China demonstrated why they are the dominant force in table tennis world as all but one of their competitors won on the first day of the London 2012 competition at ExCeL.
Liu Meng was unfortunate to be drawn in the same group as compatriot Lei Lina, her team-mate and gold medal winner from the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, who beat her 3-0 in a match that lasted just 15 minutes
There was opening-day success for the Host Nation too, as David Wetherill delighted the 6,000-capacity crowd with a 3-2 victory over Raimondo Alecci in the men's Singles — Class 6, while Will Bayley gave the home support even more to cheer about when he beat Thailand's Yuttana Namsaga in the men's Singles — Class 7.
After his win, Bayley revealed how time spent in China has helped fine-tune his game ahead of the Paralympics.
"It really developed my game. I learned a lot from the Chinese. My next opponent (Keli Liao) is Chinese, so hopefully that will help me."
Meanwhile, it was a good day for the French contingent, with an impressive start from all their top contenders putting them in a good position to better their tally of four gold medals from the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
One of the day's most closely-fought encounters was a 42-minute clash between France's Cedrik Cabestany and Linus Karlsson of Sweden, which the Frenchman eventually won 3-2.