China to send its biggest ever team to Vancouver

China will send its biggest ever Winter Olympic delegation to Vancouver for next month's Games, according to the head of the country's winter sports administration.

China, which topped the medals table at the last Summer Games in Beijing but has less pedigree in the winter version, sent 76 athletes to the Turin Olympics four years ago.

"We expect more than 90 athletes from China eventually to compete in Vancouver," Zhao Yinggang, director of the Chinese Winter Sports Administrative Centre, told the Xinhua news agency.

China won two golds, four silvers and five bronze medals in Turin, including their first gold medal in a snow event won by freestyle skier Han Xiaopeng in the aerials.

Han will defend his title in Canada as will China's other champion from Turin, 500m short track speed skating gold medallist Wang Meng.