Special report: 24th Universiade Bangkok 2007

    BANGKOK, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese shooting team kept a low tone at the 24th Universiade by declaring their target as four gold medals out of 40 on offer.

    "Our aim here is to win four gold medals in the team events of running target and rifle," said Zhang Chi, coach of the Chinese team, here on Tuesday.

    China sent 24 shooters, all of whom have no chance to take part in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, to compete in 13 events out of 20.The domestic qualifying competitions for the Olympics had already started in Beijing, paralleling the Bangkok Universiade where shooting was first introduced into the program.

    "Although they are not the top shooters in China, some of them were in the national squad and competed in World Cups," said ZhangChi. "And I think we have brought here good players in some events, in which we are confident to win."

    "By now we haven't got any information of the other teams, so if the rivals are not that strong, we may win more golds," he added.

    The only big name in the team, Gan Lin, 23, from South China University of Technology, was the world champion of men's 10m running target in 2002 and the double gold medalist in the running target events in the Doha Asian Games 2006.

    According to Zhang, the Chinese shooters would have to fight against not only the rivals but also the humidity of the Southeast Asian country.

    "It's really muggy here," said Zhang. "We arrived at midnight yesterday. It is difficult for our shooters to keep a cool head in such condition, which is vital for the shooting sport."