Asian Games 2023: from swim star Qin Haiyang to 13-year-old Cui Chenxi, 10 Chinese athletes to watch in Hangzhou
- The hosts are sending their largest-ever squad to Hangzhou with 886 athletes, including 36 Olympic champions, competing
- Olympic diving gold medallist Wang Zongyuan among those expected to dominate their sports
The Asian Games officially open in Hangzhou on Saturday, and the hosts will again be expecting to top the medal table when the curtain is brought down on the 19th Asiad on October 8.
From the pool to the table tennis court and everywhere in between, a squad boasting 36 Olympic champions among its 886 entrants should add a considerable number of medals to the 3,189 won since the country first entered the Games in Tehran in 1974.
Swimmer Qin Haiyang will certainly be among those expected to walk away with multiple gold medals, having won every breaststroke event at the World Championships, setting a world record in the 200m in the process.
Gold in table tennis is almost assured, and the only question is whether with men’s and women’s doubles added this time around China will win all seven up for grabs, after claiming the five available in Jakarta in 2018.
Listing those expected to succeed over the next two weeks would take too long, so here are 10 Chinese athletes we think should shine in front of their home fans.
Xu Yujia
Sport: Swimming – backstroke
