Wang Haibin, coach of China's men's foil team, said on Tuesday his fencers didn't have a special training program against Italy's Andrea Cassara who replaced doping-hit Andrea Baldini to attend the Beijing Olympics.
"We don't have any special training program against Cassara. I think what's important is to improve ourselves. If we are good, we can win anybody," he said in a telephone interview.
China's Lei Sheng and Zhu Jun are qualified for men's individual foil competition at the Beijing Olympics.
Wang revealed that both Lei and Zhu played several time against the Italian fencer in team competitions, and in the only individual clash between Lei Sheng and Cassara in Russia last year, the Chinese won 15-14.
Baldini, one of Italy's top hopes for a medal at the Beijing Games, tested positive at the European championships in Kiev. His place is given to European champion Andrea Cassara. The other Italian fencer is Salvadore Sanzo.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2008)