China look to improve on London results in Doha worlds
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E-mail Xinhua, September 25, 2019
China could improve on its results from London two years ago when it fielded a 62-strong team to the Doha athletics world championships.
China reaped two gold, three silver and two bronze medals from the London worlds, the second best in its world championships history as the team to Doha could do even better.
Shot put defending champion Gong Lijiao stands as the clear favorite in her event as the 30-year-old Chinese star rarely met challenges in 2019. She has won 12 of her 13 competitions this season and had under her name the season leading result of 20.31 meters produced in Zurich Diamond League last month.
If Gong wants to make a successful defense of title at her sixth world championships, she needs to be wary of American youngster Chase Ealey, 25, who handed Gong her only loss this season in Shanghai Diamond League event. World indoor silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd of Jamaica is another one to watch as she posted the third best result of 19.55m in 2019.
Yang Jiayu, 23, will face strong challenges from both her rivals and high temperature and humidity in Doha when she started her title defense in Sunday's 20km race walk.
In the La Coruna event in June, Yang lost to Ecuadorian teenager Glenda Morejon by five hundredths of a second. However, she considered the climate here a bigger enemy in the race.
"When I arrived here, I felt it was really hot and humid. It took me so much energy to finish my first training session. But I am adapting to that," said Yang, who will begin her competition around midnight on Sunday, two years after she clinched her first world title in 1:26:18 in London.
"My rivals and I will compete under the same conditions, so I will just focus on my own performance," she said.
Yang's teammate Liu Hong, Olympic champion and world record holder, will also be a contender for the title after the 32-year-old returned to competition from her maternity leave in 2019 in a dominating style, setting a new 50km world record of 3:59:15 in the national championship in March. She still holds the 20km world record of 1:24:38 set in 2015.
Qieyang Shijie is another Chinese walker to watch as the 2012 Olympic silver medallist timed the world's fourth best of 1:25:37 in Huangshan, China.
China's race walk team also eyes the women's 50km glory as Li Maocuo is the fastest athlete on the entry list and former world record-holder Liang Rui is also in good form.
In women's javelin throw, Lyu Huihui has the chance to change her bronze from two years ago into another color in Doha.
Lyu won 12 of her 13 events in 2019 and has held the winning streak since April 9 and produced the world leading throw of 67.98m last month in Shenyang, China.
But Lyu's charge to the title will be by no means an easy one as Australia rising star Kelsey-Lee Barber started the year with a PB of 64.57m but will head to Doha with a personal best of 67.70m, set in Luzern in July.
The men's sprint events will draw huge attention from the Chinese fans as the country's top runners Su Bingtian and Xie Zhenye fight for final berths in their respective event.
Su came back in August from a chronical back injury and gradually regains his form that saw him equal the Asian record of 9.91 last year in Madrid.
Su and Xie, who also competes in the 200m, will look to qualify for the final which probably consists of American Christian Coleman, winning five legs of Diamond League in 2019 and his compatriots, 100m defending champion Justin Gatlin and Noah Lyles.
Doha athletics world championships kicks off on Friday and runs through to October 6. Enditem
