Two more wins edge China closer to benchmark 20 golds

Two more victories in the table tennis and badminton on Saturday edged China closer to its target of 20 gold medals for the Athens Olympics, while a clean sweep of the diving events was still on the cards.
Top seeds Ma Lin and Chen Qi won China's second gold medal of the table tennis tournament, beating third seeds Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching from Hong Kong 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-5.
At the badminton, top seeds Zhang Jiewen and Yang Wei defeated compatriots Huang Sui and Gao Ling 7-15, 15-4, 15-8 in the final of the women's doubles, giving the Chinese shuttlers their third gold of the tournament.
The two victories on Saturday bring to 17 the number of golds China has won during the first full eight days of competition, keeping the nation on a par with the United States at the top of the medal leaderboard.
China achieved a best-ever third place in the medals table at Sydney four years ago with 28 golds.
Chinese Olympic Committee vice president Li Furong said in the lead-up to Athens that China was aiming for 20 golds this time as the nation fielded a young team in preparation for greater glory when Beijing hosts the 2008 Games.
But there have been no reduced expectations on China's table tennis team as it strives to win singles and doubles gold in both the men's and women's events for the third consecutive Olympics.
The win by Ma and Chen on Saturday adds to the women's doubles title that team mates Zhang Yining and Wang Nan won on Friday, meaning China is still on track in its three-peat campaign.
Ma and Chen's victory also means China has won the gold medal in the men's doubles at every Olympics since the sport was introduced to the games at Seoul in 1988.
The pair, who admitted during the tournament they were feeling the pressure of such heavy expectations, looked almost in shock after the winning point and Ma shed tears while listening on the podium to the Chinese national anthem.
"Even though you don't see my tears, when I leave (the press conference) I will cry with excitement," Chen told reporters afterwards.