Reigning Olympic champions to be invited to compete at WTT Grand Smash, Champions

Beijing, Feb. 28 -- The World Table Tennis (WTT) updated its Handbook on Friday, announcing that all reigning Olympic gold medalists will receive "Olympic Champions Gold Cards" to participate in the WTT Grand Smash main draw and WTT Champions.

According to the updated rules, up to five gold medalists per gender from the last Olympics - three for the team event, one for singles, and one for mixed doubles - will be invited to these events.

For the 64-player WTT Grand Smash, up to three Olympic Champions Gold Cards will be awarded, replacing the previous automatic entry for the top 50 players with the top 47 to 50 based on world rankings at the entry deadline.

For the 32-player WTT Champions, the top 27 to 30 players will now receive au...