Despite another clean sweep at the World Cup last week, Chinese
table tennis teams are still testing their lineups and adapting to
a new format, hoping to guarantee a successful Beijing Olympics
next year.
China pocketed both men's and women's titles on Sunday at the
Magdenburg World Team Cup, where the men eased past Hong Kong and
the women out-muscled South Korea. Although the wins came easily
for the Chinese teams, not all roster spots are secure for
2008.
"We haven't decided the final roster for the Olympics," said
men's head coach Liu Guoliang. "I think we need more tournaments to
see how players perform under the new format."
The Magdenburg tournament has a format similar to the one the
Olympics will follow -- men's and women's team events have replaced
the doubles events, which China has won every Olympics since the
Seoul Games in 1988. Now each team will play two singles matches
and one doubles match, with only three players allowed on a
team.
The new format also does away with the quarterfinal round. Teams
will instead be broken into four groups with the winners of each
group advancing to the semifinals.
Many believe the changes are aimed at limiting China's
dominance. But Liu believes the new format will have no effect on
the ping-pong powerhouse.
"It will take us some more time to get used to, but it won't
hamper our determination to deliver victory at the Games," he said.
"There are some positive sides to the new format as the competition
is more entertaining. On the other hand, we have to play as solidly
as we can and try to win all the matches at the Games. That's a
very big requirement for us."
According to Liu, four players are competing for three spots on
the men's Olympic team: Wang Liqin, Ma Lin and Wang Hao -- the top
three ranked players in the world -- and teenager Chen Qi.
World Championship winner Wang Liqin and four-time World Cup
holder Ma Lin are shoe-ins as singles players. Liu's main task is
to find a decent partner for Ma in doubles event.
Wang Hao made a big impression at the World Cup this time as he
joined forces with Ma to defeat Leung Chu-yan and Ko Lai-chak 3-2
to claim the title for China.
"They didn't play their best table tennis," Liu admitted. "I
hope they will play better next year."
On the women's side, world No 1 Zhang Yining and reigning world
champion Guo Yue have locked up berths. Veteran Wang Nan and
doubles specialist Li Xiaoxia will be fighting for the third
spot.
Liu agreed that the South Koreans would pose the biggest threat
to China for Olympic gold.
"South Korea is our major rival," he said. "We should pay close
attention to Oh Sang-en and Ryu Seung-min, both of South Korea, and
triple European champion Timo Boll next year."
Women's coach Shi Zhihao also rated South Korea among the
biggest threats.
"South Koreans are strong in both men's and women's events.
Defensive player Kim Kyung-ah, South Korea's best female paddler,
has beaten almost every Chinese player except Zhang Yining," she
said. "Her partnership with Kim Bok-rae makes them the best women's
doubles pair outside of China."
China has long been a global ping-pong force. Its peak came in
the 1990s when the team won every title at the Atlanta and Sydney
Games, as well as the 2000 World Championships in Tianjin.
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) grew concerned
that China's dominance was affecting the international
competitiveness of the game. In 2000 ITTF introduced new rules,
enlarging the ball and slowing the speed of play, addressing one of
the Chinese players' biggest advantages.
These changes appeared to make little difference as China won
all medals at the 2001 World Championships in Japan. In response,
the ITTF introduced shorter 11-point games and, crucially, a ban on
the "covered serves" widely used by the Chinese players.
(China Daily October 10, 2007)