A formidable partnership, quite simply ally Xu Xin with any right handed female member of the Chinese national team and it is a formidable partnership; for that style of play, the left handed pen-hold grip technique of Xu Xin is the perfect foil.

The fact was proved at the Qoros 2015 World Championships when he won the mixed doubles title partnering Korea Republic’s Yang Haeun; in more recent times it has been endorsed when teaming with Liu Shiwen. In addition to the most recent success, the duo won last year on the Seamaster ITTF World Tour in Austria, as well as this year in both Hungary and Bahrain.

However, true to the very best Chinese traditions, no stone is left unturned, injuries do occur, every possible foreseeable scenario is covered, a fact Liu Guoliang stressed.

“This is our Olympic strategic layout. We cannot use one line-up to deal with all the possible situations. Especially for Team China, as we have so many great players, it is very important for us to think about how to better arrange and adapt. All nations are preparing their strongest players and making their strategies. It is time to fight a battle of wits and courage. We will make some changes according to the results at the World Championships; the current situation of the team is there is dynamic competition. It is normal.” Liu Guoliang

Xu Xin and Chen Meng commence matters the no.6 seeds. Notably further down the list, required to qualify, there is not a bad back-up pairing; as at the Liebherr 2019 World Championships, Fan Zhendong partners Ding Ning.