Don't fault China for winning at table tennis, says ITTF chief

China's dominance has made world table tennis uncompetitive but the only solution is for other nations to raise their games, the sport's top official said Wednesday.

The Rio Olympic table tennis competition kicks off on Saturday with Chinese players once again heavily favoured to sweep the gold medals in their national sport.

"China has dominated our sport and of course it is better if you have, let's say, a competition, and it was not (competitive) in the last world championships and the Olympics," International Table Tennis Federation President Thomas Weikert said in Rio de Janeiro.

"But it's not the fault of the Chinese players that they are so good. So my opinion is that the others have to work very hard."

China has won 24 of 28 gold medals and numerous silver and bronze since the event's 1988 Olympic debut, leading to format changes aimed at giving other teams a shot at the podium.

After China's sweep of all Olympic singles medals in Beijing, in 2008 a rule change now limits countries to two contestants per gender, and the Chinese-dominated doubles competition was discontinued after Athens 2004.

China's pre-eminence, bolstered by a state sports apparatus that nurtures talent from as early as primary school, has triggered fears for the game's long-term international appeal in an era when many sports are competing for a new generation of fans.

China's world number one Ma Long and London gold medallist Zhang Jike are favoured in men's singles, while 2012 gold and silver medallists Liu Xiaoxia and Ding Ning are considered the athletes to beat on the women's side.

But Weikert said he was confident that steady improvement elsewhere, particularly Japan, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan, could see others "close the gap" with China, saying he expected a "real fight" in Rio.