The Netherlands' chef de mission Charles Van Commenee said on Thursday that his side will try to grab at least nine golds at the Beijing Games to ensure a top ten medal tally finish.

"We look to better the Athens' performance in Beijing, and 25 medals in total is our basic goal," said Charles after the flag-raising ceremony at the Olympic Village.

Charles said that the Netherlands has sent 242 athletes, the biggest delegation it has ever had at the Olympics, and aimed to fuel its medals drive in the swimming events.

Among them, Van den Hoogenband Pieter, the double gold medalist at the Sydney Olympics, is tipped to play a leading role in the pool.

"He is in good form now and prepares with his training plans, and he will concentrate in the men's 100meter freestyle to retain the gold," said Charles.

In 2000, Hoogenband emerged as the new star of Dutch swimming and cemented his place in the country's Olympic history by taking both the 100m and 200m freestyle sprint double. He also set a world record in the 200m and added two bronze medals.

Charles was also confident of their soccer team. Bolstered by three over-aged players including forward Makaay from Bayern Munich, Liverpoor winger Babel and Maduro, the "Oranges" team has the promising competence to seek a podium finish and even a first ever gold medal at the Olympic arena.

"Our team is very strong, but as you know, Brazil and Argentina also have many talented players, so it's hard to predict the result," said the chief.

At Sydney 2000, the Netherlands witnessed its most successful Games with a total of 12 golds, which was by far the best ever gold medal record at its Summer Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)