With the Rio Olympics just around the corner, China is anticipating tough competition in Brazil, Chinese state media reported on Tuesday.

Liu Peng, China's sports minister, said country's Olympic team has to "keep a clear head, calmly analyze and correctly grasp the serious situation of the Rio Olympics ahead of us," China Sports Daily reported. He added that the country would deal with the pressure to maintain their dominance in sports including gymnastics, badminton, table tennis, shooting, diving, to name a few, as other contingents have already improved their skills.

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"However, we should try our hardest to make progress in high-profile and mass popular events such as swimming, track and field and collective ball games in Rio, to inspire greater public participation in sports," Liu said, according to China Daily.

China will be sending its largest Olympic team ever to Rio; 416 athletes including 35 Olympic champions. The team includes 160 men and 256 women, who are set to compete in 210 events over 26 sporting discipines.

"This is the largest ever Olympic delegation China has sent overseas," Cai Zhenhua, deputy director of China's General Administration of Sport, said, noting that the delegation totals to 711 individuals including 29 foreign coaches.

"We have high expectations for these Games, especially after the Beijing athletics world championships. The results at the worlds give us confidence," Wang Yu, a high jumper from China's Tsinghua University, said.

On the other hand, Liu said Chinese sports authorities have zero tolerance for doping and have taken measures to make sure that the athletes are clean.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China got the most medals but trailed behind second with the United States at the 2012 London Olympics.

TagsRio Olympics, Brazil, China team