Zheng Zhi to lead Chinese team in Beijing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Charlton Athletic midfielder Zheng Zhi will lead China's under-23 squad at next month's Beijing Olympic soccer tournament, local media reported on Monday.

Zheng, who turns 28 next month, together with defender Li Weifeng, 29, and striker Han Peng, 24, have been selected as the three over-age players by China's Serbian coach Ratomir Dujkovic, the Beijing Daily said.

"It is my dream to march into the Olympic final in the Bird's Nest, as the coach has said," Zheng told the paper after scoring a penalty in a 4-0 warm-up victory over Malaysia in Jilin province at the weekend.

Regular captain and playmaker of the senior team, Zheng suffered back and toe injuries during China's failed bid to progress past the third round of Asian qualification for the 2010 World Cup.

"I want to get myself back into top form before the Games ... I have been recovering well and I hope all my injuries can heal in the next 20 days," he said.

Shanghai Shenhua's Li, nicknamed "Big Head", was Zheng's predecessor as China skipper but was stripped of the post because of disciplinary problems.

When he was hired, Dujkovic was set the goal of reaching the last four at the Olympic soccer tournament, which runs from August 6-23 in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao.

(Reporting by Liu Zhen, editing by Nick Mulvenney and Miles Evans)

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