Up-and-comers to join Liu in flying the flag at world championships

China will field a young squad at the world championships with an eye on diversifying the country's track and field portfolio in next year's Olympics.

Thirty-eight of the mainland's 60 entries for the blue-riband event from August 25 to September 2 in Osaka, Japan, have neither Olympic nor world championship experience.

All eyes are on the superstar hurdler Liu Xiang, exposing the country's lack of depth in athletic talent ahead of the Beijing Games.

'We have very few medal hopefuls, with most of the attention concentrated on Liu,' said Feng Shuyong, deputy director of the track and field administrative centre under the State General Sports Administration. 'It's not good for Chinese track and field, but having so many up-and-coming athletes in the worlds provides hope for future events, especially the Olympics next year.'

Among the fresh faces in the squad are teenage high jumper Huang Haiqiang, who won gold at the World Youth Championships a year ago in Beijing with a jump of 2.32 metres. Zhang Xiaoyi, also a world youth championship medallist, will make his debut in the men's long jump. Late-bloomer Zhou Chunxiu, 29, will be aiming to prove her victory in the London Marathon in April was no fluke.

But there are some glaring gaps in the Chinese squad. No sprinters will feature in the high-profile 100-metre races. The country also draws a blank in the women's 5,000m and 10,000m.

Xing Huina, the women's 10,000m gold medallist in Athens, will skip the worlds after a series of injuries and poor form, said officials.

The shortage of co-stars has left Liu to bear the brunt of medal pressures. But his coach is unfazed.

'Barring any extreme weather conditions, Liu could post a time around the 13 second mark, which I think could ensure a top-three finish at worst,'' said Sun Haiping.