A Chinese taekwondo official said he had told two-time Olympic champion Chen Zhong that she had no opponent at the Beijing Olympics.

"What I mean is that she has no specific opponent as every player at the Olympics is very strong," said Zhao Lei, vice president of the Chinese Taekwondo Association.

The Chinese taekwondo team has been taking the final training before the Olympics and all the athletes are in good status, Zhao told Xinhua in a telephone interview on Monday.

The team, which has made a history in Athens that both the two players it sent to the Olympics got golds, has been taking the final training sessions in Tianjin, according to Zhao.

"The women's team kept a good competitive status and the male players have improved their physical ability," Zhao said.

He said the psychological training is also very important as athletes participating the Olympics are all very good with their skills.

Their psychological status will decide the result of the competition sometimes, said Zhao, adding that the team has different measures for different athletes in terms of psychology.

"For example, we have to tell Chen Zhong not to be obsessed with her injury, and help the young player Wu Jingyu to get familiar with the Olympics," he said.

China sent four taekwondo players to compete in the Beijing Olympics. Besides Chen and Wu, the two male players are Liu Xiaobo in the over 80kg class, bronze medalist in the Asian Games in 2006, and Zhu Guo in the 80kg division, who won the fifth place in the world championships in 2007. They won't move into the Olympic Village until Aug 16.

The Olympic taekwondo events will begin on Aug 20 in the University of Science and Technology Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2008)