Cai Zhenhua, head coach of China's national table tennis team, has named the players who will be going to the 47th World Table Tennis Team Championships in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Announcing the names of the 10 athletes in Beijing on February 22, Cai said the men are Ma Lin, Wang Liqin, Kong Linghui, Wang Hao and Liu Guozheng; and the women are Wang Nan, Zhang Yining, Niu Jianfeng, Li Ju and Guo Yue.

The international event opens on March 1.

"The Chinese team is strong and big, so it is difficult to choose between the players," said Cai. "They are jointly selected by the national team, the National Management Central for Table Tennis and Badminton, and the General Administration of Sport. Our considerations are mainly based on recent performance in major games and preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympics."

Cai reported that the hardest choices were between Liu Guozheng and Chen Qi for the men's group, and Guo Yue and Guo Yan for the women's.

Chen Qi has played well in the past year and ranks sixth in the world, which means he has great potential. But Liu Guozheng ultimately won out because of his reliability. "Liu had a stable, calm and sound performance in the 46th World Table Tennis Team Championship, and he has made much progress in recent training. Although Chen is not listed, he will also go to Doha as a substitute," Cai stated.

Guo Yue, expected to be a leading player in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was chosen over Guo Yan owing to her all-around excellence. "Guo Yan made fair progress after the Paris World Table Tennis Championships, but she did not do well in the 14th Asia Games in Pusan, South Korea, in 2002, when the Chinese women were having trouble."

Liu Guoliang, the men's coach, and Lu Yuansheng, the women's, agreed with Cai that all the players are in good condition. Their training has been taking place behind closed doors.

The Chinese team will fly to Doha on February 24.

(China.org.cn by Li Liangdu, February 23, 2004)