BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- World champion Liu Shiwen is set to make her comeback at WTT Contender Doha and WTT Star Contender Doha, which will be held from March 3 to March 6, and March 8 to March 13 respectively.
Liu and her fellow comptriots Xu Xin and Sun Yingsha are all included in the roster released by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
Liu, who will be featuring in the women's singles, has been sidelined for almost eight months due to injury and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The comeback is not only a recovery of my body but also a change and improvement of my playing style," said Liu, "I don't want to get injured again."
"I hope to make improvements and progress both mentally and physically. The comeback means to start from zero as a rookie. Being able to accept losses is also some kind of progress," she added.
Sun Yingsha will take Liu's spot and team up with Xu Xin in the mixed doubles.
Ma Lin, head of the Chinese mixed doubles team, expressed the importance of mixed doubles as it will bring the first gold medal of all table tennis events at the Tokyo Olympics.
"We will strive for as many Olympic qualifying points as possible and prepare the best squad possible for the Olympics," said Ma.
"Mixed doubles will be our main focus this time. We are aiming to win the championship while testing the technical and tactical performances against our main opponents." Enditem
