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China on a dry run for Beijing Olympics(Reuters)Updated: 2006-11-27 14:02 All eyes will be on China, to see what the nation has in store for the Beijing Olympics, when the Asian Games open on Friday.
"It is important that athletes and coaches collect experience for the Beijing Olympics," Duan Shijie, vice president of the State General Administration of Sports, told the Xinhua news agency. "We hope these Games can put our youngsters to the test and give them a taste of what it will be like in the Olympics." China, who won 308 medals last time, and fierce rivals Japan and South Korea are expected to dominate the 15-day Games. More than 10,500 athletes from countries accounting for two-thirds of the world's population will contest 39 sports, 11 more than at the Olympics. Qatar has invested more than $2.8 billion in staging the 15th Asian Games, which involve 45 teams. South Korea will find it difficult to do better after finishing second behind China with 96 gold, 80 silver and 84 bronze when it hosted the last Games four years ago. Without home advantage, it is targeting 70 golds this time. South Korea has agreed to join communist North Korea in the opening parade but stopped short of agreeing to compete as a single team, even though extra medals would be a certainty.
The former Soviet states of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan -- fourth and fifth in the medals table in Pusan -- should field strong teams in boxing, athletics and wrestling in what will be their fourth Asian Games. Thailand aims to improve on its sixth place last time and is targetting 23 gold medals in weightlifting, boxing, shooting and taekwondo. Impoverished neighbour Cambodia is also optimistic and is hoping to make the medals table for the first time in 36 years through one of its wrestlers, snooker players or taekwondo fighters. Although Japan, South Korea and China will dominate the bigger sports, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand are favourites in a number of sports barely known outside Asia. The Thais believes they will win four golds to beat arch rivals Malaysia in sepak takraw, a 900-year-old ball sport which both countries claim to have invented. India has set its sights on dominating the tag-like sport of kabbadi, while Vietnam hopes to win gold medals in the Chinese martial art of wushu, which combines combat with intricate floor routines. Chess and triathlon will make their debuts at the Games, which organisers say will be watched by 1.5 billion people on television.
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