BUDAPEST, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese men's table tennis team head coach Qin Zhijian showed his confidence in the team performance at the upcoming World Table Tennis Championships here on Thursday.
Having arrived in the Hungarian capital following their one-week training in Austria on Wednesday, the team conducted their first practice session at the Hungexpo venue on Thursday morning.
"All our players feel fit following their training in Austria. They will follow their own rhythm and method for the final-stage preparation," said Qin.
During the practice, Chinese table tennis chief Liu Guoliang gave technical guidance to Grand Slam winner Ma Long, who just came back from a long-term injury.
Ma has made an eyecatching comeback since then, claiming the Qatar Open title and finishing runner-up at the Asian Cup.
"Ma's injury posed a major problem for us. But after coming back at the Qatar Open and Asian Cup, he did well in maintaining momentum and avoiding injuries.
"He is a veteran, so he just needs to focus on himself. For such a player who has taken all glories, he will undoubtedly be strict to himself," Qin pointed out.
Qin regards Germany and Japan as the team's main threat at the tournament.
"Germany is a traditional powerhouse. Timo Boll and Dimitrij Ovtcharov are our opponents for quite a long time. Japan has some promising players such as Tomokazu Harimoto, especially that they will compete at Tokyo Olympic Games as hosts," he said.
"World Championships is our priority in 2019, and functions somewhat as a signal for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We feel confident in it," admitted Qin.
"We face pressure all the time, but it also gives us motivation. The Chinese team always has a high standard. Our coaches and staff will cooperate to finish the job," said Qin.
The World Table Tennis Championships will run from April 21 to 28.
