Half-empty stands for women's games at the Olympics in China, the country most obsessed with table tennis, reinforce concerns that the sport needs a make-over to shed its fusty image.

Women players mostly wear baggy shorts and shirts unlike their tennis counterparts who dress for comfort as well as style.

One player, Japan's Naomi Yotsumoto, has taken matters into her own hands.

At the Japanese national championships last year, she played in a daring ensemble of her own design: knee socks, a pleated mini-skirt and a shirt that left one shoulder bare.

Nampa-Reuters

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