Wang Liqin dropped out of Chinese TT squad for Asiad
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"The Asian Games, not as scary as the Olympic Games to a youngster, provide a similar circumstance but bring less pressure, so it is perfect for a world-stage-newcomer to have a taste of the grand event," Liu added.
Xu will take over all Wang's duties, but, the southpaw pen-hold player's presence makes it more convenient for Chinese coaches to carry out fancy strategy, according to Liu.
"The current world No. 1 Ma Long had been appointed to compete in three events, but we were worried about his foot injury and finally decided to take the men's doubles out of his agenda and to put the more fit and left-handed Xu Xin in," he said.
Liu, however, declined to say that Wang is close to retirement, though the former leader of Chinese table tennis has struggled throughout the domestic Super League season and failed to earn a spot in the Chinese team's roster for last May's team worlds in Moscow.
"We admire his spirit and wish he could hang on as long as he wants," said Liu. "If we win again at the London Games two years later, the success would be partly attributed to Wang no matter he plays or not."
Wang, who won the world championships in 2001, 2005 and 2007 and helped China to claim the Olympic team title two years ago in Beijing, can not be reached for comment at the moment.
Following are the amended squad of the Chinese men's table tennis team for the upcoming Asian Games:
Men's Team: Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Ma Long, Zhang Jike, Xu Xi
Men's Singles: Wang Hao, Ma Long
Men's Doubles: Wang Hao/Zhang Jike, Ma Lin/Xu Xin
Mixed Doubles: Ding Ning/Zhang Jike, Guo Yan/Xu Xin
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