Born: December 1, 1983, in Changchun, Jilin province
Entry: Singles
Credentials: Silver at Athens 2004; gold at 2006 Doha Asian Games, winner of 2007 World Cup
Why he'll win: Because he's older and wiser. Things went seriously awry for China's table tennis juggernaut in Athens as big tickets Wang Liqin and Ma Lin crashed out early to leave lesser-light Wang in the final against South Korea's Ryu Seung-min. No matter, coaches thought, as Wang had won all seven previous encounters. It was a bad time to lose this record, and the impact was that Wang was tagged a 'nearly man'. 'I'm the only active Chinese player to have lost an Olympic final,' he says. 'In that sense, I'm unique.' Wang sprung another surprise after Athens as he turned it around and has gradually made himself number one on the star-studded team - and in the process re-asserted his dominance over Ryu with wins in Doha and the World Cup in Barcelona.
Who can stop him: Wang Liqin and Ma Lin (China), Vladimir Samsonov (Russia), Timo Boll (Germany), Ryu Seung-min (South Korea)
Final: Saturday 23th