KUNMING, Southwest China, May 16 (Xinhua) -- A harvest from the swimming events counts heavily for China's hopes of making more Beijing Paralympic glory and much attention has been given and special plans have been made by the sport's governing body to ensure the best results in 2008.

Experts from the Chinese Paralympic Sports Administrative Center are closely inspecting the swimmers' performance at the ongoing 7th National Games for the Disabled and try to recruit the best athletes to the national team.

A total of 217 gold medals are on offer from the swimming events during the Games, and the number of participating athletes is more than that of any previous Games. Top swimmers are seeking breakthrough by competing in more disciplines. But the little drop at the Denmark Open in March raised concerns.

"Though we took 19 golds at the Athens Paralympics, the prospect in 2008 is not clear. We slumped to the fourth place in Denmark," said national swimming team coach Ai Yong.

Wei Wei, an official in charge of swimming at the Paralympic Sports Administrative Center of the China's Disabled Person's Federation, told Xinhua the national team has a tune-up plan in the latter half of 2007.

"The team will re-gather in June, and travel to Canada, Chinese Taipei and the United States from July to September. There has never been such a tight preparation schedule before. It is necessary for them to gain experience and Paralympic qualifying points through these games."

Chinese swimmers had a shinning show at the Athens Paralympics with 19 golds to make swimming an bonanza of gold medals.

"First, a nationwide system makes big room for the development of swimming. High-standard venues and facilities provide the athletes with good training conditions," Wei explained the reason for China's success in swimming.

"Most of the Chinese swimmers are from the grassroots. If they are selected by the national team, big changes may happen to their lives. So they are making strenuous efforts to get into the national team."

Wei said, another advantage is that China has experienced coaches, most of whom know the disabled athletes well and are experts in training. With scientific and systematic training methods, they are able to develop more top swimmers.