China names massive Olympic squad

China named its largest-ever Olympic squad on Friday in an effort to ensure the Beijing Games becomes the most successful in the country's history.

The hosts will field 639 athletes in 28 events and 38 disciplines as they bid to surpass the 32 golds and 63 medals collected in Athens four years ago.

Liu Xiang, 110metre hurdles Olympic champion, and Houston Rockets basketball player Yao Ming are the two most recognisable faces amongst a group whose average age is 24.2 years and 165 of whom competed in Greece in 2004, while 37 took part in Sydney in 2000.

While traditionally strong in events such as diving, table tennis and badminton - they will enter the maximum 19 competitors into the latter event and also boast the number one and two-ranked players in the women's game - China have targeted improved showings in sports such as boxing and shooting to improve their medal haul.

China employed 38 foreign coaches to raise the standard of the participants including Lithuanian Jonas Kazlauskas, who is coaching a men's basketball team that also features new New Jersey Nets player Yi Jianlain, and American Jim Lefebvre, who is in charge of the baseball team.

One foreign coach who was recently removed from his post, however, is Ratomir Dujkovic after the Serbian was recently relieved by Yin Tiesheng as boss of China's football team and moved to a more advisory role.