Anyone who fears a global takeover by one country should look away now: here is the line-up for the Olympic table tennis women’s team event, which began on Wednesday: China v China, China v China, China v China, and China v China.

That’s an exaggeration, but not by much. Of the 48 players named for the tournament, 30 are ethnic Chinese, the vast majority exiles who trained within China’s breathtaking table tennis system and sought professional refuge elsewhere when they failed to make the grade. This includes the whole of the Singapore and Hong Kong teams, who are ranked second and third behind guess who.