Chinese badminton head coach Li Yongbo said Friday that all Chinese Olympic players are fully prepared for the coming competitions, exhibiting his enormous confidence in their good form.
"They even brought their own pillows to the Olympic village," said the head coach, regarding the convenience as a certain kind of home advantage.
"Our shuttlers enjoy better shape than the previous time and a pleasant feeling, since they are competing on home courts," Li said, adding that they all developed more confidence in themselves.
The former world champion in the men's doubles also reminded his team to treat every game as the final.
"If you want to win the gold, the draw means nothing to you, as you have to beat every rival," he stressed.
The Chinese national badminton team bagged four golds at Sydney Olympics and three golds in Athens, and enormous pressures are heaped on the shuttlers as they are expected to win more golds on home soil.
(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2008)