Wang Liqin [Agencies] |
BEIJING - Wang Liqin and Wang Nan, known as the big brother and big sister of Chinese table tennis, have secured places in the team for their third Olympics through the Asian qualifiers.
The experienced duo, both former Olympic gold medallists, completed the Chinese line-up of three men and three women for the table tennis event at the August 8-24 Beijing Games.
Sydney Olympic women's singles champion Wang Nan survived a 4-3 upset by former China international Dang Ye Seo, now representing South Korea, before crushing Hong Kong's Zhang Rui 4-0. She will compete in the Olympic singles competition along with Zhang Yining and Guo Yue, the world's two top-ranked players.
"I will be preparing for the Olympics with the brand new start," said 29-year-old Wang Nan, who has won three Olympic gold medals and 17 world titles.
Wang's coach Shi Zhihao said the defeat by Dang might turn out to be a positive experience.
Wang Nan [Agencies]
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"It's even better to lose since we could learn from it and discover more problems for the preparations for the Games," he said.
Three-times world champion Wang Liqin swept to six wins in a row to breeze through to the Games. The 29-year-old doubles gold medallist has yet to play in an Olympics singles final.
"It's nothing surprising," Wang Liqin, a doubles gold medallist in Sydney, told the Oriental Morning Post.
"I've always believed I could do it well in this tournament."
Ma Lin and Wang Hao had qualified for the men's singles courtesy of their status as the top two players in the world rankings.
Eleven men and 10 women secured places at the Beijing Games through the Asian qualifiers.
