HONG KONG (AP) — Armed with a host of Olympic gold medalists, China is expected to dominate the East Asian Games that officially kick off in Hong Kong on Saturday, but Japan, South Korea and North Korea will offer stiff competition in some sports.
Among the Olympic champions in the Chinese squad are hurdler Liu Xiang, divers Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia, swimmer Liu Zige and badminton star Lin Dan.
All eyes will be on Liu Xiang, who is on the comeback trail from a foot injury that forced his withdrawal from the Beijing Olympics, disappointing millions of Chinese fans eager to watch him defend his 2004 Olympic titles.
The 26-year-old has built a solid record since returning to competition after surgery on his right Achilles' tendon in December, placing second at the Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai in September and winning at the Asian Athletic Championship in Guangzhou last month.
Liu Zige is also in hot form, fresh from breaking both the regular-course and short-course world records in the 200-meter butterfly in the past two months.
Meanwhile, Japan is fielding top men's table tennis player Jun Mizutani and South Korea is sending 400-meter freestyle Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan and reigning 50-meter pistol Olympic champion Jin Jong-oh.
North Korea and Mongolia are also sending 2008 Olympic champions — weightlifter Pak Hyon Suk and judo athlete Naidan Tuvshinbayar.
In the fifth and the largest edition of the four-yearly event that also includes Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Guam, about 2,300 athletes will be competing for 262 gold medals in 22 sports. China was the medal leader at the previous edition in Macau in 2005, where it racked up 127 gold medals.
But after its successful buildup to the Beijing Olympics, where it led all countries with 51 gold medals, the Chinese team is also in transition and will test its new talent before hosting the Asian Games in Guangzhou next November.
Diving coach Zhou Jihong was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying she will mix proven national team members with newcomers from provincial and city teams.
In men's table tennis, Beijing runner-up Wang Hao will only take part in the team competition, leaving singles and doubles duties to younger teammates.
