China's elite male paddlers Ma Long and Zhang Jike have booked a possible clash in semifinal round of the upcoming ITTF World Tour China Open men's singles event as the draw was unveiled on Tuesday.

Ma, who is the current world No. 1, became the fifth men's Grand Slam winner after scoring a 4-0 sweep against compatriot Zhang at the recently concluded Rio Olympic Games. He will begin his tournament's campaign by facing Malaysia's Leong Chee Feng in the opening round.

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Ma will have Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus as his likely opponent in the quarterfinal round. The 40-year-old Belarusian finished fourth place at the quadrennial sporting event in Rio.

According to Xinhua, before a possible re-match against Ma, Zhang, who is the fourth male paddler to achieve a career Grand Slam, has to go through Japanese Koki Niwa and Tiago Apolonia of Portugal.

The other four Chinese players are placed in the singles bottom half, with Fang Bo, Zhou Yu and Fan Zhendong striving for a last four spot.

Ma and Zhang would team up to participate in the men's doubles event, along with the Chinese pair of Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin.

Placed in different halves, ruling world No.1 Liu Shiwen and reigning Olympic champion Ding Ning are scheduled to meet in the women's singles final, according to Sina.

Wang Manyu and Chen Xingtong will face an uphill journey in the upcoming tourney. Chen would start her campaign from the preliminary level, while Wang has a possible second-round meeting with the four-time World Cup winner Liu Shiwen in front.

Liu will partner with the 26-year-old Ding in the women's doubles, with Zhu Yuling and Chen Meng as the other Chinese combination in this event.

The 2016 ITTF World Tour China Open would take place in Chengdu from September 14 to 18.

TagsMa Long, zhang jike, grand slam, ITTF, ITTF World Tour China Open, Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, Rio Olympics 2016