ARCHERY
Fang Yuting, 23, Cheng Ming, 26, Xu Jing, 22 Women's team
Major achievement: 2012 Olympic test event silver medal
For millennia, archery has played a pivotal role in Chinese history. Even Confucius was an enthusiast, so it is no surprise China won three medals (one gold) at the Beijing Games. Still, the three members of the London squad are new faces with no Olympic experience. Of the trio, Fang (pictured) and Cheng rank second and fifth in the world, while Xu has broken into the top 20. The South Koreans, who won two of the four golds in Beijing, remain their biggest obstacle, but teams like Taiwan and India are also likely to pose a threat. The key, apart from steady hands, is to be mentally focused and the trio can do worse than to take to heart Confucius' words: 'If you chase two rabbits, you catch none.'
ATHLETICS
Liu Xiang, 29 Men's 110m hurdles
Major achievements: 2011 world championship silver medal, 2007 world champion, 2004 Olympic champion,