China's gold medal hopefuls:

Diving - men's synchronized 10m platform; shooting - men's 10m air rifle, women's trap; weightlifting - men's 62 kg weight class

Lin Yue & Huo Liang

A dream team of Chinese divers consisting of Lin Yue and Huo Liang grabbed the gold in the men's 10 meter synchronized platform event at last year's 12th FINA World Championships. They led the final throughout and finished 21 points higher than the silver medalists. They are strong medal contenders in Beijing.

Athens Olympic rifle champion Zhu Qinan is confident in defending his title at the Beijing Olympics.

37-year-old trap shooter Liu Yingzi, mother of 1-year-old fraternal twins, made a surprising comeback from maternity leave when she took the title at the 2007 International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Championship in Cyprus. The current world number one aims for Olympic gold.

Turkey's Halil Mutlu withdrew from the weightlifting competition after winning three consecutive Olympic championships. Team China's obvious advantage is in the 62 kg weight class. If Qiu Le can participate, he will help give China an edge. In addition, Mao Jiao, Zhang Ping, and Yang Fan also show promising strength. Yang Fan won three titles at last year's World Championships.

(China.org.cn July 30, 2008)