JAKARTA, Aug. 17 -- The Chinese shuttlers have geared up for the 18th Asian Games as they conducted the first practice session after arriving here on Friday.

Having arrived at the Athlete Village around 3 a.m., the Chinese team, including Olympic champions Lin Dan and Chen Long, appeared in the renovated Gelora Bung Karno ISTORA to participate in their first training from 5 p.m., which lasted around one hour. In humid weather condition, strong wind by air conditioners can be felt inside the venue.

Xia Xuanze, the singles head coach of the Chinese team, said that the venue, which has hosted many badminton tournaments, becomes more fashionable following its renovation.

"Players are quite familiar with traffic, food and venue because the Indonesian Open is held annually here," Xia pointed out, adding that upgrading of the venue can impact every player.

Both the Chinese men's and women's teams enjoyed first round byes as seeded teams in the tournament. But for Xia, it can impact both ways.

As revealed by Thursday's draw, top-seeded Chinese men's team is expected to face Hong Kong, China in the second round, with Chinese Taipei in the same half as the other strong opponent to be expected.

The Chinese women's shuttlers, seeded No. 2, can expect much tougher journey in Jakarta, with Thailand looming as their semifinal opponents.

China lost to Thailand in the 2018 Uber Cup semifinals, missing the final for the first time in 34 years since its debut in the tournament.

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