The Chinesehave won a majority of titles in this sport for decades, but more worrying isthat ambitious moves to reduce the export of Chinese players have as yet had noobvious effect. Statistics suggest 25 percent of the players not representingChina at these Games are China-born, a similar proportion to a quarter of acentury ago. The best known is probably Li Jiao, a Qingdao-born 39-year-old whois representing The Netherlands and who was not far from winning a medal afterplaying a fine quarter-final in the women's singles.
More startling is that almost half the competitors in theteam event are China-born, a statistic hinting at how imported talent has beenstifling the development of indigenous players.
Few could fail to admire the skill and talent of the Chineseplayers, or the brilliance with which their organisation have taken the game forward,or the value of some of their coaches. But neither can one ignore the intensityof feeling all this sometimes causes. That was never clearer than in the caseof the most famous of Chinese exports, Chen Xinhua, a gold medallist with twoworld title winning teams and a winner of the World Cup singles. He left hometo represent England in world events during the nineties when he also competedfor Great Britain at the 1996 Olympics.
After the Chinese association changed its emigration policyduring the 1980s, allowing anyone over the age of 28 the freedom to travelabroad, it was estimated that 300 Chinese coaches and players were plying theirtrade elsewhere. These trends triggered the radical rule changes of 2008 whichnow only allow a player to represent a different national association in worldtitle events if they were under 21 years when they moved. Even then, they haveto wait much longer before becoming eligible.
There has however been one fusion of positives -- ArielHsing, who is both the result of the Chinese outflow and a home grown talent. Born and raised in the USA and a child ofimmigrants, Hsing became the youngest ever American national table tennischampion at the age of 15.
