China's capital Beijing will start the 2020 sports season with the FINA Champions Swim Series at the Ying Dong Swimming Natatorium on January 18 and 19. As the host, China will send some of its best swimmers to the event to compete for golds.

Chinese squad will be led by:

Xu Jiayu, two-time men's 100m backstroke title-winner of World Aquatics Championships

Yan Zibei, three-time men's 50m breaststroke Asian record breaker

Ye Shiwen, China's first two-time Olympic gold medalist

Liu Xiang, women's 50m backstroke world record holder

Though there were reports about three-time Olympic gold medalist, men's 1500-meter freestyle world record holder Sun Yang being appointed as China's captain for the Champions Series in Beijing, Sun's fan club posted breaking news on Weibo on Wednesday that Sun will not attend the event.

FINA created the Champions Series in 2019 and invited top swimmers only – either medalists of Olympic Games, World Championships or record holders – to the event. It is the third-most-important swimming competition after the Olympics and the World Championships.

In Beijing, FINA has arranged 28 individual and two team competitions. Four athletes will directly participate in the final of each individual competition, making the event more intense and exciting.

Tens of world top swimmers will also come to Beijing for the Champion Series, including three-time gold medalist at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Katinka Hosszu from Hungary, two-time title winner at the World Aquatics Championships, Daiya Seto from Japan, and triple Olympic champion, Ranomi Kromowidjojo from the Netherlands.

There will be two stops of the Champion Series in China: first in Shenzhen (January 14, 15) and second in Beijing. Both will be good opportunities for swimmers to examine the result of their winter training sessions.