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China to send biggest-ever delegation

Beijing : China will send its largest-ever delegation to the upcoming Rio Olympics, state media said Monday, as it vies with the US to top the medals table.

The delegation of 416 includes 256 woman athletes and 160 men, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

"This is the largest-ever Olympic delegation China has sent overseas," it quoted Cai Zhenhua, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport, as saying.

China is expecting a haul of gold medals from sports such as table tennis, badminton, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting and diving, it added.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, China finished second in the overall medals table after the United States.