As Tokyo Games' 100-day countdown begins, morale high among Chinese athletes despite pandemic challenges

Despite uncertainties cast by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese athletes are going all out on the home stretch of their preparations for the delayed Tokyo Olympics as the countdown to the Games hit the 100-day mark on Wednesday.

With Team China's hard-fought victory to seal a spot in the women's soccer tournament providing a timely morale boost this week, Chinese athletes are intensifying their training as they bid to do their country proud at the world's biggest sports extravaganza, which is scheduled to open on July 23.

Ahead of a June 29 entry deadline, China has so far earned 255 qualification spots in 180 events across 23 sports for the Games, according to the Chinese Olympic Committee.

Boasting a deep talent pool and advanced training methods, the Chinese delegation will continue to count on its six most dominant events－diving, table tennis, shooting, weightlifting, gymnastics and badminton－to deliver on its medal ambitions in Tokyo.

Athletes belonging to those "mighty six" have contributed a whopping 162 of China's 224 gold-medal total since the country debuted at the Summer Olympics in 1984 in Los Angeles.

Yet, much-improved rivals representing the host in the two racquet sports, and strong competitors from the West, such as the United States in gymnastics and Germany in shooting, make the Tokyo Games arguably the toughest-ever medal mission for the six Chinese squads.

"The one-year delay really messed up our plans and we are facing some extra pressure from the uncertainties," Zhou Jihong, team manager of China's all-conquering diving team, told CCTV following a domestic Olympic trial earlier this year.

"To continue high-intensity training for one more year is a tough call for our veterans, but on the bright side it presents us with the opportunity to conduct more sessions for our young divers to mature," added Zhou, who has been involved in all 40 Olympic gold medals won by the squad as either an athlete or team official since 1984.

"It's hard to make any predictions for the Olympics. Our focus will be on improving ourselves as best we can and the result will take care of itself."

After training behind closed doors at home for more than a year to stay safe during the pandemic, Chinese teams are currently preparing for overseas trips starting from this month.

China's women's volleyball team, led by legendary coach Lang Ping, is hoping to make the best out of next month's friendly match against Japan at a test event in Tokyo to sharpen up for the defense of its Olympic title.

"Our players are all in good shape and mentally strong after spending the past year preparing for Tokyo in isolated training," Lang said earlier this month.

"But working hard without international competition is a big challenge. Time is pressing.

"We've done a lot of strength conditioning, skill training and tactical drills. It's critical for us to put all those to the test in real competitions and figure out where we need to further improve."

After the completion of qualifiers for the Chinese National Games, Lang has assembled 20 players this week at the national base in Ningbo, Zhejiang province for the final three-month training program, which includes overseas trips.

Drawn in Group B with the US, Russia, Italy, Argentina and Turkey in Tokyo, Lang's team will rely on the experience of core players from the 2016 Olympic champion squad, such as spiker Zhu Ting and setter Ding Xia, to lead an otherwise young group at the 12-squad Olympic tournament, which runs from July 25-Aug 8.

Although not as strong as their volleyball counterparts, Chinese women in other team ball sports, such as soccer, basketball and rugby sevens, have also shown encouraging form for the Games.

The Chinese women's soccer team, aka the Steel Roses, thrilled the whole nation on Tuesday by booking its ticket to Tokyo with a 4-3 aggregate playoff victory over South Korea in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The morale-boosting triumph followed the country's female basketball squad's impressive performance at a qualification tournament a year ago in Belgrade, where it upset the odds by beating tough group contenders such as Spain to seal a spot at the Games at a time when the COVID-19 outbreak hit the country the hardest.

Meanwhile, China's track and field athletes and swimmers are also determined to make their presence felt in Japan as they bid to challenge Western dominance.

With star swimmer Sun Yang involved in a legal dispute with the World Anti-Doping Agency over an alleged violation, it's up to men's backstroke world champion Xu Jiayu and women's freestyle sprinter Liu Xiang to spearhead China's charge in Tokyo against stiff competition from powerhouses the US and Australia.

With Su Bingtian bidding to make his mark on the track in the high-profile men's 100m race, China is expected to contend for gold in at least three athletics events in Tokyo－Gong Lijiao in the women's shot put, Lyu Huihui in the women's javelin, and defending Olympic champion Liu Hong in the women's 20km race walk.