Change in format means frustration for Hong Kong's medal-winning paddlers

Hong Kong's first-ever Olympic medallists in table tennis, Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching, will never get the chance to defend their precious piece of silverware.

Although Ko and Li came second in Athens and are playing as well as ever, a recent change introduced by the IOC in the playing format will see the exclusion of the two doubles events, which will be replaced by two team events for the Beijing games.

Each team event features two singles, followed by one doubles and then two more singles with a minimum of three players.

Both Ko and Li said they felt it was no use worrying about a decision over which they had no control and would concentrate on ensuring they were in good enough form to play at Olympic standard so they had a chance of winning in either singles or a team event.

'There are still two events for us in Beijing - the singles and the team, and you need to play at your very best if you are to win an Olympic medal. The time and effort you spend on preparation for Beijing remains the same,' said Ko.

Hong Kong coach Chan Kong-wah said the change in format would seriously damage the chances of more Olympic success.

'Unlike China, who have an almost unlimited supply of top-quality players for the four singles in the team event, we lack a very high quality player who can guarantee us at least two points in the singles,' he said of the team event.