Liu: Paddlers start from scratch in clean-sweep bid

With China being tipped for a clean sweep of golds at the Olympic table tennis tournament, legend Liu Guoliang has urged the nation's all-conquering paddlers to block out the pressure by "starting from zero "in Tokyo.

"The Olympic Games are the same for everyone, and we will start from scratch in Tokyo," career Grand Slam winner Liu, now president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA), told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The Chinese team has just concluded a four-day tuneup tournament in Weihai, Shandong province, with Tokyo-bound players winning titles in the mixed doubles and both team events.