Juan Vila, chef de mission of the Dominican delegation, said they would be playing like at home court as they felt great welcome in Beijing after the flag-raising ceremony in the Olympic Village on Tuesday.

"We all feel the great welcome and passion from the Chinese people," said Vila. "We are all impressed. I went to Beijing last year and now I saw what Chinese people promised has been true. I think the Beijing Olympics will be the most successful one in history."

Dominica sent a 55-member delegation to the Beijing Games, including 25 athletes to play in nine sports.

Felix Sanchez, who won Dominica's first-ever Olympic gold in Athens, will again show up in the men's 400m hurdles in Beijing. Sanchez has twice been the world champion in 2001 and 2003, and also won the silver at the 2007 world championships in Osaka, Japan.

Sanchez will arrive in Beijing on Wednesday.

"We also have promising players in boxing and sailing," said Vila. "Shooting and taekwondo may bring us surprise, too"

Lin Ju, Wu Xue and Lian Qian, will play table tennis matches for Dominica at the Olympics.

(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2008)