Competitive controversy

China’s table tennis team is traveling to Rio de Janeiro under a cloud of controversy as fanslamentthatevenbeingthe worldchampiondoesnotguarantee a coveted Olympic singles spot on one of the world’s most competitive teams.

The failure of world No 1 Liu Shiwen to clinch one of China’s two spots in the global showcasewasgreetedwithanoutcry at home described by Sina Sportsas“oneofthemosttragic thingstohappentotheChinese women’s team in the last 20 years”.

The tough selection — which fell to defending London champion Li Xiaoxia and world No 2 Ding Ning — also underlines how China is likely to once again dominate the medal standings at Rio as it did in 2008 and 2012.

“That’s a crazy story in itself, that the world’s best ranked player won’t be playing in the singles event — but that just shows the strength of the Chinese team,” said Matthew Pound of the International Table Tennis Federation.

In a handwritten letter published by a journalist from state broadcaster CCTV in May, 25-year-old Liu, who will play in the team event, did not directly address the decision but said “all our efforts and preparations are for that moment when the Five-Star Red Flag is raised up high.”

Chinese table tennis players currently make up the majority of the world’s top five ranked men and women.

The country swept all four medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and easily repeated at the 2012 London Games.

In the men’s singles, China will be represented by London champion and world No 4 Zhang Jike and world No 1 Ma Long, while Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin — No 2 and No 3 respectively — will participate in the team events.

Germany,DPRKorea,Japan and South Korea are expected to put up the hardest fights for medals at the Riocentro venue, where the matches will run throughout the Games from Aug 5-21.

The youngest player will be 15-year-old Adrian Diaz, who will be Puerto Rico’s first Olympic table tennis player, while the oldest is 54-year-old Chinese-born He Zhiwen, representing Spain.