BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China will send a team of 89 athletes for the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships slated for April 21 to 24 in Doha, Qatar, comprising 46 male and 43 female.
The squad, spearheaded by top ranked shot putter Gong Lijiao, will compete in all the 43 events with the expectation of winning 10 to 12 gold medals, said the Chinese Athletics Association recently.
India, as the host country, topped the gold medal tally of 18 in the 2017 Asian Athletics Championships while China ranked second with eight golds.
In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, China dominated the medal tally with 12 gold medals, extending its leading role in track and field in Asia.
Yu Hongchen, vice president of the Chinese Athletics Association, noted that both the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships and IAAF World Athletics Championships are scheduled to be held in Doha, Qatar.
Chinese athletics team is expected to see this year's Asian Athletics Championships as a test of the winter training and get fully prepared for the World Athletics Championships in September.
