BEIJING, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Pre-tournament favorites
China will show their teeth here Wednesday when the Olympic table tennis
competitions start with round robin group stage of team events.
The Chinese men's team, made up of current world No.
1 Wang Hao, four-time World Cup holder Ma Lin and triple world championships
winner Wang Liqin, will meet Kalinikos Kreanga-led Greece in the sole round of
Group A Wednesday afternoon.
And their counterparts of the women's, namingly the
world No. 1-2 Zhang Yining and Guo Yue as well as Grand Slam winning veteran
Wang Nan, will play Tamara Boros-led Croatia in the morning before facing Pan
American champions Dominica, led by two former Chinese Wu Xue and Lian Qian, in
the evening.
In other women's team matchups on Wednesday,
Singapore's Li Jia Wei, Wang Yue Gu and Feng Tianwei will have an all-Chinese
encounter with the United States women's team, including Gao Jun, Wang Chen and
Huang Crystal Xi.
The Chinese Hong Kong women, fielding all former
Chinese Tie Yana, Lin Ling and Lau Sui Fei, will play Poland in Group C, while
South Korea, led by Athens Olympic bronze medalist Kim Kyung Ah, will meet Group
D rivals Spain.
On men's part, highly-rated Germany will start
campaign with Timo Boll, Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Christian Suss against six-time
Olympian Zoran Primorac's Croatia, while defending champion Ryu Seung Min's
South Korea plays Sweden and Brazil with Chinese Hong Kong to meet Russia and
Nigeria.
The men's team event will hold its final on Monday,
after the women's team event produces the first Olympic table tennis gold medal
on Sunday.