Chinese stars headline world championships

China’s swim stars are expected to dominate the short-course swimming world championships, which will be held from Tuesday to Sunday in Hangzhou, East China’s Zhejiang Province.

Zhejiang is home to several international stars, as nearly a third of China’s national team are from the province.

Swim star Sun Yang, a Hangzhou local, is not likely to compete in individual events but may take part in the relay competitions, said Cheng Hao, director of the Chinese national swimming team. Fans remain skeptical the freestyle ace will compete at all, as his name is not on the entry list released on Friday.

Sun holds China’s national records in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 1500-meter freestyle in long course, but holds no short-course records.

Backstroke star Xu Jiayu is expected to dominate in his discipline, as the world record holder is the marquee name in men’s backstroke competition.

2012 Olympic champion Ye Shiwen will return to competition after taking a hiatus to study. The Hangzhou local will race in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke, 100-meter and 200-meter medley.

Netizen favorite Fu Yuanhui, who created an online sensation through a candid post-race interview during the 2016 Rio Olympics, will try to find her form in the women’s 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke.

Other Chinese entries include sprint star Liu Xiang, promising distance freestyle swimmers Li Bingjie and Wang Jianjiahe.

Several high-profile international stars will skip the competition, including Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.

Katinka Hosszu of Hungary will lead the international stars vying for the medals. The “Iron Lady” has her name listed in eight disciplines in the championships.

Russian sprint star Vlad Morozov had an electric year at the FINA World Cup Series winning 22 titles across freestyle, backstroke, butterfly as well as individual medley. The 26-year-old is also considered a title contender among the elite athletes in Hangzhou.