Thriving rivalries
By SHI FUTIAN |
China Daily |
Updated: 2023-09-23 07:43
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Athletics
China is usually a near-certainty to top the track-and-field medal table at the Asian Games. However, in Hangzhou, success is less assured as rivals up their game.
Five years ago at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Team China pocketed 12 gold medals. This year the squad will rely heavily on veterans, such as women's shot put Olympic champion Gong Lijiao, men's long jump world champion Wang Jianan and star sprinter Xie Zhenye, for medals.
The likes of India's Neeraj Chopra, who triumphed in the men's javelin at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, and Japan's talented young sprinters, are on form and the most likely to dent China's hopes of another table-topping campaign.
