Chinese men's table tennis team drop out of Australian Open

Xu Xin/Fan Zhendong in action during their 2017 ITTF World Platinum China Open men's doubles match in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on June 22, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese men's table tennis team decided to withdraw from the Australian Open of Seamaster 2017 ITTF World Open Platinum which will start on July 2, according to the ITTF's official website.

It is an offical decision of Chinese Table Tennis Association, Xinhua reports.

Six male players, Zhang Jike, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan, who had earlier agreed to compete in the tournament all dropped out. The six female players, Zhu Yulin, Chen Meng, Chen Xingtong, Gu Yuting, Zhang Qiang and Wang Manyu, will take part as planned.

The men's team's decision to withdraw will see Japanese players Jun Mizutani, Niwa Koki, Chinese Taipei's Chuang Chih-Yuan and Samsonov of Belarus rise to top four seeds.