BEIJING, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Steve Dainton, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Group CEO and World Table Tennis (WTT) director, has expressed his expectations for new talents to emerge when he recently visited the Shougang Park in Beijing, where the WTT China Smash will be held from September 26 to October 6.

After his visit, Dainton told Xinhua that he was impressed with the "beautiful" transformation from the indoor ice rinks, parts of the Beijing Winter Olympic legacies, to table tennis venues.

"Taking a former industrial area [Shougang] and making it into a really modern sports arena is something very exciting for table tennis. So, we are really excited to bring the first China Smash to Beijing," Dainton said. "We have not had a major event in Beijing since 1961 when the World Championships were here back then."

The Shougang Park, where the Winter Olympic venue Big Air Shougang is located, has developed into a sports and tourist resort also featuring ice hockey and skating venues. "After the Beijing Winter Olympics, the venues [in Shougang] were used for more sporting events, and we are happy that now it is used for table tennis," Dainton noted.

With an array of superb players, table tennis was one of the most exciting sports at the Paris Olympics, while Dainton believed that it is time to cultivate the next stars of the sport.

He said, "We always had some wonderful table tennis players, and now, it is time for new ones to come. We are still looking forward to seeing Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin in Beijing, playing amazing table tennis, and I am sure that they are going to."

"I am also sure some of our close to retiring players will perform well in Beijing, but now, it is the time for the new stars to be born, and I think we may see some here," Dainton noted.

With tickets for the matches and the Smash Park currently on sale, Dainton said, "We are expecting a full house and a lot of people to visit the China Smash. We are also building a Smash Park and want many people to enjoy the beautiful venue and watch amazing table tennis."

According to the organizers, the Smash Park in Shougang is an outdoor area providing catering services and entertainment activities for visitors who can also watch the games of the China Smash on screen and have a chance to interact with players.

At the Paris Olympics, China claimed all five golds in table tennis, while many other players including the 17-year-old prodigy Felix Lebrun of France and Sweden's Truls Moregard also demonstrated great competitiveness.

"We saw in Paris that table tennis had improved its position in the world of sports. We felt really amazed at the media and crowd interest in full house every single day and every single session. And now, we want to bring that all around the world, and we need to come to the country that is the strongest in table tennis," Dainton remarked.

"Winning five gold medals was a fantastic result for China with amazing efforts from all the players. Following the wonderful success of the Paris Olympic Games for table tennis, it is really important to come to Beijing, the capital of China," he added. Enditem

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