Ma Xiaoxu: Confident of coping well with the challenge

(BEIJING, June 13) -- Ma Xiaoxu, veteran forward in China's women football team, has returned from her injury to Team China. In an interview with Liaoning Daily on Thursday, she claims to be confident of coping well with the challenge and expects to be selected in the 18-person Olympic roster.

Ma will participate in the national team's training scheduled from June 13 to July 31. "I'm not afraid to face competition. Now I'm prepared to start from the very beginning. I can see opportunity co-existing with challenges…" Liaoning Daily quotes Ma as saying.

This is the first time that Ma is selected on board of the national team coached by Shang Rui-hua, but it is definitely clear that Shang is well aware of how far Ma can go on the football fields. In the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's Football World Championships, Shang Rui-hua led Team China straight into the final. Ma played as key forward at that time. Though China eventually missed the gold medal, Ma was awarded with the "Gold Ball" and "Gold Boot" cups for her outstanding performance.

During Ma's absence in the past half year, Xu Yuan has emerged in China women's football team as a new star forward. Currently there are four major forwards in Team China -- Han Duan, Xu Yuan, Liu Sa and Lou Xiao-xu. All this means that Ma will have to beat great challenge to be finally listed on the 18-person Olympic roster.

"I used to train under the coaching of Shang and Gao (Rong-ming) back in the national youth team. Therefore, I do expect to fit in well with the technical and tactical requirements by the national coach group." Liaoning Daily quotes Ma as saying, "One can never make progress without enough competition. I am not afraid to face the challenge and prepared to start as a 'freshman'".