Ranked no.1 on the current ITTF Men’s World Ranking list, 21 year old Ma Long leads the Chinese Men’s Team at for the U.A.E. World Team Cup Classic to be staged in Dubai from Tuesday 28th September to Friday 1st October 2010.

Noticeably, there is no place in the line up two members of the gold medal winning team from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; Wang Liqin, now 32 years old and Ma Lin, 30 years old, are not included.

Only Wang Hao, 26 years old, is on duty from the successful Beijing team of two years ago, 22 year old Zhang Jike and 20 year Xu Xin are listed with Hao Shuai, like Wag Hao 26 years old, completing the team.

Preparation
Is the selection an indication of who we might see in London at the 2012 Olympic Games?

Certainly, if there is one country is the world that follows the Lord Baden-Powell Boy Scout Motto of “Be Prepared” then it is China; their attention to detail, leaving no stone unturned is an example to all.

Nothing Wrong
So will we see Ma Lin and Wang Liqin in London in 2012?

Well, neither has done anything wrong but neither has anyone else and certainly the man who is doing everything right is Zhang Jike. 

Quick Learner
He is the player of 2010, he has grown in stature at a rapid rate and he is soaking up experience faster than any other player in the world; remember he first appearance for the Chinese Men’s Team was less than one year ago.

In late October 2009, he made his debut at the World Team Cup in Linz and, in the final; he set China on the road to victory. Liu Guoliang sent Zhang Jike out first to play.

Arrival
He tore into Oh Sang Eun, the latter is one of the world’s greatest experts in the art of blocking a table tennis ball; against the tirade of exocet missiles unleashed by Zhang Jike, the racket was nearly ripped from the hand of the stylish Korean.

Zhang Jike, who seven years earlier had won the Boys’ Singles event at the inaugural ITTF Cadet Challenge in the Hungarian town of Tiszaujvaros, had arrived. 

Equally, in the Men’s final against at the Liebherr World Team Championships in Moscow, Zhang Jike was included in the line up in the final against Germany.

A Vote for Experience
However, notably Liu Guoliang included the voice of experience in that team. He fielded Ma Lin in the final and he selected Ma Lin to play the “quick ones”, the second and fourth matches of the contest. Ma Lin duly delivered, he beat both Dimitrij Ovtcharov and Timo Boll.
The door is still open for the reigning Olympic champion.

Test
So, especially for the likes of Xu Xin and Wang Hao, despite the fact that the latter is the reigning World champion and twice Olympic Games Men’s Singles silver medallist, the World Team Cup is somewhat of a test. 

However, in the Chinese camp there is no such fact as an automatic selection; a flight to London might be a step too far for Hao Shuai and can Ma Long be assured of his place; like the rest he must prove himself.

Surely, another reason why China succeeds, you have to fight for your place and you have to fight to stay there.

Source: www.ittf.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwjev3VbQn8

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