Chinese gymnasts are determined to erase painful memories of their Athens failure.
But they are piling pressure onto the team, as it struggles to manage huge home expectations, admitted head coach Huang Yubin.
Chinese gymnast Li Ya training during the 2004 Athens Olympics. [China Daily] |
He added: "It's definitely a big advantage to compete at home. We have the home support, which will be fantastic. But the expectation is also high, maybe too high for us.
"You can imagine the pressure when 1.3 billion people are watching you. We're nervous because we know we have to succeed and failure is unacceptable."
Yet, Huang said that his gymnasts are eager to make amends for a dismal Athens Games.
Said the 50-year-old: "In 2004, we won only one gold medal, which is not that bad compared to some others, but it's still described as 'Athens Waterloo' in China, and our performance was considered a complete failure.
"Of course it's the very impetus for us to have a strong comeback in Beijing but the pressure is tremendous."
The Chinese won their first team gold at the 2000 Sydney Games, but failed to build on the achievement in Athens, losing to archrivals Japan.
They bounced back with terrific results in the past two championships, winning five gold medals in Stuttgart last year and eight in 2006, including the most coveted team titles.
Gymnastic legend Nadia Comaneci has predicted a China medal bonanza in Beijing.
She said: "The Chinese team is very, very good. In the men's competition, I don't think any other team could be better than them.
"The women's competition will be very close, but it's a great advantage to have the Olympics in your country.
"It would be difficult for everybody else to get a hand on the medals."
Of all the Chinese talents, Yang Wei is the outstanding star of the men's team. The best all-around men's gymnast at the 2006 and 2007 Worlds, he boasts a total of seven world titles and was part of the winning men's team in Sydney Games.
The Chinese women, spearheaded by multi-world champion Cheng Fei, are confident of outperforming the star-studded United States team.
"I can't guarantee a win but I can say we are as good as them (the US) on the four apparatus, even better on some," said women's coach Lu Shanzhen.