Chinese coaches see the following players as threats to the Chinese teams in the world table tennis championships:

Timo Boll
Germany
Left-handed shakehand looper
Born: March, 8,1981
Height: 178cm
Boll received table tennis training when he was 4 and started representing his country in international competitions when he was 16. In 2002, he won his first major title in the World Cup. He reached the world No.1 ranking in January the following year. Boll has excellent forehand serves with good placements and variation of spin. His backhand and forehand fast loops co-ordinate nicely. He has conquered the usual shortcoming of many European players -- a strong backhand but weak forehand. His slices, flicks and fast loops enable him to take the initiatives always. In counter-looping, he is fast and ferocious. However, his weakness is his conservative tendency during crucial moments. His reception of serves lacks variety and power. In spite of a series of setbacks----losing to Kim Taek Soo in the 2000 Olympics, losing to Qiu Yike in the Paris World Championships, losing to Waldner in the Athens Olympic, he is still the most threatening rival for the Chinese team.

Vladimir Samsonov
Belarus
Right-handed looper
Born: April, 17, 1976
Height: 191cm
Samsonov started table tennis training when he was 6 and he joined the German League in 1992. His game is solid and his serves are remarkable. He handles short shots with good finesse. He makes very few unforced errors and always does well in long rallies. Even though his style is not aggressive, his defense is strong. It very much resembles the Chinese Tai-chi. In 1995, He and Zoran Primorac finished as doubles runners-up in the World Championships. In the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, he lost 3-2 to Wang Tao in the quarterfinal. In the Manchester World Championships in 1995, he came second after eliminating Chinese Kong Linghui. Samsonov is consistent but tends to lose crucial matches for a lack of passion and aggressiveness.

Chuan Chih-Yuan
Chinese Taipei
Right-handed looping offensive player
Born: April, 2, 1981
Height: 170cm
Born into a table tennis family, Chuan started practicing under his mother's supervision when he was 8. He was sent to the second-string Chinese national team for more advanced training in 1993. He joined the German League in 1999. His low toss forehand serve is outstanding. His backhand loop in receiving short serve is unique. He usually stands close to the table and plays his backhand loop very fast and to wide angles. He also makes up his average power forehand loop with excellent footwork. The year of 2002 was his breakout year. He defeated Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece in the singles final at the ITTF Pro Tour Finals. He has since been viewed as the player with the most potentials. Nevertheless, he is not in very good form lately and there is room for improvements when he meets a left-handed player or a chopper.

Kalinikos Kreanga
Greece
Right-handed looper
Born: March 8, 1972
Height: 170cm
Kreanga has been among the elites for over 10 years. He traded matches with Ma Wenge and Wang Tao in the mid 90s. In the 2004 World Cup, he lost to Ma Lin in the final. He has excellent power (partly due to the fact that he was a gymnast) and makes some extremely difficult shots at times. His backhand loop stands out -- power & angles. His serves are average and he has problems in handling serves on his forehand side sometimes. He is not very consistent but capable of beating any player when he is in the "zone".

Jean-Michel Saive
Belgium
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: November, 17, 1969
Height: 180cm
Saive is the representation of the early aggressive European style. He always takes the initiatives and is good at third ball attack. Despite his age, his loops and lobs are still at high caliber level. He plays closer to the table than most European players.

Chiang Peng-Lung
Chinese Taipei
Right-handed penhold looper
Born: July, 24, 1976
Height: 184cm
Chiang made his first appearance in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan. He teamed up with Chen Jing to finish third in the mixed doubles. Chiang's forte is his "punch block", which acquired from famous former Chinese team player, Zhou Lansun. This particular forte enjoys the reputation of "Devil's punch block" throughout the world. In the 2001 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Chiang lifted a singles bronze after ousting Chinese Liu Guoliang. Despite all these, he has some problems with footwork.

Michael Maze
Denmark
Left-handed looper
Born: 1981
Height: 184cm
Maze possesses excellent serves and his attacks open up quickly. Compared to the powerful backhand counter-loop, his forehand is slightly slow yet has a lot of spin. In early 2004, he won the European Top 12 and found his way to a bronze medal in the doubles event in the Athens Olympics.

