Officials from the General Administration of Sport in China, or the GASC, and athletes from Chinese national teams attended a press conference held at the National Stadium Friday.

Cui Dalin is the deputy director of the GASC.

"So far, 538 Chinese athletes in 226 events and 27 disciplines have qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Although the name list of the tennis team has not been released yet, according to the points the tennis team has gotten, they are sure to participate in the Olympics. So, in total, over 580 athletes from the Chinese sports delegation will participate in all 28 sports."

To most people's surprise, Cui Dalin was not very optimistic about those athletes' chances at winning gold in the games.

"Their performance might be affected by the pressure, as it is the first time they will participate in the Olympics as a team from the host nation."

Cui Dalin added that medals are not the only goal for the Chinese sports delegations. As the host nation of the 2008 Olympics, China hopes to promote exchanges and friendship among people from all over the world.