Embrace the pressure

Despite not lacking for world titles, the 27-year-old Chen and 20-year-old Sun will be making their Olympic debuts in Tokyo. Liu believes the two are well-equipped to cope with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

"I just want to say you are not a champion yet, so if the team has selected you, don't think too much and simply give all you have in the matches," Liu told China's gold-medal hopefuls. "If you feel a lot of pressure, then why didn't we select the veterans to play?"

Chen is taking that advice on board, and believes she has matured a lot in recent years.

"This is my first Olympics, and the Tokyo Games are really special. All athletes can be nervous, so the most important thing is how to handle it. At first, I had worries and concerns, but these feeling were also mixed with excitement and expectation," said Chen.

"This is how I feel about the Olympics, it's complicated. So I need to stay calm and try hard in every training session. Now I'm trying to treat the Olympics as just another championship. All I need to do is to play my own game. I will just play point by point. Overthinking is not good for me.

"Throughout the preparation, there have been all kinds of pressures. My way of coping is to talk things through, and try not to hide it in my heart. I just communicate with coaches and friends."