China table tennis facing unprecedented threat at Olympics
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21/05/2021 - 06:48 World number one Fan Zhendong is favourite for Tokyo gold, but China will face a challenge to their dominance at the Olynmpics STR AFP/File 3 min
Shanghai (AFP)
China have won 28 of 32 gold medals awarded at the Olympics, but their supremacy could face its biggest test yet in Tokyo this summer.
Few countries have dominated a sport quite like China has in table tennis winning every gold for the last three Games but one state media outlet has broken ranks to warn of a crisis .
Home advantage for fierce rivals Japan, inconsistent form among China s top players and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic suggest the world s most populous country might not have it all their own way when the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics start in just over two months.
Reigning TT world champion Liu suffers twin losses in ‘simulation’
By IANS| Updated: 6th May 2021 7:51 am IST
Xinxiang: Reigning world champion Liu Shiwen suffered two failures in one day and was ousted from both the women’s singles and mixed doubles quarter-finals at China’s table tennis Olympic simulation here on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old player, partnering Xu Xin, was shown the door by compatriots Zhou Yu/Chen Xingtong in the mixed doubles event. The world No.7 singles player also suffered a straight-set defeat at the hands of world No. 6 Zhu Yuling, reports Xinhua.
A record five-time World Cup winner and a member of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games women’s team championship-winning squad, Liu has been reckoned as a promising prospect at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, to be held in July-August.
Photo Credit: IANS
IANSLive
Xinxiang (China), May 6 (IANS) Reigning world champion Liu Shiwen suffered two failures in one day and was ousted from both the women s singles and mixed doubles quarter-finals at China s table tennis Olympic simulation here on Wednesday.
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, May 3 (IANS) A total of 36 men s and women s singles players each and 16 mixed doubles pairs are competing for slots on the Chinese Olympic-bound team as the World Table Tennis Grand Smashes Trials and Olympic Simulation got underway here on .
International Table Tennis Federation 03 Feb 2021
World Table Tennis (WTT) has launched the media accreditation process for the 2021 WTT Middle East Hub to be held in Doha, Qatar between 3 – 13 March 2021 at the Lusail Sports Arena.
The Middle East Hub marks the first official events of the WTT era set to steer the sport of table tennis into a bold, fresh direction. The Middle East Hub will feature two tiers of the new WTT event structure:
WTT Contender Doha from 3 – 6 March
WTT Star Contender Doha from 8 – 13 March
The events will showcase some of the sport’s biggest icons such as Xu Xin and Sun Yingsha, who are ranked #2 in the world in the men’s and women’s singles respectively. They will be joined by many more top names, such as Tomokazu Harimoto, Mima Ito, Hugo Calderano and Liu Shiwen, raising the competition for silverware!