China will have 10 boxers at the Beijing Games, led by Athens bronze medalist and current world champion Zou Shiming.

Zou Shiming of China celebrates his win over Harry Tanamor of the Philippines in the light flyweight (48kg) division during the finals of the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Chicago in this Nov 3, 2007 file photo. [China Daily]

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Although the host country benefits from automatic-entry privileges, its boxers have never looked as fearsome as they do now.

After winning the country's first Olympic medal at the sport, Zou is on track to make history again in the Chinese capital if he can continue his good form and claim the country's first Olympic boxing title.

The light flyweight is currently ranked not only top of his division but also second-best pound-for-pound amateur fighter in the world by ABA Boxing, which compiles unofficial world and regional rankings.

He is also one of five amateur Chinese boxers who rank inside the world top 10 of their respective Olympic weight classes, a feat that few would have imagined possible four years ago.

The flyweight division stands alone as the only weight class in which China will not be represented at the Aug 8-24 Games.

More surprising, perhaps, is China's strength in the bulkier weight bands, with super heavyweight Zhang Zhilei ranked world No 7 by ABA Boxing and heavyweight Nijati Yushan sitting at No 15.

Other stars include No 7 featherweight Li Yang and No 4 welterweight Hanati Silamu.

Like some other sports, boxing was sidelined in China around the time of the Great Leap Forward (1958-60) as China concentrated on its economic development. But boxing has got back on its feet in recent years as a result of Zou's success and China's desire to show what it is capable of at the Games.

Zou may not have the recognition of NBA all-star Yao Ming but he is the closest thing amateur Chinese boxing has got right now.

When Zou won his second-straight gold medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships in Chicago last fall, he was one of five Chinese medalists.

The others did not advance beyond the semifinals, but it was enough to outdistance the remaining 21 Asian nations in the competition. Their achievements saw China rank second overall on the medal table and 4th in the gold-medal tally behind Russia, Italy and the United States. Cuba was a no-show in Olympic boxing, fighters who finish third and fourth are both awarded bronze medals.

Zou now has three World Championship medals to his credit including silver in 2003. He also picked up the Asian Games title at Doha in 2006.

Coach Li Qingsheng thinks the 26-year-old benefits from merging his experience of Chinese martial arts with his Western-influenced boxing style.

Zou studied "wushu" for a year in his hometown of Zunyi before packing it in and migrating to boxing in 2006 --- much to his parents' dismay.

Now he plans to set another record.

"In 2004 I had an unexpectedly good trip at the Olympic Games and realized the dream of my childhood," he writes on his blog. "Now it's time to chase the gold."