Groomed to win gold from the age of FOUR: Inside China's elite academies where pre-school children train for hours every day

• The 'amateur' schools training Chinese sport's future elite

Their countrymen brought home dozens of medals after last year's Olympic games in London, and China is not a nation to leave anything to chance.
Child athletes are being groomed for the next games, and the games after that, and the games after that, at elite training schools across the country.
At sports facilities such as Fuzhou Sports School in Fujian province, children as young as four practice for hours every day.

Moulding the top: Children at schools such as Fuzhou, spend hours training every day to achieve their country's goals - whether they want to or not

On the ball: After China's success in last year's Olympic games the pressure on the children at Fuzhou Sports School in China to perform at international level at an early age is higher than ever

On his bucket list: It is many of these children's dream to represent their country in their sport and win an Olympic gold

Fuzhou Sports School cherry picks talented children before training them up in their individual disciplines from archery to swimming and boxing, the baby-faced athletes are drilled to perfection.
The schools were set up in the 1950s to boost the countries sporting prowess and China's success in international competitions ensures their tough regimes and gruelling workouts continue in the same fashion.

 

Despite its elitist approach, Fuzhou Sports School is known as an 'amateur' school as children also attend normal classes during the day before practice.
In large cities such as Shanghai, each district had at least one sports school usually offering sports such as gymnastics, badminton, volleyball, athletics, fencing, swimming, weight-lifting and wrestling.

No pain, no gain: A boy pulls a face lifting disproportionately sized weights during a work-out

Diving right in: A young girl mid-jump during diving practice at the school's pool

In it together: The children are often cherry-picked for a particular sport at which they show talent

Rocky-ing it: Sweat dripping down his cheeks, this boy is completely focused on his opponent and how to win

Holding on: A girl takes part in a gymnastics training session at Fuzhou Sports School

Students with great potential are often transferred to professional schools, and those with a bright future promoted to municipal or national teams.
But problems with the sometimes antiquated schools have slowly arisen in recent years. Shortages of equipment have led to a dip in trainees joining - despite the schools being credited with China's rise to prominence on the international sporting stage.

In to win: The child athletes are drilled to perfection in their respective field

For the nation: A determinate little girl will not let her concentration falter as she practices the trampoline in front of the Chinese flag

Finish line: China is known for grooming their athletes from an extremely early age in order to prepare them for international competitions

Point and shoot: Winning international competitions does not only give glory to the nation but for many families their talented children are seen as breadwinners