China has revealed its roster for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Wang Dapeng, Li Jialun and Wei Shaoxuan will shoot for the men’s team, while the women’s team features Wu Jiaxin, Long Xiaoqing and Yang Xiaolei.
Wang Dapeng and Wu Jiaxin each competed at the last Olympics.
“It is a great honour to get the chance to participate in the Olympic Games again,” Wang said. “There is no happier thing for an athlete like this than to enjoy such a big sport festival.”
Wang placed 33rd in the recurve men’s field at Rio 2016 and was a member of the trio who placed fourth in the men’s team event.
Wu reached the quarterfinals of the women’s individual recurve event, losing to defending Olympic Champion and eventual bronze medallist Ki Bo Bae. The women’s team finished in seventh place.
The four other archers will be making their debuts at the Games.
Wang Dapeng shoots during Chinese trials for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Wu Jiaxin shoots during Chinese trials for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Two-time Olympic silver medallist He Ying, who is now coaching the squad, said that the trials, which lasted for 20 consecutive days in a replica arena in Chengdu, were the “most intensive, wonderful and cruel selection in Chinese archery team history”.
She added that it has resulted in a team that will be excellently prepared for the Games in Tokyo.
Wu Jiaxin shot a 72-arrow 70-metre ranking round score of 689 points early in the selection process. If this is the standard of the team arriving at the Olympics, He Ying is right.
China’s last Olympic archery medal came in 2012 when Dai Xiaoxiang finished third in the recurve men’s event. Zhang Juan Juan was Olympic Champion on home soil at Beijing 2008.
The country is fourth in the medal table since archery’s modern return to the Games in 1972, having collected nine medals.
