It is always intriguing to see who China is sending abroad to compete given her fondness for being represented by those ranked outside the best ten they could choose from. The Milo Asia Swimming Championships in Singapore, March 5-10 will be no different.

Among the 56 swimmers being sent out from Beijing are Ouyang Kunpeng and Zhou Jiawei, respectively Asian backstroke and 50m butterfly record holders, and 14-year-old Wang Qun, who clocked 1:08.56 over 100m breaststroke to beat Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan at the Macau Games last year.

Luo took no prisoners at the National Games of China last October with a 1:06.86 victory. She subsequently collapsed in training, at least the third time she has done so since 2004. She will not be in Singapore. It will be interesting to see who else turns up.