Day 6 crucial for Olympic medal lead

Day 6 of the London Olympics will prove crucial for China to maintain their lead on the medal league table with 54 up for grabs in 18 events.

The nation has always dominated Olympic table tennis (41 medals) and the men's singles at 5pm could prove an early omen for Team China.

Wang Hao, who won silver in last two Olympic Games will likely face No. 1-seeded Zhang Jike in the final if they both win their semifinal bouts against Dimitrij Ovtcharov of Germany and Chuang Chih-yuan of Chinese Taipei.

Just an hour earlier Li Jun will vie for a place in the men's double tap shooting final during the qualifiers at the Royal Artillery Barracks. Chen Ming, 26, from Jilin province will also take on Khatuna Lorig in the women's individual archery qualifiers.

China will also compete for gold in the men's lightweight four rowing event at Eton Dorney at 5pm.

Beijing Olympic judo champion Yang Xiuli will defend her 2008 title. Her first bout is against Myanmar Aye Aye Aung in the women's 78kg at 6:29 pm.

Hu Minghai and Shu Junrong will compete in the semifinal of the men's double canoe slalom at 8:30 pm, while Li Jingjing from Fujian province will vie for a medal in the women's kayak semifinal at 9:12pm.

Next up the men's team cycling qualifiers at 11:15 pm.

Deng Linlin, who was part of China's Olympic winning gymnastic team at the Beijing Games in 2008, will look to seize her own medal in the women's all around individual at 11:30 pm

Then, as normal so far, the action moves to the Aquatic Centre where China has two medal possibilities.

Zhang Fenglin, who came 4th at the World Championships in Shanghai and 2nd in the Asian Games, will compete in the men's 200m backstroke at 2:48 am.

Then at 3:37 am, Tang Yi, 19 from Shanghai will race in women's 100m freestyle.

It is only then, as the sun rises in Beijing, will we know if China's current romping medal lead will remain.