Five Chinese Table Tennis Players Enshrined into ITTF's Hall of Fame

Five Chinese table tennis players including Olympic and world champions Liu Guoliang and Zhang Yining have been enshrined to the Hall of Fame of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), the sport's world ruling body announced in Shanghai on Sunday.

Also joining the elite club are Qiao Hong, who paired up with legendary Deng Yaping to win two Olympic doubles golds in 1992 and 1996, current men's singles world No. 1 Wang Liqin and Li Ju, women's doubles gold medalist at the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

The ITTF Hall of Fame, which was launched in 1993, now boasts of49 standout players. Eighteen of them are Chinese.

The ITTF introduces several players to the Hall of Fame every two years based on their achievement in the sport.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2005)