Chinese Olympic Team Travelled To London Today (Photos)

Today, July 17th, the Chinese Table Tennis Olympic Team, from their Beijing apartment formally embarked on their journey to the London Olympics. As celebrities in their own right, the Chinese Table Tennis player were sent off by their warm and lively families, friends, supporters, and fans. 

The scheduled departure time for the Chinese Team was 10:15 hrs. this morning. Before 9:00am, a lot of the Chinese Team's fans were already gathered outside their apartment to be a part of the send off. Among the crowd that eagerly waited for the Olympic Team were their family members, friends, provincial and municipal sports leaders and staff, and of course their fans. Almost everyone were holding their banners or anything that will show their support for the Chinese Team. 

Of course, media was also present in the scene. Everyone was excitingly waiting and when the team was already seen approaching the crowd, the sound of the drums were heard, making the atmosphere much more lively. 

The Olympic lineup of Zhang Jike, Wang Hao, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Ding Ning, Li Xiaoxia, Guo Yue, and Liu Shiwen were the stars of the scene. However, in addition, Ma Lin, Chen Qi, Qiu Yike, Cao Zhen, Fan Ying and Liu Yi were also seen in the send off. Along with the players and the sparring partners, the team also had their coaches, team doctor and translator on board for United Kingdom. 

The Chinese Team took their flight via Air China CA937 this 10:15am for Leeds, United Kingdom. They will stay there for their week-long adaptive training before entering the London Olympic Village. 

Four years ago in the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Table Tennis Team did not just sweep all four titles but also swept the top three rankings in the Men and Women Singles, creating the best record so far in history. Although this will not happen anymore this time in London due to the reduction of entrants, the Chinese Team will still aim for the four championship titles. 

The London Olympic Table Tennis event will start on July 28th. The Women Singles finals will be on August 1st while the Men Singles will have their final match on August 2nd. As for the Team event, their finals will be on August 7th and 8th for the women and men respectively. 

Photo source: sohu.com