BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- World top ranked shot putter Gong Lijiao and javelin thrower Lyu Huihui will lead the Chinese track and field team at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships slated for April 21 to 24 in Doha, Qatar.
"Competing at the Asian Championships is a good opportunity for me to tune up for the World Championships as the two events will both be held in Doha. My goal is not just to win the title but also to achieve a good result, to be exact an over-19.50 meters mark," said the 30-year-old Gong, who won her gold medal at the 2017 London worlds at 19.94m, on Wednesday as the Chinese Athletics Association presented the team to the media.
"I am confident to retain the world title in August and my ultimate goal is to win the gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games," she added.
China will send a team of 89 athletes to compete in all the 42 events at the Asian Championships with the expectation of winning 10 to 12 gold medals.
Apart from Gong, female javelin thrower Lyu is the other world top ranked athlete in the squad. And the 29-year-old world silver medalist has been enjoying a fly start in the current season as she just improved her own Asian record to 67.72m last week.
The squad also includes long jumper Huang Changzhou who won a bronze medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships as well as men's 100m Asian record holder Su Bingtian, who will only participate in the 4x100m relay event in Doha this time.
