As the host country, China had a total of 639 athletes qualified for places on the national team, being the largest in its Olympic history.

Diver Guo Jingjing, shooter Tan Zongliang and basketballer Li Nan, made their fourth Olympic appearances, having first competed in Atlanta 1996.

[4] On August 17, 2008, China achieved its greatest ever Olympic performance when the women's table tennis team defeated Singapore in the final to claim the nation's 33rd gold medal, surpassing the previous best tally of 32 at Athens 2004.

As the host nation, China automatically received a full complement of six quota spots (three for men, three for women) for the archery competitions.

[5] Xue and Zhang were both veteran athletes from 2004 Athens, with the latter taking China's fourth silver medal in archery.

On August 14, Zhang Juanjuan became the first Chinese archer to win a gold medal in the women's individual event.

* The athlete who finished in second place, Lyudmila Blonska of the Ukraine, tested positive for a banned substance.

[9] China qualified ten boxers for the Olympic boxing tournament, far surpassing its guaranteed quota of at least six spots.

[13] Head Coach: Kim Sang-Ryul Reserve: China's women's team competed in Pool A. Sixteen players were officially enrolled in the squad.

Head coach: Shang Ruihua China PR named a squad of 18 players and 4 alternates for the tournament.

[20][21] Head coach: Yam Weiming The following is the China roster in the women's handball tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Zhang Liang was disqualified from the men's single sculls after he forgot the time of his race and failed to turn to the right heat.

"This shows we still have some problems in team organization", commented Wei Di, the director of China's water sports programs.

China finished fourth at the 2007 world championships and hoped to medal in the event for the first time ever at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

[25] Head Coach: Zhou Jianan The following is the Chinese roster in the women's volleyball tournament of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

CCTV has joined with these online partners to run an interactive website offering streaming video broadcasts of events, which will be viewable only in China, and web profiles through which users can contact Olympic athletes.

Officials expect 10m to 20m internet users to watch the Olympic Games in China via video streaming.

102m people had watched the games online in China, according to Timo Lumme, marketing director for the IOC.

US sportswear company Nike has a sponsorship deal with 22 Chinese sports associations to provide outfits for those Olympic teams at the Beijing Games.