Table tennis veteran Schlager expressed his hope to participate in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, although he and his fellow teammate Karl Jindrak of Austria were beaten by Chinese Kong Linghui and Wang Hao in the men's doubles first round at ITTF Pro Tour Finals in Beijing on December 11.

Chinese duo of Kong and Wang, who were much tougher throughout the match today, ousted Schlager and Jindrak 4-2 (11-9, 7-11, 4-11, 10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 14-12).

Although Schlager lost the match, he felt very calm. "Kong revenged yesterday's loss by beating us. I think Kong and Wang played much better, and it is always tough to take on the Chinese players," he said.

World champion Schlager, who showed tougher nerves than his men's singles rival Kong Linghui, beat him 4-3 on the opening day of the ITTF Grand Finals and made it to the next round in men's singles.

Talking about the Chinese players, Schlager said: "It is lucky for China to have so many yonug good players, who will be the main danger for the rest of the world."

"Table tennis is not like swimming, in which you swim against yourself, while table tennis depends not only on your performance but also on your rival. Everything is possible in table tennis because there are many unknown factors," Schlager added.

While asked how long will he play table tennis, the 32-year-old Austrian laughed and said: "I am in good form right now, and If my body permits, I will play in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. "

Source: Xinhua