China reveals Winter Olympics delegation

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With only eight days to go, China unveiled the delegation to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at the headquarters of the General Administration of Sport of China in Beijing on Wednesday.

In total, the country will send 82 athletes to compete in 55 events in 12 different disciplines.

Zhao Hongbo, head coach of Chinese figure skating team, speaks at headquarters of the General Administration of Sport of China. /VCG Photo

"I am so excited and proud to be part of the delegation and to give a speech as the representative of the coaches. This will be my sixth Winter Olympics," said Zhao Hongbo, head coach of the Chinese figure skating team.

"I participated in the Games first as an athlete, then as part of the coaching staff, and now as the head coach. This time my expectation will be for every athlete to seize their opportunity during the competition and perform their best," he added.

China's best podium chances in South Korea are in short-track speed skating, figure skating and freestyle aerials skiing. Medals in snowboarding and speed skating are also possible.

Wu Dajing of China competes in ISU World Short Track Championships at Rotterdam Ahoy Arena on March 11, 2017. /VCG Photo

The Chinese delegation is no stranger to medal finish at Winter Games as the team claimed 12 golds in total, nine of which came from short-track speed skating.

China's Wu Dajing has a chance in the men's 500m speed skating. The 23-year-old now ranks world No. 1 with a total of 38,001 points. It was the first time in 13 years that a Chinese reached the top of the world ranking. The Sochi Winter Olympic silver medalist won two consecutive world titles in the 500m in 2014 and 2015.

Sui Wenjing and Han Cong compete in ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, China's figure skating duo Sui Wenjing and Han Cong are heavy favorites for the event as the pair won the gold at last year's World Figure Skating Championships. The pair created a new world record with a total score of 155.10 points in the ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy.

Zhang Hong competes in the Ladies 500m at the ISU World Cup Speed Skating at Alau Ice Palace on December 4, 2016 in Astana, Kazakhstan. /VCG Photo

Over in speed skating, Zhang Hong, Sochi Winter Olympics gold medalist from the women's 1000 meters, hopes to continue her momentum this time in South Korea. Her victory four years ago marked the first time that China claimed gold in speed skating in any edition of Winter Olympics.

China's Wang Yujing, winner of women's 500m at World Sprint Speed Skating Championships, is also a favorite. However, both Zhang and Wang face challenges from injuries and they need to adapt to their new coaches.

Xu Mengtao of China jumps during the Ladies Qualifying round of the Putnam Freestyle World Cup at the Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex on January 20, 2018, New York. /VCG Photo

On the ice, Xu Mengtao is a leading figure in women's freestyle skiing. Xu brought home a silver medal from the Sochi 2014 Olympics in the Ladies Aerials finals. The 27-year-old won two golds and two silvers in last year's competition as she participated in five of the four Freestyle Ski World Cups. And last month she won the World Cup Finals champion for the fourth time.

Qi Guangpu performs an aerial in the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup 2017-18 in China. /VCG Photo

Over on the men's side, Qi Guangpu, who won two golds and three silvers in last season's Freestyle Ski World Cup, is a strong contender at the event. His teammate Jia Zongyang is also a favorite, but defending champion Anton Kushnir from Belarus will be a stiff competitor.

Liu Jiayu of China poses on the podium to celebrate her gold medal of 2017 Asian Winter Games' Ladies' Half-pipe in Japan. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, China's Liu Jiayu and Cai Xuetong have a chance for the medals in the snowboard half-pipe event. The two are now ranked second and third respectively in the world rankings, and Cai won gold in the World Championships. Their main challenge in the event would be Americans.