(Photo: CGTN)
Chinese table tennis icon Zhang Jike has suffered a surprise loss to Japanese teenager Tomokazu Harimoto in the first round of the China Open.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist (singles in 2012 and team in 2012 and 2016) went down 4-0 to his 15-year-old opponent on Friday.
The defeat, after two promising qualifying matches in Shenzhen, showed that Zhang needs more time to regain his form on his return from a half-year layoff which ended last month.
China’s Olympic champion Zhang Jike serves to Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan at the 2018 ITTF China Open. (Photo: VCG)
The 30-year-old, who has claimed titles at the Olympics, World Championships and World Cup, rejoined the international circuit at last week’s Hong Kong Open.
Zhang, currently 168th in the ITTF's world rankings due to his long absence, has now been stopped twice in the first round of the main draw, after sailing through the qualification process in both Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
China’s Olympic champion Zhang Jike playing against Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan at the 2018 ITTF China Open. (Photo: VCG)
He admitted that age has become a problem, and said he could really feel the intensity after taking part in such high-level matches again over the last two weeks.
“My body shouted out a lot after my last qualifying match at the Hong Kong Open,” he said. “I could hear my muscles crying while playing. That's the main reason I lost my first round face-off there."
Zhang will return to the table at next week's Japan Open, as he and the Chinese Table Tennis Association have planned. He will start in the qualifying rounds again as the ITTF only grant direct berths into the main draw to players ranked in the world’s top 16.