(by Steve Hopkins)

China announced their Olympics squad today. The team includes World No. 1 Fan Zhendong, World No. 2 Xu Xin, and World No. 3 Ma Long.   There are no surprises here as the event seeding will be based upon World Ranking and Chinese players hold the top three spots in those Rankings.

Interesting, however, is that at the recent Chinese Olympic Trials, all three of these players fell in upsets.  That could mean that this seemingly unbeatable team has some weaknesses.  Or it could mean that the Chinese dominance in recent years is not going to change any time soon as the next generation of Chinese players are ready to ascend right away.

If you missed the coverage of the Trials from a week ago in Xingtong, China, see the Butterfly coverage here.  The three big upsets were 15 year old Lin Shidong over World No. 2 Xu Xin, and Zhou Qihao over World No. 3 Ma Long and World No. 1 Fan Zhendong.  View the 2021 Chinese Trials Videos Here.

Visit ButterflyOnline.com for table tennis news and scores.