Veterans Ma Long and Xu Xin will return to action in the singles doubles competition of the National Table Tennis Championships, which also features star doubles players Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha as well as long-time partnership Lin Shidong and Kuai Man.
The week-long doubles tournament began on Monday in Changsha, Hunan, divided into a three-day qualifying stage and a four-day main draw. It is the first time in the 74-year history of the tournament that the doubles events have been split into a singles leg.
Officials said the Chinese Table Tennis Association decided to host the singles tournament for the first time against the doubles events that were being added to the Los Angeles Olympics, in line with the preparation requirements for the Nagoya Asian Games.
The event has brought together about 400 athletes from 27 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, playing in 68 men’s and women’s teams. In keeping with clear preparation goals, pairing barriers between regional and municipal teams were removed to allow regional combinations, resulting in high-profile pairings.
The top 16 seeds for the three disciplines were announced the night before the tournament.
In the doubles draw, 122 pairs, Sun and Wang attracted more attention as the tournament’s top seeds.
