Tokyo Olympics: China desperate to atone for Rio’s ‘worst Olympic flop’ even without star swimmer Sun Yang
- China are sending a large squad of 777, including 431 athletes, as they look to improve from their third place in the medals table five years ago
- Sun Yang is missing but the likes of swimmer Zhang Yufei, volleyball player Zhu Ting and others are expected to lead the way for the mainland squad
China are missing banned superstar swimmer Sun Yang but they will take a record contingent to Tokyo seeking a strong showing with their own Olympics just months away.
The world’s most populous country topped the medals table at Beijing 2008 but then slumped to third behind the United States and Britain at Rio 2016, their worst Olympic performance in two decades with 26 golds.
The disappointment was summed up in a tweet by the state-run Xinhua news agency which said: “No gold for CHN gymnasts, Team China have suffered the worst Olympic flop at Rio 2016.”
At the Tokyo Games, which were pushed back a year by the coronavirus and will finally open on July 23, China will have a giant squad of 777, including 431 athletes – their largest contingent at an overseas Olympics. But if they are to improve on Rio, China will have to do it without their biggest star.
Controversial swimmer Sun, a triple Olympic gold medallist, was banned last month for more than four years after a second doping violation. In his absence, China does not have an internationally recognised big name, but the country will still anticipate picking up gold medals in diving, table tennis and weightlifting.
