1. Women's Volleyball

Lang Ping versus Chen Zhonghe

Within four years, Lang, 48, former ace attacker and head coach of the Chinese national women's volleyball team, has trained the former rookie U.S. national team into a hot candidate for world champions.

Chen, 51, former assistant coach of Chinese national women's volleyball team, succeeded Lang as the head coach in 2001. In a recent interview, Chen said his team only ranked sixth in the world, despite the gold medal they won at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Given the two teams are in the same group, the former two colleagues could possibly have a vis-à-vis competition in the semifinal.

2. Athletics--Men's 110m Hurdles

David Oliver and Terrence Trammell versus Liu Xiang

Few people really heard about David Oliver until he established himself as a hurdler to watch at the Beijing Olympics this summer by breaking the 13-second barrier over 110 meters. His time of 12.95 seconds at the Doha Super Grand Prix on May 11, 2008 was the eighth best ever run.

Terrence Trammell, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, has been past his heyday for some time, but the 30-year-old managed to make a last-minute victory by defeating Dominique Arnold at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Track Trials.

Liu Xiang, 25, has become a hero of Chinese communities all over the world, ever since he won a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But this year seems a bit tougher for him--his world record (12.88 seconds) was bettered by Dayron Robles of Cuba with 12.87 seconds at the Golden Spike meeting on June 12; Liu was absent from several tournaments because of pain in his right leg muscle. With more than 1.3 billion supporters on home soil, how to deal with huge pressure is another challenge that awaits him. "I was not and will never impose any pressure on myself. The only thing I do is to leave it for my components," said Liu on different occasions.

3. Men's Basketball

Dwight Howard versus Yao Ming

Dwight Howard, 23, entered the 2004 NBA Draft. He was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic, and has since emerged as one of the top rebounders and players in the NBA. A two-time NBA All-Star and All-NBA member and one-time NBA All-Defensive member, he has been ranked consistently as one of the best in the league in field goal percentage. Howard leads the USA's inside presence in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Yao Ming, 28, entered the 2002 NBA Draft. He was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick of the draft. He has since been selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game in all six of his seasons, and has been named in the All-NBA Team three times. Yao is the core member of the Chinese national team who just recovered from a foot surgery.

Although the Chinese national team is far from powerful to compete with its counterpart, whose 12-member squad all consist of NBA players, the vis-à-vis competition between the pair, which can be regarded as a competition between the two countries as well as the NBA centers, is bound to be eye-catching.

4. Tennis--Women's Doubles

Venus Williams/Serena Williams versus Zheng Jie/Yan Zi

The two pairs are familiar with each other. As to the singles, the superiority of the Williams sisters is overwhelming--Venus beat Yan Zi at the first round of this year's Australian Open; Serena kicked Zheng Jie out of the semifinal of this year's Wimbledon Championships. As for the doubles, however, it turns out to be another picture. The Williams sisters lost to the Chinese pair 1-2 at the women's doubles quarterfinal of this year's Australian Open. In this regard, it seems too early to say who will win.

5. Gymnastics--Women's All-around Individuals

Shawn Johnson versus Jiang Yuyuan

Shawn Johnson, 16, won the 2007 World All-Around Champion; and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. All-Around Champions. Her coach Qiao Liang, a Beijing native, used to serve in the Chinese national men's gymnastic team in 1980s.

Jiang Yuyuan, 16, claimed the all-around individuals title at this year's domestic gymnastic championships.

The vis-à-vis competition between the pair would directly affect the two countries' medal count on gymnastics.

6. Fencing--Women's Sabre Individual

Sada Jacobson versus Tan Xue

Sada Jacobson, 25, is currently the world No.1 in women's sabre fencing. She became the first U.S. woman to be ranked the world No. 1 in sabre fencing in 2004, but only managed to win a bronze medal at the Athens Olympics.

Tan Xue, 24, the silver medallist in sabre individual at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She became a national sabre champion in 1999 and won her first world championship in 2002. She defeated Sada Jacobson to reach the final of the first-ever women's Olympic sabre competition in 2004, where she lost to the U.S.'s Mariel Zagunis. Having won the silver medal, Tan earned the country's first fencing medal since 1992. With the help of legendary French coach Christina Bauer, who was hired in 2006, Tan consolidated her position by winning six World Cup series events, including five in a row in 2007.

According to the draw, the pair, together with the world No.4 Elena Netchaeva of Russia, are in the same group.

7. Shooting--Men's 50m Rifle Three Positions

Matthew Emmons versus Jia Zhanbo

Matthew Emmons, 27, won a gold medal in the men's 50m rifle prone at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Jia Zhanbo, 34, won the gold medal in the men's 50m rifle three positions competition at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

It was too close to call in the last shot of the men's 50m rifle in three positions at Athens Olympics, as Emmons lost the lead by cross-firing his very last shot.

The question is: will history repeat itself?

8. Women's Football

Pia Sundhage versus Shang Ruihua

Sundhage, 48, a Swede, is one of the most respected coaches in the women's game and widely regarded as one of the world's all-time greatest female players during an international career that spanned 22 years. During her four-month stay in China with the Chinese national team, she worked with then-head coach Marika Domanski-Lyfors, who was also Sweden's head coach for years. She became the head coach of the U.S. national team in November 2007.

Shang, 64, the former head coach of the Chinese national women's football team in 1980s, took over the team in April this year.

The U.S. has qualified for all three Olympic women's football competitions, winning gold in Atlanta and Athens respectively in 1996 and 2004, and silver in Sydney in 2000. The Chinese national team won a silver medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which was its only medal in Olympic football.

9. Swimming--Men's 200m Butterfly

Michael Phelps versus Wu Peng

Michael Phelps, 23, won eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, six of which were gold, which tied the record for medals at a single Olympics, a record that had been held by Alexander Dityatin since 1980. He is preparing to surpass Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at the Beijing Olympic Games.

Wu Peng, 21, made the 200m butterfly final and became the only Chinese swimmer to finish in the top eight at the 2004 Athens Olympics. At the 2006 Shanghai World Short Course Swimming Championships, Wu Peng helped the Chinese men win their first medal in international men's swimming competition in ten years. At the Beijing Olympics, he will carry a nation's hopes for a breakthrough in swimming.

The pair would meet each other at the final of the men's 200m butterfly at the "Water Cube" on August 13.

10. Women's Softball

As this event, together with baseball, will not be staged at the 2012 London Olympics, the Beijing competition has special significance to determine who reigns as Olympian champions for the foreseeable future. "Keep on fighting till the end" will be the motto for both sides.

(Compiled from Titan Sports)