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Kevin Lee

Name: Zheng Zhi
Date of Birth: August 20, 1980, in Shenyang, Liaoning province

Olympic entry: Men's soccer
?z?o

Soccer has been in the doldrums in China in recent times, but Zheng Zhi is looking to change that.

The 28-year-old Charlton Athletic midfielder, who leads the Games under-23 squad, insists that the Olympics would provide the best chance to clean up the sport's image on the mainland.

'We have been losing fans as we lose matches all the time ... this can be the most painful experience for any football player,' said Zheng. 'I want to bring the fans back, and I want to show them we have been working hard and we are able to achieve something.

'So the Beijing Games will be the best chance for me - or I'd say it's the last chance - to improve Chinese football's image.'

China will play Belgium, New Zealand and Brazil in the preliminary rounds of the Games. The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals.

More than a billion people will be expecting China to shine, but the signs are not good following the under-23 team's performances in the East Asian championships in February, when they finished behind Japan and South Korea.

The task has been made tougher after the Chinese Football Association (CFA) sacked Serbian Ratomir Dujkovic as team coach just three weeks before the Games.

CFA vice-chairman Xie Yalong cited player discontent over Dujkovic's training methods and tactics and the coach's health problems as among the reasons for the decision to remove the Serb.

Dissatisfaction with Dujkovic has been mounting since last month, when the national team, also coached by the Serb, were ousted from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers after suffering a humiliating defeat to Iraq.

The Chinese players will also be under scrutiny following their notorious punch-up with London club QPR, dubbed the 'Great Brawl of China', during a friendly last year.

Zheng, who has been with the national team for a decade, is trying to erase the unpleasant memories by focusing on the Games.

'Beijing is the host city of the Olympic Games. All of us hope we can match our rivals here. My teammates and I will fight to the end,' he said.

Before the sacking, Dujkovic said he was aiming for a top-four finish, but Zheng insisted the initial goal was simply to reach the quarter-finals.

'In the Sydney Games qualifiers in 1999, I tried my best but failed to live up to expectations. The Olympic dream was not fulfilled,' Zheng tells fans in a video clip aired frequently on TV.

 'Now I have grown up a lot. I hope we will make it up to our fans at the Beijing Games. We are going to turn a new page in the history of Chinese football.'




No 9: Zheng Zhi