9/10/2008        PANASONIC China Open

The euphoria of China’s outstanding success at the Beijing Olympic Games is still very much alive and kicking.

They won fifty-one gold medals, the country’s table tennis players completed a clean sweep and the Games themselves proved a great achievement. It has given the country a major injection of satisfaction.

In the table tennis events the gap between China and the rest of the world was a wide as it has ever been.

Growing Gap
Now, as the ITTF Pro Tour returns to action, looking at the list of entrants for the Panasonic China Open, it is difficult to forecast any other outcome other than an Olympic repeat.

Trying to win the Men’s Singles or Women’s Singles title at the Olympic Games was a tough task; the major problem was that in each event there were three Chinese superstars.

Nobody outside China caused them severe problems

Easier to win Olympic Gold
Prior to the competition Jan-Ove Waldner was asked whether it was easier to win the Men’s Singles title at the Olympic Games or the World Championships.

He answered with a wry smile. “The Olympics, there you only have to beat three Chinese”, he said. “In the World Championships you have to beat six!”

Surely the same argument can be applied to the Panasonic China Open which starts in Shanghai on Thursday 11th September and concludes on Sunday 14th September 2008.

Men’s Singles
The top six world ranked Chinese players are all on duty in the Men’s Singles event with Wang Hao, Ma Lin, Ma Long, Wang Liqin and Chen Qi occupying the top five seeded position with Hao Shuai, seeded eight.

Korea’s Joo Se Hyuk is seeded six with Singapore’s Gao Ning at seven.

Women’s Singles
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Singles event it is just as daunting.

Zhang Yining, Guo Yue, Li Xiaoxia and Guo Yan occupy the top four places in the seedings with Liu Shiwen seed eight.

The remaining three seeded places in the top eight are all taken by players who learnt their skills in China but moved to foreign shores in search of international play.

Hong Kong’s Jiang Huajun is seed five followed by Singapore’s Feng Tianwei and Tie Yana, also from Hong Kong.

Support Act
Furthermore, just in case a Chinese female star should falter there is plenty of support; Fan Ying, Yao Yan and Ding Ning are all on duty.

It is a prodigious Chinese line up so will it be more difficult to emerge as the gold medallist at the Panasonic China Open than at the Olympic Games; following the argument of Jan-Ove Waldner, there is only one conclusion.

Yes!