While the summer Olympics will certainly be the time for elite athletes to show their talents to the world, some older champions are looking for new challenges in life.
'Although my world ranking is still in the 30s, I need to move on from my current life sooner or later,' said Hong Kong's Olympic silver medallist Ko Lai-chak.
'If I keep playing table tennis, I won't be contributing much more.'
Now 35, Ko announced last month that he would retire as an athlete and take up coaching at the Sports Institute.
Ko, who helped Hong Kong win a silver medal in the men's doubles table tennis event at the Athens Olympics in 2004, started studying for a master's degree several years ago. However, he is finding it difficult to catch up and graduate easily.
'My English isn't good enough,' he said. 'I didn't have enough time to study and practise the language while I was an athlete.'