China's table tennis Olympians tested in warm-up matches

WUXI, China, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China is testing its table tennis Olympians by introducing their teammates as challengers in a warm-up competition here 10 days ahead of the August 8-24 Beijing Olympics.

The women's Olympic team, comprising Zhang Yining, Guo Yue, Wang Nan plus the nominated reserve Li Xiaoxia, will take part in a round-robin team competition with three other teams, featuring fourth-ranked Guo Yan and some rising stars.

A round-robin team competition will replace the double event for both men and women at the Beijing Olympics. The competition involves three players playing four singles and one doubles match.

The opponent teams in the Wuxi competition include some very excellent young players like 18th-ranked Liu Shiwen and 31st-rankedDing Ning, who will hopefully become China's main force in the future, said Liu Fengyan, director of the National Table Tennis and Badminton Center under the State Sports Administration of China.

"Young players will learn a lot from competing with the top stars," Liu said. "Meanwhile, the Olympians are supposed to discover their shortcomings and make some improvement at the last moment."