Chen Weixing
Austria
Chopper (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: long pips)
Born: April, 20,1972
Height: 173cm

Leung Chu-Yan
Hong Kong, China
Right-handed penhold looper
Born: April,21,1979
Height: 176cm

Petr Karlsson
Sweden
Righted-handed shakehand looper
Born: May, 29, 1969
Height: 183cm
World ranking: 18

Petr Korbel
Czech Republic
Shakehand looper
Height: 181cm.
Korbel is an all-round player who has equally good forehand and backhand. His backhand reception of short serves is particularly outstanding. He registered 2 wins when he played against China in the 1991 World Championship team event. In the Atlanta Olympics, he made it to the semifinals. He also eliminated Liu Guozheng in the 2003 Paris World Championships.

Trinko Keen
Netherlands
Left-handed looper
Born: May, 1971
Height:190cm

Oh Sang Eun
South Korea
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: April, 13, 1977
Height: 186cm
Oh is considered to be big and tall for an Asian. His powerful forehand and backhand loops are also rare among Asians. His best serves are mainly from forehand and his forehand serve reception is equally good. Nevertheless, his shortcoming in shots selection become an obstacle for reaching the elite class.

Jan-Ove Waldner
Sweden
Right-handed shakehand offensive player
Born: October, 3, 1965
Height: 178cm
Waldner's greatest contribution to table tennis is that he merges the Chinese close-to-table attack style with the European mid-range looping. He continuously re-combines different table tennis techniques. His marvelous serves raise the standard of serve and attack among all European players. Some may think the legendary J.O. is over the hill. But he still managed to raise so many eyebrows by eliminating Ma Lin and Timo Boll in the Athens Olympics.

Ko Lai-Chak
Hong Kong, China
Left-handed penhold looper
Born: May,1, 1976. Height:171cm
World ranking: 24

Adrian Crisan
Romania
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: July,5, 1980
Crisan is an up and coming player. His serves reception and backhand are exceptional. He can play quality short shots consistently and play fast backhand shots close to the table. There are very few unforced errors. His shots lack power but he beat Wang Hao both in Japan Open and Qatar Open early this year.

Jorg Rosskopf
Germany
Left-handed shakehand looper
Born: May, 22, 1969
Height: 182cm

Lucjan Blaszczyk
Poland,
Right-handed shakehand offensive player
Born: February, 1974
Height: 176cm
He has good serves and is able to open up his attacks quickly. He can loop and hit with both forehand and backhand when he is close to the table. In the 2000 Olympics, he and his partner gave the eventual winners, Ma Lin and Chen Qi a lot of trouble in the doubles event.

Zoran Primorac
Croatia
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: May, 10, 1969
Height: 179cm

Alexei Smirnov
Russia
Right-handed shakehand looper
Height: 184cm
Smirnov started playing table tennis when he was 7. His handling of short shots is excellent. His forehand loops usually go down the line while his backhand fast loop can go either direction. He made the final four in the 2002 German Open, 2003 Brazilian Open and Qatar Open. In the 2003 World Cup, he scored victories over Boll, Chiang, and Johnny Huang,.He also won the European Top 12 in 2005.

Jorgen Persson
Sweden
Right-handed shakehand loope
Born: April, 22, 1966
Height: 186cm

Kim Kyung Ah
South Korea
Right-handed shakehand chopper (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: long pips)
Born: May, 25, 1977
Height: 164cm
Kim's style is very much of a traditional chopper. Her orthodox game offers very little variations yet her mental power is outstanding. In 1999, she defeated Sun Jin of China while playing barefooted (shoes were damaged). In the 2004 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, her racket was broken in the middle of a match against Wang Nan. With a new racket, she still managed to squeeze by in the 5th game. In the Athens Olympics, her consistency brought her a single bronze medal and a place in the final four in the doubles event.

Tmara Boros
Croatia
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: December, 19, 1977
Height: 171cm
Boros became famous in the 1996 Professional Circuit when she took the then No.1 Deng Yaping to the fifth and final game. She can serve high toss (4-6 meters) with both forehand and backhand. Her style resembles her fellow Croatian, Zoran Primorac and the power of her loops is peerless. However, shortcomings on her forehand stops her from reaching the pinnacle. In the 2003 World Championships, she finished third by beating Gao Jun of the United States.

Kim Kyang Mi
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Right-handed shakehand fast-attack looper (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: pips out)
Born: 1980
Height: 161cm
Kim's serves offer little variation but her entire game is very aggressive. Her pips-out backhand usually controls the pace of the game and she has excellent footwork. In the 2002 Asian Games, she beat Wang Nan. In the Athens Olympics, she beat Nu Jianfeng and Li Jia Wei on her way to become the silver medalist.

