Chinese Table Tennis Players
Why are chinese table tennis players the best in the world?
Are they unbeatable? ... It's well known that Chinese table tennis players are the best in the world and with Ma Long, Wang Hao and Ma Lin at the top of the men's world rankings, the situation isn't about to change anytime soon. 
photos courtesy of the ITTF Further proof of China's domination, if needed, is that they have a plethora of top players including Wang Liqin, Hao Shuai and Chen Qi who are also ranked in the world top ten. Yes, China certainly dominates mens table tennis ...
 But don't forget the women
Meanwhile, the female chinese table tennis players are just as dominant in the women's world rankings. Liu Shiwen, Zhang Yining, Guo Yue, Guo Yan and LI Xiaoxia occupy the top five places - whilst Ding Ning, Wang Nan and Fan Ying are also in the top ten.
photos courtesy of the ITTF So why do so many players leave China? ...
From China to Europe Many chinese players leave their native country to play their table tennis in other countries, notably within Europe, although some have moved to Australia or the USA.  A prime example was Chen Xinhua.
He was a world class player who represented China in the 1985 and 1987 World Championships when he won gold in the team event. But he later moved to the UK and played for England for many years during the 1990s. Other players also move abroad to take up coaching roles, with European countries such as Spain and Austria quick to welcome such talent to their shores. But there are many other chinese players who've emigrated because they're unable to break into the chinese national team but know that they have the ability to successfully compete at an international level. By moving to another country they could, after a qualifying period, represent a different country in World Championships and Olympic Games. But now that's all changed following these ...
Significant Rule Changes In 2008, the International Table Tennis Federation changed the rules regarding players representing other countries. This rule change was made to stop players from China taking international places away from native born players. A player can now only represent a different national association in world title events if they are under 21 years of age when they move. But even then, they still have to wait a number of years before becoming eligible ... players under the age of 15 have to wait 3 years between 15 & 18 years have to wait 5 years between 18 & 21 years have to wait 7 years
The hope is that the rest of world will bring their players up to the standard of the Chinese, and challenge them for world honours. But this means that players will have to ...
Learn from the best The chinese are renowned for their meticulous preparation, intense training methods and superior technical abilities. Many top European players - Stellan Bengtsson, Jan-Ove Waldner, Jorgen Persson and Werner Schlager - all recognised that if they wanted to become world class players, they needed to train with the top chinese players. Their foresight was of course richly rewarded as they each became World Champion. Subsequently many European players such as Timo Boll and Michael Maze have followed in their footsteps as they endeavour to repeat their success.
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