World number two Fan Zhendong claimed the men's singles title ©Getty Images

China's Liu Shiwen and Fan Zhendong, two players not selected for Olympic singles tournaments despite being ranked first and second in the world, won the respective men's and women's titles at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Japan Open in Tokyo today.

Liu, the world's top ranked woman who will have to be content with the team event in Rio de Janeiro after being overlooked for singles selection, won in six games over Olympic-bound team-mate Ding Ning.

After losing a marathon first game 17-19, Liu fought back to win the next two 11-7, 11-6 before losing the fourth 8-11.

A tight fifth-game proved crucial, with Liu triumphing 12-10 before easing clear to win the sixth 11-7 for a 4-2 victory.

She had earlier beaten another team-mate in Zhu Yuling 4-2 in the semi-finals.

Zhu had knocked-out reigning Olympic champion Li Xiaoxia - the other member of the two-strong Olympic singles squad - in the quarter-finals.

Liu Shiwen celebrates victory in the women's singles final ©Getty Images
Liu Shiwen celebrates victory in the women's singles final ©Getty Images

Fan will not even compete in the team event in Rio after being overlooked for selection by world champion Ma Long and Olympic counterpart Zhang Jike for the singles, and world number three Xin Xu for the team competition.

Those four players all made the semi-finals as China completely dominated a world-class field in the Japanese capital.

But, ironically, it was Zhang and Ma who missed-out on the final after losing to Xu and Fan respectively.

Fan, a supremely talented 19-year-old who claimed gold at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, won the five-game final: 11-9, 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 11-8.