BANGKOK, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has named its final squad of 23 players for the upcoming 2020 AFC Under-23 Championship as midfielders Huang Zichang and Deng Yubiao were left out at the last moment.

The championship will be played in Thailand from January 8 to 26, 2020. The top three teams will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, with hosts Japan securing automatic qualification.

Huang and Deng were axed from the initial 25-man squad following discussions between head coach Hao Wei and the team staff.

"After the training session last night, we made some adjustments based on the players' conditions, we decided to call up Liu Ruofan while Deng and Huang will go back to their respective clubs," Hao explained.

China, who qualified for the tournament with an unbeaten record of two wins and one draw, are bracketed in Group C along with defending champions Uzbekistan as well as Iran and South Korea. Hao Wei's side will start their campaign on January 9 against South Korea.

The full 23-man squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Chen Wei, Li Guanxi, Zhang Yan

Defenders: Tong Lei, Wei Zhen, Zhu Chenjie, Zhao Jianfei, Feng Boxuan, Yang Shuai, Jiang Shenglong, Dilmurat Mawlanyaz

Midfielders: Huang Zhengyu, Huang Cong, Duan Liuyu, Hu Jinghang, Chen Binbin, Zhou Junchen, Zhang Lingfeng, Chen Pu

Forwards: Yang Liyu, Zhang Yuning, Tian Xin, Liu Ruofan. Enditem

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