very conservative."
Olympic broadcaster NBC is predicting that US athletes will win 42 gold medals and 108 medals in total. The largest Russian sports journal is hoping its side can bag 122 medals.
"The competition in Beijing will be extremely heated," Cui said.
When asked whether disruptions of the torch relay in London and Paris have lowered morale, Chinese athletes said they were not adversely affected.
Liu Yun, captain of the women's handball team, said everyone has responded by training harder.
