Oh, those cut-throat ping-pong players!

Chinese paddlers will try to underline their ping-pong domination and gain a psychological edge over their main rivals ahead of the Beijing Olympics in two year-end tournaments beginning this weekend in Beijing.

The annual ITTF Pro Tour Finals, which have seen 11 editions since 1996, will run from December 13-16 at the newly built Olympic venue, Peking University Gymnasium, the world’s first gymnasium specifically designed for table tennis.

The event features the top 16 singles and top 8 doubles men’s and women’s paddlers based on the results of 17 Pro Tour stops throughout the year.

Tomorrow will see a duel between China’s Wang Hao and South Korea’s Rye Seung-min, a rematch of the men’s singles finals at the 2004 Athens Games and 2007 World Cup.

Wang, currently the world No 2, lost the Olympic crown to the South Korean in a five-set thriller in Athens. But in October this year, the 24-year-old Chinese young gun avenged his Olympic loss by whitewashing Rye at the Liebherr Men’s World Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

“I am not very surprised with the draw results. We are very familiar with each other’s playing styles, but I have to prepare for a hard battle tomorrow,” said Wang after the draw ceremony yesterday.

“I really want to claim the championship at the Olympic venue before the 2008 Games.”

Via Xinhua