China seeks ping-pong diplomacy to defuse coaching row

2016 Rio Olympics - Table Tennis - Men's Team - Victory Ceremony - Riocentro - Pavilion 3 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 17/08/2016. Gold medallists Ma Long (CHN) of China, Xu Xin (CHN) of China and Zhang Jike (CHN) of China pose with their coach Liu Guoliang and other members of their team on the podium. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

BEIJING (Reuters) - The removal of China's top table tennis coach has stirred up rare tensions in the country's sporting world, prompting a backlash from leading players and fans, and drawing the gaze of the country's censors.

Fans of table tennis, China's unofficial national sport, flocked online to vent their anger over the removal of the national team's popular head coach, Liu Guoliang, who stepped down from his position last week.