Liu: Paddlers start from scratch in clean-sweep bid

With China being tipped for a clean sweep of golds at the Olympic table tennis tournament, legend Liu Guoliang has urged the nation's all-conquering paddlers to block out the pressure by "starting from zero "in Tokyo.

"The Olympic Games are the same for everyone, and we will start from scratch in Tokyo," career Grand Slam winner Liu, now president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA), told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The Chinese team has just concluded a four-day tuneup tournament in Weihai, Shandong province, with Tokyo-bound players winning titles in the mixed doubles and both team events.

"It served as a test midway through our training. Competing with a more specific target, our players can feel the competitiveness of the matches and uncover problems," said Liu, who added that the Weihai event was designed to improve the players' match sharpness.

Liu revealed that China's paddlers will have another warmup tournament from July 8-10 before heading to Tokyo.

He reckons the home-court advantage that main rival Japan will enjoy can give China "more motivation". However, he cautioned that the unusual build-up to the Games could be more of a challenge.

"We have the ability and confidence to contend for all five golds, but there are challenges and risks as well, especially considering the preparation has been quite different due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, we cannot use our past experience in preparing for these Games."

"We are confident and will go all out for gold in each event. Ups and downs, wins and losses, are all part of the sport. I don't want to give my players too much pressure.

"They need to keep a stable mindset and reproduce what they have shown in training. We try to win every gold, so there is no difference in terms of the extent of risk in each event."

Women's singles stars Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha are among a number of Chinese paddlers poised to make their Olympic debuts in Tokyo, and Liu is hopeful they have the mental fortitude not to be overawed by the occasion.

"There are debutants at every Olympic Games, and some manage to play quite well in their first appearance. It's all about your mentality. If you handle it well, you shouldn't feel too much pressure," said Liu, a two-time gold medalist at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

"I hope that our players and coaches do not feel burdened by the expectation that they must sweep the gold medals, like on previous occasions.

"The Olympic Games are no different for China, Japan or European teams. We cannot put what we achieved in Rio into these Games, and we have to start from zero in Tokyo," said Liu.

Liu added that China's final preparations will mainly focus on making sure players are in the right physical and mental shape.

"As the Games approach, athletes will have a clearer vision," he said. "So they need to undergo a process in their mentality transition and try to find their rhythm."

Xinhua