Table toppers

Chen Meng eyes the ball as she serves to Germany's Petrissa Solja during China's women's team semifinal victory on Aug 4. REUTERS

"During my career, I always felt there was a gap between me and the Chinese team. They set the standards and I was always trying to keep up. Team China's overall strength has been too strong."

However, CTTA president Liu reckons that, as the sport continues to develop globally, China's dominance will come under increasing pressure from more foreign talents like Ito.

"Ito is a great player, and her emergence has given hope to other countries that they too can challenge us in table tennis," said Liu. "I believe that after the Olympics, the passion toward table tennis will be pushed to new heights in both China and Japan.

"The next generation of players like Sun Yingsha and Mima Ito represent the future of table tennis. They are still young and they will bring us a lot more thrills and excitement over the next eight to 10 years."

Top-seeded Chen was also making her Olympic debut in Tokyo, and credited Team China's strength in depth as a factor in her stunning campaign. Following Liu Shiwen's withdrawal due to injury, substitute Wang Manyu stepped into the breach to shine in the women's team event.

"We are all new players who are making our Olympic debuts. And it was the first time for us to fight together to win the Olympic team gold. This is a new breakthrough for us," said the 27-year-old Chen.

"I played doubles in the women's team competition, and I wasn't quite under as much pressure as my younger teammates. So I won the team gold thanks to them."