Zhang Jike launched his title defense in style by beating Sweden's Fabian Akerstrom in straight sets at the World Table Tennis Championships in Paris on Wednesday.
Zhang, also the gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, took the easy win 11-5, 11-1, 12-10, 11-7 over the 321st-ranked opponent.
His Chinese teammate Ma Lin, the Olympic champion in 2008, also advanced after eliminating local player Christophe Legout without conceding a game.
The other two Chinese stars Wang Hao and Xu Xin both reached the second round with straight-set victories.
Top seed Xu defeated Steffen Mengel of Germany while Wang, whom Zhang beat in the Olympic final in London, trounced Marcos Madrid of Mexico.
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