In April 2025 the IOC Executive Board decided: at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, table tennis will have six events — men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and the mixed team, debuting at the Games. Men’s and women’s doubles replace the team events, returning to the Olympic programme after a long absence.

Mixed team did not appear from nowhere. It premiered at the ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu in December 2023, putting men and women in one team around gender equality, fusion and teamwork. The Olympics adopting it adds a storyline beyond individual heroes — one built on pairing strategy and line-up calls.

For athletes the change is concrete. Six events, 172 quota places (86 men, 86 women), a maximum of six per association (three each). Up to two singles players per gender, one doubles pair each, up to two mixed pairs (a third if conditions are met), plus a 3-men-3-women mixed team. Multi-event load becomes normal — at Paris, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin each played three events; with mixed team added in LA, the burden only grows.

For China it is both chance and exam. Six golds have long been a rich haul, but with doubles back and mixed team in, the margin for line-up error drops and every title must be earned by real pairing and form. The rules changed; so must the logic of training and selection.