Aya Umemura
Japan
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: December, 4, 1976
Height: 169cm
Being tall, Umemura covers tremendous range. Her backhand loop is very aggressive and ferocious. Since 1999 when she started international competitions, she improves steadily. In the 2002 Asian Games, she battled Zhang Yining to the seventh game and lost. In Qatar, after beating Zhang in the semifinals, she took Wang Nan to the seventh game. She used to play with pips out on her backhand. She changed to inverted rubber upon her coach's suggestion. Since then, she has raised her game to a new level.

Viktoria Pavlovich
Belarus
Right-handed chopper(forehand: inverted rubber backhand: long pips) Even though Pavlovich is a little short of being the elite, she is well capable of pulling surprises. Recently, her consistency improves and she flips her racket well to make best use of the two different rubbers.

Gao Jun
United States
Penhold pips-out hitter
Born: January 1969
Height: 166cm
Gao is a traditional penhold pips-out hitter. Despite the fact that her forehand lacks power, she is a seasoned veteran who makes great use of her forte -- backhand block. In the Paris World Championship, she beat Kim Kyung Ai 3-0 by playing steady topspin shots. In both 2003 and 2004 World Cup, she beat Wang Nan in the group.

Liu Jia
Austria
Shakehand looper
With good serves and solid fundamentals, Liu plays her backhand flick differently. In the 2001 World Championships, she beat Yang Ying and made the quarterfinals. In the 2004 ITTF Pro Tour Finals, she was in the semifinals. In 2005, she won the European Top 12 title.

Kim Hyon Hui
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Left-handed shakehand offensive player (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: long pips)
Born: 1979
Height: 153cm
Kim made her mark in Atlanta Olympics when she fought her way into the quarterfinals by beating Chai Bo-Wah of Hong Kong. In the 2001 World Cup, she was in the final. In the 2002 Asian Games, she made her contribution to her team by beating Wang Nan. She has very strong will and can always be viewed as a threat.

Tie Yana
Hong Kong, China
Right-handed shakehand hitter
Born: December,19, 1977
Height: 171cm
Tie, who has never played on the Chinese national team, won the 2001 World University Games by beating Zhang Yining and Nu Jianfeng. Though her forehand is not particularly strong, her backhand placement and tenacity are two lethal weapons. She can always outlast her opponents. Nevertheless, she has problems taking the initiatives and dealing with long pips choppers.

Mihaela Steff
Romania
Left-handed shakehand looper
Born: August, 11, 1978
Height:165cm
Steff is a representation of the trend of European women players -- masculine plays. Her backhand serves, flicks and loops are outstanding. She may not be as aggressive as Boros, yet more consistent. She does not response very well to changes of pace and placement. She still has a resume of registering victories over Zhang Yining, Li Ju and Chen Jing.

Lau Sui Fei
Hong Kong, China
Right-handed penhold looper
Born: July, 3, 1981
Height: 162cm
Lau has a good high toss serve, aggressive forehand, consistent backhand block and jab. She has beaten Boros and Steff many times. At the Qatar World Championships, she gave Wang Nan a hard time. In the 2004 World Cup, she beat Niu Jianfeng in the group.

Lin Ling
Hong Kong, China
Right-handed shakehand looper
Born: January, 1, 1977
Height: 162cm
Lin is a former Chinese national team member. In the 2001 World Championships, she held her own and eliminated Chen Jing and Liu Jia and took a silver medal. When she is on, she gives everybody trouble. However, her game lacks variations and her forehand is a bit slow.

Lee Eun Sil
South Korea
Pips-out penhold hitter
Born:; December, 25, 1976
Height: 167cm
Lee is a veteran of the South Korean team. Her serves are either short or placed at the right side around the centerline. She is aggressive but she handles the pace of the game poorly and her footwork needs improvements.

Saki Kanazawa
Japan
Left-handed penhold looper
Height: 167cm
Originally from Hebei, China, she has good high toss serves. Her game is consistent but lacks power.

Ai Fujinuma
Japan
Left-handed shakehand offensive player (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: pips-out)
Height: 159
She made her reputation by beating Li Ju at the Qatar World Championships She has a good high toss serve and third ball attack. Her forehand is aggressive yet lacks consistency. However, she can be a big threat when she is on. She only enters two doubles events this World Championships

Kim Yun Mi
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Right-handed penhold (reverted rubber and long pips)
Born: 1981
Height: 162cm
Kim does not flip her racket. She simply uses the reversed side long pips to look for opening for her inverted forehand. In the 2001 Osaka World Championships, she beat Toth, Steff, and Li Ju to make to the semifinals. In the 2002 Asian Games, she beat Li Nan in the team event to give her a precious point for the championship. Her offense does seem weak when she runs into steady loopers like Niu Jianfeng.

