The 2020 Chinese Table Tennis Super League will be held this December 21-29 in Changlong, China. Eighteen teams, nine women's and nine men's, will battle in group stages before champions emerge from a knockout bracket. It is not uncommon to see a few international players competing in the league, widely considered the world's toughest, and this year's edition is no exception. This year, however, they will do so in a groundbreaking manner. After last month's WTT Macao tournament, six foreign players were invited to stay in China's "bubble" preparatory to the league to preserve pandemic protocols. It is the first time that foreign players have been invited inside the Chinese national team's training sessions since "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" nearly a half-century ago. One such beneficiary is reigning American champion Lily Zhang. "To have the opportunity to be among the best in the world, the Chinese national team, is incredible," says Zhang. "I think this is the first time in 50 years that they allowed foreigners to come train with them and see what their training is like, so I'm just unbelievably grateful and thankful to have this opportunity." The lone male among the fortunate foreigners, Lin Yun-Ju of Taiwan, will play for Shandong Weiqiao Club. Noting that the strong foreign contingent could form the quorum of a women's team, the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) collaborated with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) to create the "ITTF World Professionals," now one of the nine women's teams in the league. The supergroup will consist of the aforementioned Lily Zhang, Puerto Rico's Adriana Diaz, Republic of Korea's Jeon Jihee, Doo Hoi Kem of Hong Kong and Cheng I-Ching of Taiwan. The ITTF hopes the experiment will yield positive results for all parties involved. "The formation of the women's 'ITTF World Professionals' shows the positive communication and exchanges between the ITTF and the CTTA, and also shows the world how many possibilities the world's top table tennis players will have in the future after the pandemic," says ITTF CEO Steve Dainton. It also represents something of a Christmas present from CTTA President Liu Guoliang. "For the CTTA, it's also our way to contribute to the global table tennis family," says Liu. While none of the stakeholders would dare admit it, the odds of the "ITTF World Professionals" winning the Chinese Super League are quite remote. On the other hand, in the face of China's historical isolation, its table tennis hegemony and the existential threat posed by the pandemic, their very participation is a win for all involved.

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