China to dominate TT world champs but wary of too much

China's all-conquering army of stars have vowed to blitz the field at the World Table Tennis Championships, but are wary that by doing so could bring changes to the sport they have ruled for so long. With the championships back in China for the first time in 10 years, the home team looks unbeatable, putting together an awesome array of talent for the event starting here on Sunday. The men's drive for singles glory will be spearheaded by world No 1 Wang Liqin, Athens Olympic doubles gold medallists Ma Lin and Chen Qi, singles silver medallist Wang Hao and Sydney Olympic champion Kong Linghui.
Liu Guozheng and teenager Hao Shuai make up the squad.
They have a point to prove after a below-par performance at the Athens Olympics saw Rye Seung-min of South Korea defeat Wang Hao to take the coveted singles title.
They are also out to avenge Werner Schlager of Austria who won the world championship title last year in Dubai. In fact, China is without a men's singles world title since Wang Liqin won in 2001 in Japan.
They have their work cut out though with tough challenges expected from European big shots Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus and German prodigy Timo Boll, as well as an improving cache of players from South Korea.
Sweden's veteran team of all-stars led by Jan-Ove Waldner will also be in the hunt.
Liu Guoliang, head coach of China's men's team, said his squad was injury-free and raring to go.
On the women's side, China is equally strong, boasting Olympic champion Zhang Yining, world No 2 and Sydney Olympic champion Wang Nan, Guo Yue, Niu Jianfeng, Guo Yan, Fan Ying and Cao Zhen.
Along with the singles stars, 13 Chinese pairs will fight for doubles and mixed doubles titles.
While some degree of success is virtually guaranteed, too much success is worrying for the sport's powerbrokers.
After years of Chinese dominance, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in recent years has stepped in and introduced specific measures many believe are intended to weaken their formidable paddlers. In 2000, the size of the ball was enlarged and the play speed, one of the Chinese players' deadliest weapons, was vastly slowed. China fears it could happen again, a move they do not want with the Beijing Olympics barely three years away and high expectations on the home team to dominate.