Nicole Struse
Germany
Shakehand looper
Height: 170cm
World ranking: 34
Despite being a veteran, she still plays with a lot of passion. She has powerful loops on both forehand and backhand. She is the winner of European Top 12 this year. There are many victories over Chinese players under her belt.

Jie Schopp
Germany
Shakehand chopper (forehand: inverted rubber,
backhand: long pips)
Born: January, 25, 1968
Height: 173cm
Schopp came from Hebei, China. She never plays on the Chinese national team. She uses the two different sides of rubber to confuse her opponents. She plays very little offense but still manages to beat a lot of good Chinese players. (More)

Otilia Badescu
Romania
Shakehand pips-out hitter
Born: October, 1970
Height: 160cm
Her brilliant moment came when she lost to the eventual winner 3-2 in the semifinals of the 1993 World Championships. Ten years later, she still managed to gain the European crown. Another tough player to play when she is on.

Tan Monfardini Wenling
Italy
Shakehand offensive player (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: long pips)
Height: 158
Tan came from China and her game depends on the backhand to control the pace. She has led the Italian team to her team title in European Championships. She added a single title at Chilean Open in 2004.

Elke Wosik
Germany
Shakehand looper
Height: 172cm
With her tall statue, she covers a lot of space with powerful loops. In the 1997 World Championships, she played Wang Nan a tough 3-game match in the semifinals of the team event. In the Paris World Championships, she beat Wang Nan.

Csilla Batorfi
Hungary
Shakehand looper
She is another veteran from the late 80s. She has excellent high toss serves and spinny loops despite being slow. She beat Lin Ling in the 45th World Championships. In 2005, she teamed with Toth to beat Wang Nan/Zhang Yining in Qatar Open.

Krisztina Toth
Hungary
Shakehand looper
She is a powerful player and has won the European singles title. She plays doubles well with Batorfi and got a bronze medal in both the Olympics and the 43rd Worlds.

Ai Fukuhara
Japan
Right-handed shakehand offensive player (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: pips out)
Born: November 1, 1988
Height: 152cm

Zhang Xue Ling
Singapore
Right-handed shakehand offensive player (forehand: inverted rubber, backhand: pips out)
Born: 1984
Height: 162

Li Chungli
New Zealand
Penhold pips-out hitter
Height: 162cm
Maria Fazzkas
Hungary
Shakehand looper
Height: 168cm

Wu Xue
Dominica (originally from Beijing)
Left-haded penhold hitter
Svetlana GaninaRussia right-handed chopper (forehand: inverted rubber backhand: long pips)

Sayaka Hirano
Japan
Right-handed shakehand looper
All-round game with average power

Li Ching
Hong Kong, China
Right-handed penhold looper
Height: 170cm

Patrick Chila
France
Left-handed shakehand looper
Born: December, 27, 1969
Height: 180cm

Torban Wosik
Germany
Right-handed shakehand looper

Aleksandr Karakasevic
SCG
Offensive player
Slobodan Grujic
SCG
Offensive player

Tomasz Kreeszewski
Poland
Offensive player
Players were having a lot of problems with his serves before the amendments of the rules.

Kaii Yoshida
Japan
Right-handed penhold looper
Originally from Hebei, China. He plays excellent forehand with great footwork. Instead of using the trendy reversed backhand, he uses traditional block to control the pace of the game.

Li Jia Wei
Singapore
Right-handed shakehand offensive player (forehand: pips-out, backhand: inverted rubber)
Born: August, 9, 1981
Height: 172cm
Li plays in the same fast attack style of the Beijing tradition. She is very much like former Chinese national team player, Teng Yi. Her wide variety of serves prove to be deceptive. Her backhand also produces loops and flat hits. Her pips-out forehand is equally formidable. Ironically, her Achillies' heel is also her forehand. She has problems in dealing with deep heavy backspin serves. In the 2000 Olympics, she lost a heartbreaker to eventual gold medalist, Wang Nan. In the 2004 Korean Open, she beat one of the best young Chinese players, Guo Yue. In the Athens Olympics, she had her sweet revenge by eliminating Wang and made it to the semifinals.