Cui Dalin at the briefing

On the occasion of the 100-day countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games slated for August 2008, Cui Dalin, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport (GASC), briefed the media in Beijing on Chinese Sports Delegation's preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games.

"There are only 373 days to go before the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games," Cui Dalin said. "The GASC and the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) are now working closely with the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) in preparation for the Games. "While the BOCOG sees to the organization of the Games," he added, "a top priority of the GASC and COC is to get ready for the competitions." He stressed that the Olympic Games is an extravaganza for the sports world, which helps promote exchanges among people from different parts of the world, spread the Olympic spirits and raise sports levels. Through Beijing 2008, he said, China also wishes to display a great China to the world not only in sports but also in other fields.

Cui revealed that some 1,500 Chinese athletes of 55 national teams in all the 28 Olympic sports have now been engaged in pre-Games training and preparations. "We are aware that Team China is faced with great challenges from other teams," he admitted. "Competing at home, Chinese athletes have to bear tremendous pressure from their folks, who place high hopes on them for winning top honors."

He then gave reasons for the grave situations for the host team as follows: In competitive sports China still lags far behind the United States and Russia in overall strength; in sports where China used to have an advantage, many young athletes from other countries have come to the fore to challenge their dominant positions; lack of reserve force in such major sports as athletics and swimming; unsteady performances in some potential strong events; in ball games Chinese players have a long way to go to catch up with their foreign counterparts; pressure brought by home crowds; and changes of technical rules.

Despite the foreseeable fierce competition at the Beijing Olympics, Cui said it is a century-long dream of China to be the host country of the Olympic Games, and Chinese athletes are looking forward to competing in the Games on home soil. In the coming year they will surely redouble their efforts in their Olympic training and go all out to bring out their best at the Games proper.

According to Cui, so far a total of 448 Chinese athletes have qualified for the Beijing Olympics, and the GASC expects the number to reach 550 or even 570 in the days to come.

Attending the briefing were journalists from over 60 media organizations both at home and abroad.