Favorites at the London Olympics Table Tennis

Although a dark horse can emerge and grab titles, it is unlikely that the winner at the London Olympics Table Tennis will be out of the following lists:

Men
 Wang Hao (CHN)
 Timo Boll (GER)
 Zhang Jike (CHN)
 Jun Mizutani (JPN)
 Vladimir Samsonov (BLR)
 Joo Se-Hyuk (KOR)
 Oh Sang-Eun (KOR)
 Chuang Chih-yuan (TPE)
 Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GER)

Among the men, our picks are Wang Hao (who won two silver medals at the last two Olympics), and Zhang Jike, the fighter and the current World Champion.

Women

 Li Xiaoxia (CHN)
 Ding Ning (CHN)
 Feng Tianwei (SIN)
 Kasumi Ishikawa (JPN)
 Ai Fukuhara (JPN)
 Kim Kyung-Ah (KOR)
 Wang Yuegu (SIN)
 Tie Ya Na (HKG)

Team Men

1     CHINA         
2     GERMANY         
3     KOREA REPUBLIC          
4     JAPAN   
5     HONG KONG

Team Women 

1     CHINA
2     JAPAN
3     SINGAPORE
4     KOREA REPUBLIC
5     HONG KONG
6     GERMANY

News bits - Timo Boll, Segun Toriola

Timo chooses to stay with Borussia Dusseldorf. He signed a contract to be with them until 2014. Sergei Ivanov, President of Orenburg, had offered him a contract after the end of ECL's last season.
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The September World rankings have been released for 2011 and the big mover is Ma Long from No. 5 to No. 2. Wang Hao continues to lead the rankings. Guo Yan moves up from No. 4 to No. 2 while Li Xiaoxia stays at the top in the Women's category.

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Segun Toriola is the favourite at the 2011 All African games. He will be trying to win the title for the 5th consecutive time.

Zhang Yining retires from Table Tennis to focus on Education

Zhang Yining, one of the all-time greats in Table Tennis, said that she quit Table Tennis to focus on her studies in the US. She will be pursuing a one-year course in Physical Education in the US.

According to her, the decision also gives the younger players an opportunity to show their mettle. Guo Yue, Guo Yan, Li Xiaoxia, Liu Shiwen, and Ding Ning are in the race to take her place.
The Chinese authorities are bound to be anxious, especially since the London Olympics are right around the corner. The immediate priority for the Chinese team is also the Rotterdam World Championships this year.

Zhang has an impressive tally of four Olympic gold medals, nine World Championships, and four World Cup wins.