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BEIJING: China should sweep all table tennis titles
at next year’s Olympics but the men’s singles crown could once
again escape them, the national federation chief warned Wednesday.
China has dominated the sport at
international level for decades but fell short at the 2004 Olympics
when the men’s singles title was the only one they failed to win.
Four year’s later, a clean
sweep is on the cards again but the men still look vulnerable
despite dominating the world rankings, according to China’s Table
Tennis Association president Xu Yinsheng.
“It is very likely that China
will sweep all four golds,” said the former world champion.
“Chinese women are definitely favorites for the women’s title,
while the men’s singles is the most difficult.”
The Olympic program features
men’s and women’s singles and men’s and women’s team titles.
In Athens, South Korean Ryu Seung
Min destroyed China’s dream of sweeping all the table tennis
titles for a third consecutive Olympics with victory over Wang Hao
in the men’s singles final.
Ryu was world No. 3 at the time
but has since slipped down the ranking.
--AFP
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