They are ace shooters and technically well prepared.

But like a spell, Chinese veteran shooters Tan Zongliang and Hu Binyuan never had any Olympic medal.

This is the fourth time the 37-year-old Tan compete on the Olympic arena. But he was defeated again on Saturday, failing to edge into the final of the men's 10-meter air pistol competition.

On Tuesday, the 2006 World Championships gold medalist will chase medals at the 50-meter pistol event, the discipline that brought China the first-ever Olympic gold in 1984.

"During the training, he showed his level, but he needs to improve his competing capacity," said Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese shooting team.

Deng Guangwei, Tan's coach at the Shandong provincial team, said "If he could draw experiences from previous competitions, heed some technical details, and adjust his mindset, Tan is hopeful to win."

Standing behind the shooter will be Lin Zhongzai, 27, champion in the discipline at the 2007 World Cup Final who also harvested three World Cup gold medals in the event.

Their major challengers would be a pair of Russian shooters. Athens defending champion Nestruev Mikhail didn't do well on Saturday either and could be keen to win this time. His teammate Isakov Vladimir is also world champion in the discipline.

Frenchman Dumoulin Franck was proved a formidable rival as well. With a gold medal in the discipline at the 1998 World Championships, he won a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics in 10-meter air pistol.

And don't forget Jin Jong Oh from South Korea and Kim Jong Su from DPR Korea. The pair had showed sharpness on Saturday by nipping silver and bronze.

In the event of men's double trap, the 1998 Asian Games champion Hu will fight with 2005 World Championships silver medalist Wang Nan to vie with Russian shooter Vasily Mosin, British Richard Faulds and Ahmed Almaktoum from the United Arab Emirates.

The competition could be difficult as Faulds is Sydney Games gold medalist in the event, Almaktoum the Athens Games champion and Mosin had three World Cup gold medals, including one he got from Good Luck Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2008)