OLYMPIC HISTORY

Table tennis made its Olympic debut in 1988, when the inaugural tournament was marked by the failure in the men's singles of all of the top five seeded players to make the semi-finals. The world champion Jiang Jialing, of China, was beaten by Erik Lindh, of Sweden, who went on to win the bronze medal, while Yoo Man-kyu and Kim Ki-taik made it an all-South Korean final, from which Yoo emerged the victor.

The star of the 1992 Games was Deng Yaping, of China, who won gold medals in both the women's singles and doubles, the latter together with Qiao Hong. Deng's height had dogged her career but ultimately proved no impediment to her talent and lasting fame. At a touch over 4ft 10in by the time she won her first world singles title in 1991, Deng had been refused selection for Chinese provincial and junior teams on the basis that she was too short. By the time she was 16, however, so obvious was her talent that selectors had to waive their objections and Deng, at her first world championship, in 1989, won the gold medal with Qiao Hong in the women's doubles. Deng retained her titles at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.

Her efforts contribute to a picture of Chinese dominance of the sport; at the past three Olympic Games since table tennis was introduced, China players have won five of the six women's gold medals and four of the six men's gold medals. Champions from 1996, Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang, among the men, and top-ranked players Wang Nan and Li Ju, among the women, are expected to continue the Chinese success story in Sydney. Challengers include Chen Jing, who won the 1988 women's singles title for China but now plays for Taiwan, and Vladimir Samsonov, the world No 1 from Belarus.