ATHENS, Aug. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese shooting is at its peak time for the Athens Olympic Games, national coach Xu Haifeng said here on Thursday.

    "The Chinese shooting team competing at the Athens Olympics is the strongest ever," said Xu.

    Chinese shooters had their best outing at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where they won three golds, two silvers and two bronzes.

    Xu, a former Olympic pistol champion, said the Chinese shootingteam aims to win eight to 10 medals in Athens.

    "At least 10 shooters are medal hopefuls," he said.

    Chinese shooters have booked a total of 26 Olympic berths in all 17 events but the men's trap.

    "We have a realistic shot for medals in all events except the men's 50m rifle prone, men's 50m rifle 3x40 and men's 10m running target," said the head coach. Enditem