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China is set to retain first place in the overall medal tally at the Busan Asian Games, which will open here Sunday night.
The Chinese camp is targeting at least 120 gold medals and all they need is 100 to accomplish their mission.
"It is no problem for us to reach 100 golds, but that is only part of what we want,'' He Huixian, the head of the Chinese delegation said Friday.
"We will host the Olympic Games six years down the road and we'd like to consider this games as a way to improve our up-and-coming youth athletes,'' He said.
China, leading the Asiad since the 1982 New Dehli Games, wants more than just another gold medal haul from the Asiad. It wants to train its Olympic hopefuls so that they will shine in the 2004 Athens Olympics and, more importantly, in the 2008 Olympics on home soil.
"We are not only focusing on winning gold medals, but also on sharpening the skills of those who are possible competitors for the next two Olympic Games,'' said He.
China has dispatched an unprecedentedly large Asiad delegation with 948 members, the third largest entry for the 16-day tournament, following the team of host ROK, with 1,007 members, and Japan, with 985.
China's leading position aside, rivalry will continue between the ROK and Japan who have been battling for second spot since 1982. In the last five Asiads, Japan won twice, in 1982 and in 1994 on home soil in Hiroshima.
But Yu Hong-jong, head of the ROK delegation, said: "I am sure our team will have no difficulty in attaining the goal of winning at least 80 golds for second place in the overall medal standing.''
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) decided to participate in the Asiad at the last minute, the first time for it to join an international sporting event on the soil of its peninsular neighbor.
However, DPRK's dramatic announcement last month to send a team of hundreds of athletes and officials, and a boatload of supporters, is expected to bring political as well as athletic issues.
The nation boycotted the 1986 Seoul Asiad, the 1988 Seoul Olympics and even the 2002 World Cup just three months ago.
DPRK and the ROK are to jointly march at the opening ceremony, and earlier, the DPRK's flag was hoisted for the first time in public in the ROK during a ceremony to open the Games village.
The Busan Games will be running from Sunday to October 14.
(China Daily September 28, 2002)
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