London 2012 gold medallist Li Xiaoxia secured her place at Rio 2016 after winning her women’s singles event at the ITTF Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hong Kong ©Getty Images

London 2012 gold medallist Li Xiaoxia secured her place at Rio 2016 after winning her women’s singles event at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Asian Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Hong Kong.

The Chinese competitor beat Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa 11-9, 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 in the East Asia Zone final at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Victory came after she had overcome home favourite Doo Hoi Kem - the conqueror of world number one Liu Shiwen of China yesterday - 12-10, 11-2, 11-6, 7-11, 11-2 in the last four.

"I think I played well today, especially in the first three attacks after the service; that put my opponents under pressure," said Li.

"It was important when playing Kasumi Ishikawa who is a very stable player."

In the equivalent men’s singles showdown, China’s Ma Long defeated team-mate Fan Zhendong 16-18, 11-3, 11-6, 11-7, 13-11.

Ma was part of the Chinese outfit that won team gold at London 2012 along with Wang Hao and Zhang Jike.

A dip in form meant he was not given an opportunity to win an Olympic singles medal at London 2012, despite being widely accepted as the best table tennis player in the world at the time. 

"The Olympic Game means a lot to me," said Ma.

"I’m glad that I have qualified for the Rio Olympic Games.

"I will fight for my first gold medal."

China’s Ma Long defeated team-mate Fan Zhendong in the men's singles East Asia Zone final
China’s Ma Long defeated team-mate Fan Zhendong in the men's singles East Asia Zone final ©Getty Images

There was a double success for Singapore in the South East Asia Zone finals as Feng Tianwei and Chen Feng emerged victorious to ensure their tickets to Rio 2016.

Feng beat compatriot Yu Mengyu 11-5, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 in the women’s final, while Chen defeated fellow countryman Li Hu 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4.

With stage one now complete, attention now turns to stage two where all players who did not emerge as champions in their respective zones are eligible to compete.

Action also continued today at the ITTF European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Swedish city Halmstad.

Romania’s Daniela Monteiro Dodean, Serbia’s Gabriela Feher and the Czech Republic’s Iveta Vacenovská were among the surprise names to book places in the women’s singles play-off matches.

Dodean beat number five seed Li Jie of The Netherlands 11-6, 12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 11-4, while Feher got the better of Romania’s Elizabeta Samara in an 11-5, 11-9, 11-3, 9-11, 7-11, 11-8 victory.

Vacenovská won in five games against Sweden’s Matilda Ekholm, triumphing 11-7, 10-12, 14-12, 11-4, 14-12.

Germany’s Han Ying, Petrissa Solja and Shan Xiaona all advanced, as did Poland’s Li Qian, the number six seed, and Austria’s Liu Jia, the number eight seed.