Tickets of Asian Games table tennis are so "hot" that even former world champions could not get some.

About 30 former Chinese table tennis players, including former world champion Zhang Xielin and former Chinese national team coach Zhuang Jiafu, wanted to buy table tennis tickets, only to be told that all the tickets were sold out.

"Table tennis tickets are really in large demand," said Zhang Xiaopeng, director of table tennis competition department of Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC). "All the tickets were sold out and no one is able to get even one ticket."

The Asian Games table tennis tournament will be held from November 13 to Nov. 20 in the Guangzhou Stadium that has 5,044 fixed-seats. GAGOC issued 10,000 tickets for everyday's matches but was still unable to meet the demand.

According to another official from the competition department, Guangzhou natives prefer table tennis to basketball.

"The men's singles final ticket is priced at 400 yuan (60 US dollars), more than the men's basketball final," said the official who asked not to be named.