Wang Junxia will join Asian meet<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Women's 10,000 meter world record holder Wang
\nJunxia is expected to arrive today, bringing with her a pack of
\nall-conquering Chinese athletes, who are out to stretch their
\nsupremacy in the 11th Asian Track and Field Championships.<\/p>\n
Wang, former coach Ma Junren's trainee, is among China's 57
\nathletes participating in the biennial event, which will be held
\nfrom Sept. 20 to Sept. 24 at the Madya Senayan stadium. China's
\nstrong contender, Japan, will also arrive today, along with
\nKuwait, Oman and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n
Athletes from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Sri Lanka are
\nscheduled to arrive tomorrow. The remaining participants are due
\nto come in on Monday. A total of 554 athletes from 35 countries
\nwill take part in the championships.<\/p>\n
China will field a team heavy on new faces during the five-day
\ncompetitions, without Ma's star runners, including women's world
\n1,500 meter record holder Qu Yunxia. But Chinese Athletics
\nAssociation president, Huang Zhi, made a pre-match boast that his
\nsquad is set to retain the overall title.<\/p>\n
The Chinese reigned during the 1993 meet in Manila, with a
\nhaul of 23 gold, 11 silver and four bronze, 13 golds clear of
\nrunner-up South Korea.<\/p>\n
Without Ma's army family, China had to be content with just a
\nsilver in the recent World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.
\nWang, who led a breakaway from Ma early this year, skipped the
\nworld meet but looked ready to defend her crown here after
\nclocking 31:23.24 in the national championships last week.<\/p>\n
Next week's championships will lose some of its regular dazzle
\ndue to the absence of several big names. Aside from Qu, the
\ncontinent's fastest man Talal Mansoor and triple-jump record
\nholder Oleg Sakirkin of Uzbekistan have pulled out of the meet.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto is expected to officially open the
\nchampionships on Wednesday. It will be Indonesia's second time to
\nplay host to the championships, after the 1985 meet. (amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/wang-junxia-will-join-asian-meet-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}