Published: 16:47, May 14, 2024
China's Ma gets a shot at sixth table tennis gold in Paris
By Reuters
Ma Long of China returns a shot during the men's singles round of 64 match against Martin Allegro of Belgium at WTT Saudi Smash 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 5, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China's Ma Long will get a shot at winning a sixth Olympic gold medal in Paris in August despite having been denied the chance to claim a third straight singles title at his fourth Summer Games.

The 14-times world champion, now 35, won team golds at all three of his previous Games and back-to-back men's singles titles in Rio and Tokyo to become the most successful Olympic table tennis player of all time.

Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, who lost to Ma in the Tokyo final, were named as China's entries for the singles last week but Ma was confirmed by the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) on Tuesday as the third player for the team tournament.

Fan Zhendong of China serves during the men's singles round of 64 match against Nicolas Burgos of Chile at WTT Saudi Smash 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 5, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

There were no surprises in the women's team who will seek to continue China's domination of the sport with the lineup for Paris identical to that which swept the board in Tokyo.

ALSO READ: Team China clinches men's, women's doubles titles at 2024 WTT Saudi Smash

Reigning champion and world number two Chen Meng and world number one Sun Yingsha will again compete in the women's singles and join up with world number three Wang Manyu in the team event, where China are also defending champions.

Chen Meng of China hits a return against Harimoto Miwa of Japan during the women's singles quarterfinal at WTT Saudi Smash 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 9, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

China have won 32 of the 37 golds and 60 of the 155 total medals since the sport was introduced to the Summer Olympics in 1988 and the competition just to get a spot on the national team is fierce.

The mixed doubles, a new event in Tokyo, was the one gold medal China missed out on three years ago and Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, who top the world rankings, will pair up to try and end that anomaly in Paris.

Sun Yingsha of China returns a shot during the women's singles round of 32 match against Izabela Lupulesku of Serbia at WTT Saudi Smash 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 7, 2024. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

World number fours Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi will be the substitute players for the men's and women's teams respectively, the CTTA said in a statement.

READ MORE: China's Fan completes turnaround over Lin at ITTF World Cup knockout stage

The 2024 Olympic table tennis tournament will take place at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from July 27 to Aug 10.