Wang Fan and Zhuo Qianqian were both a bit tense.
It wasn't because they were squeezed among a bunch of world champions, but rather because of the particularly solemn expressions on the faces around them.
After the 2008 Beijing Olympics, to prevent a single country from sweeping gold, silver, and bronze, the table tennis team was no longer allowed to have three players in men's singles.
However, Liu Hang, the mainstay as the second singles player, was eliminated early in the top 32 to 16 match.
This left the National Table Tennis Team with only one representative.
If Chang Yixian loses again, the National Table Tennis Team will be completely out of the championship race this year.
One could say Chang Yixian was already on the edge of a cliff.
His opponent was the Japanese player Kikuchi Shizhi.
This player was also a strong contender for the championship, with undeniable strength and much younger compared to Chang Yixian.
