Former Olympic champion Sun Shuwei has postponed his Chinese language studies to concentrate on training in hopes of gaining a place in the Chinese squad for the Sydney Olympics.
Sun, who won a gold medal in the men's platform at the 1992 Olympics, arrived in the SAR yesterday as part of a nine-strong China squad for tomorrow's FINA Diving Grand Prix.
He is among the favourites to take the men's platform title in Hong Kong.
The diminutive 23-year-old from Guangdong province said he may not have another chance to compete in the Olympics.
'Diving requires many hours of practice each day. I probably won't have another chance of competing at a high level so I must train hard again,' said the 1.54-metre Sun.
'I have decided to postpone my studies in Guangdong so I can concentrate on my training in Beijing,' he added.
'I will need to gain enough ranking points in order to represent China at next year's Olympics.' Sun burst on to the international scene when he won the 1990 Asian Games gold medal at the age of 14.