For the first time in history, China's table tennis team has named a specific coach for the mixed doubles in this Olympic circle, showing the all-time leading squad's determination to top the event's podium at Paris 2024.

For the first time in history, China's table tennis team has appointed a specific coach for the mixed doubles event, demonstrating the all-time leading squad's determination to top the podium at Paris 2024.

Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha (R) of the Chinese national table tennis team react during a training session for Paris 2024 in South Paris Arena, Paris, France, July 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Dongzhen)

Three years ago in Tokyo, Japan's Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito overcame then-reigning world champions Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen of China in a seven-set thriller to claim the first ever Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles table tennis.

China has won 32 of 37 golds and 60 of 115 total medals since table tennis debuted at Seoul 1988, while the mixed doubles title claimed at Tokyo 2020 was the first for Japan in table tennis, but barred Chinese paddlers from achieving a fourth straight clean sweep at an Olympics.

In December 2022, veteran coach Xiao Zhan was appointed to lead the mixed doubles coaching group with the aim of preparing for Paris 2024.

"I've made a promise to earn this coaching post, and for me, to nail down the mixed doubles gold in Paris is a must-do task," Xiao, who mentored Zhang Jike to a "fastest" Grand Slam winning of Olympics, World Championships and World Cup in 445 days in 2011 and 2012, told media earlier in 2023.

According to Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, 56-year-old Xiao will take the on-field advising chair for both the mixed doubles pair of Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha and Wang's men's singles matches at the upcoming Olympics.

Embarking for Paris on June 15, the Chinese team is pinning their hopes of improving their medal haul on Wang and Sun, who have won twice the mixed doubles world title, in 2021 and 2023.

However, Mizutani and Ito's historic victory in Tokyo not only marked a momentous occasion for Japan, but stirred interest from many other table tennis powerhouses.

Earlier this year at the Busan 2024 Team Worlds, Athens 2004 champion Ryu Seung-min, now president of the Korea Table Tennis Association, made no secret of his desire for an Olympic gold medal in the mixed doubles at Paris 2024.

"Why not? Japan won the mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020. The energy from the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, along with hosting a WTT event in Incheon next month, builds our expectation for a gold medal in Paris since 2004," he said.

Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin will carry Ryu and South Korea's hope of ending a 20-year title drought, while Japan's Tomokazu Harimoto and Hina Hayata, who won the WTT Star Challenge in Bangkok early this month, will strive to repeat their predecessors' Tokyo glory.

Aside from the mixed doubles, the other four events will all see China launch a title-defending campaign, but this time around, just like the mixed doubles, Paris may crown a new champion in the men's singles.

35-year-old Ma Long is only playing in the men's team event, but will set a new Olympic record if he wins a sixth gold in Paris. His torch passes to Fan Zhendong, the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist, and current men's singles top seed Wang Chuqin.

Local favorite Felix Lebrun, a rising star at just 17 and the third seed, will stand in their way, alongside South America's sole representative in the seedings, Hugo Calderano of Brazil, Asian youngsters Lin Yun-ju of Chinese Taipei and Harimoto of Japan, as well as German duo Qiu Dang and Dimitrij Ovcharov.

Chen Meng, 30, will try etching her name deeper into Olympic history by retaining her title, but her path to glory will meet a fierce challenge from top-seeded compatriot Sun Yingsha, the reigning world champion and current World Cup title holder.

Standing tall against the Chinese prodigies are Hina Hayata, Shin Yubin, Bernadette Szocs of Romania, Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico, Prithika Pavade of France, and Tomokazu Harimoto's younger sister Miwa.

In the team events, Ma Long, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong form a formidable trio on China's men's team, while Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu repeat a gold-winning squad in Tokyo. Even China's p-card holders Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi are among the latest world rankings' top three, determined to extend the nation's perfect record.

Host nation France and long-term rival Japan emerge as the strong contenders for gold in respective men's and women's team events. The former, led by the Lebrun brothers, poses talent to threaten after a stunning silver medal performance at Busan 2024, and the latter, also in Busan, just fell short in the final to China.

China's table tennis chief Liu, who himself is a Grand Slam champion in 1990s, said, "We cannot take for granted that these five gold medals belong to the Chinese team. All five gold medals are in Paris, and they are reserved for the brave and the wise, for those who excel the most."

The table tennis competition runs July 27 to August 10 at South Paris Arena 4.

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