IOC puts more medals on the table

With an unprecedented six-gold sweep in table tennis now possible, and more medal events added, China's sports community has embraced both the opportunities and challenges brought by the new sports program at LA28.

The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles remain more than three years away, yet the release of the Games' sports program and athlete quotas on Wednesday already has the sports world stoked, with 22 additional medal events in LA, compared to Paris 2024, whetting the appetite of major contenders and ambitious challengers from across the world.

To the excitement of table tennis followers, particularly its large fan base in China, the inclusion of a mixed team event, which will add a sixth gold medal to the sport's program in LA, has presented an intriguing prospect for the mighty Chinese squad to go one better than what was already an insurmountable feat — sweeping all five golds in men's and women's singles, teams and the mixed doubles in Paris.