CHINA will send 396 athletes to compete in 23 events at the London Olympics, including 38 competitors from Shanghai. These 38, headed by champion hurdler Liu Xiang, diver Wu Minxia and swimmer Liu Zige, will take part in 19 events and are being touted to bring home between three to five gold medals for the country, and for the city.

Liu Xiang: Fairytale end to miracle comeback?

Men's 110m hurdles

Four years after the disappointment of having to withdraw during the Beijing Games, Liu Xiang has made a miraculous comeback from his Achilles injury, and sports fans across China - not least his hometown of Shanghai - are looking to him to bring home glory from London.

The Athens Games champion seems to be well-prepared to regain his Olympic title in London, with his newly adopted technique of seven strides to the first hurdle bearing fruit.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed an all-win record as he harvested three straight wins in the outdoor season, including setting a then season fastest time of 12.97 seconds in the Shanghai leg of 2012 IAAF Diamond League in May, plus a wind-assisted 12.87 seconds last month in the leg in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

Probably the biggest threat to Liu, though, is still injury.

Due to an injury to a rib muscle, he pulled out of the final of the 110m hurdles in the London leg of the Diamond League earlier this month. American rival Aries Merritt won the final.

Liu's coach, Sun Haiping, later said that the injury was not a big concern. However, the hurdler's fitness is still a worry to his fans.

While Liu is a medal favorite at the Games, he is likely to face stiff competition from Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles.

The 25-year-old Cuban will be bidding to become the first man since American great Roger Kingdom in 1984/1988 to successfully defend his title in the event.

Robles' coach, Santiago Antunez, is confident the Cuban will defend his title successfully, even against a resurgent Liu.

American Merritt, who won the race at Crystal Palace in London with a time equaling his own season's fastest time of 12.93 seconds, is also among the frontrunners, as is his compatriot Jason Richardson.

The men's 110-meter hurdles at the Olympics will be held on August 7 and the gold medal will be decided on August 8.

Liu once said that "everyone who stands on the track of an Olympic final is a hero and deserves the applause."

Wu Minxia: 'Diving Queen' seeks crown

Women's 3m synchro

Hailed as the "Diving Queen" following the retirement of legendary Guo Jingjing, Wu Minxia will be attempting to win her third Olympic title in the 3m synchro, and her first with new partner He Zi.

China has dominated the event since 1988, winning gold in six consecutive Olympics.

"I will do my best in every dive," said Wu, who competed in Beijing and Athens but was overshadowed by teammate Guo Jingjing, who retired in 2011.

With two Olympic gold medals and six world championship titles to her name, Wu is definitely the most experienced and core diver of the Chinese Women's team in London.

Liu Zige: Aiming to create a flutter again

Women's 200m butterfly

London is the second Olympic Games for Liu Zige, the reigning gold medalist in the 200m butterfly in Beijing.

The 23-year-old is also the current world record holder.

But it will not be easy for Liu to defend her Beijing title in London, not only because of the rise of her rivals but also due to her own erratic form.

Liu's main opponent should be her national teammate Jiao Liuyang, who beat Liu in the 200m butterfly in the 2011 FINA World Championships. Liu only managed a bronze in last year's competition.

"It's not easy for Liu Zige to compete in the Olympics again after winning the gold four years ago," said Li Yuyi, director of the Shanghai Sports Bureau.

"Many of her predecessors chose to retire right after winning the gold but she didn't and kept swimming. Her spirit is very encouraging."

Wang Yihan: Planning to stay leader of pack

Women's badminton

Ranked as the world No. 1, Wang Yihan goes into the Olympics with the mission to help the Chinese squad to continue their dominance of badminton after winning the 2012 Uber Cup in May.

The 24-year-old won the Malaysia Open earlier this year before a series of surprise losses to her Chinese teammates that raised doubts over whether she was the best player in the squad.

Wang's recent run of defeats have mostly came against Li Xuerui, with all three of her defeats in 2012 coming against matches with Li.

However, Wang's head-to-head against her Chinese rivals picked for the Olympics is a more pleasing statistic for her, with an 8-2 advantage over Wang Xin.

Her record against rivals German Juliane Schenk and Indian Saina Nehwal is even more one-sided - 6-1 against Schenk, 5-0 over Nehwal. Wang's last defeat to someone outside of the mainland was in October last year to Chinese Taipei's star shuttler Tai Tzu Ying.

Zou Shiming: Opponents put to the sword

Boxing, light flyweight division

At 1.62 meters tall and hovering around 48 kilograms, Zou Shiming would seem an unlikely character to jump into the boxing ring. But the 31-year-old amateur has become the master of his trade in the light flyweight division, winning world titles in 2005, 2007 and 2011, plus a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics - the first gold medal in China's Olympic boxing history.

Zou also took home a bronze medal from the 2004 Athens Games.

Sports insiders attribute Zou, a native of China's central Guizhou Province who is now studying in the Shanghai Sports Institute, to the resurrection of boxing in China.

Some say Zou's style reveals the origins of his boxing passion, which point to a love in his youth for Chinese martial arts dramas, full of heroic swordsmen who move swiftly, darting through the air.

While many boxers go for the knockout, Zou takes on his opponents with rapid jabs, wearing them down while steering clear of their retaliation.

Zou said that he prefers Western food to Chinese, as it tends to have less oil and helps him maintain his weight ahead of big fights.

The London Games will be Zou's third Olympics and many expect him to bring home his third medal.