China sends largest team of 416 athletes to Rio Games

The Chinese delegation was unveiled here as 160 men athletes and 256 women will compete in 210 events over 26 sports at the Games which open on August 5 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

“This is the largest ever Olympic delegation China has sent overseas,” Cai Zhenhua, deputy director of China’s General Administration of Sport said adding that the delegation has 711 members including 29 foreign coaches.

Ai Yanhan, 14, will compete in the women’s 200m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle relay as the youngest member of the delegation while Beijing Olympics shooting champion Chen Ying, 39, will be the oldest athlete who is on her fourth Olympic trip, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

 China is expecting a haul of gold medals from traditionally strong sports such as table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting and diving, the report said.