Zhou and Lin Ye look likely successors for Feng and Yu
Zhou, Lin Ye working towards taking over from Feng and Yu
For the past three years, Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu - as senior players - have been burdened with the task of leading Singapore's table tennis women's team to success at regional and international arenas.
While the duo will continue to lead the way in the new year, especially with the Rio Olympics in August in sight, their load may be lessened with the emergence of junior players Zhou Yihan, 21, and Lin Ye, 19.
The younger pair had a breakout season last year, which has seen them steadily climb the senior world rankings.
Zhou is 46th in the world in the women's singles, while Lin Ye is 57th.
Feng, 29, is seventh in the world while Yu, 26, is 28th.
Zhou and Lin Ye have claimed several big-name scalps in the women's doubles last year, particularly that of Feng and Yu at the South-east Asia Games on homeground, where they eventually won the gold, as well as the Japan Open, where they beat China's Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen in the semi-final.
Also, Lin Ye retained her International Table Tennis Federation World Tour Grand Finals Under-21 women's singles title last month, while Zhou clinched the women's singles title at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships in India about a week later.
Lin Ye said: "I have matured over the past year and I have learned to be more calm and collected during competitions.
"This has definitely helped me to analyse my game better during competitions.
"For the Under-21 events, I tend to adopt a more conservative approach.
"But, for the senior level, I have nothing to lose against these high-level players and I just do my best."
Zhou added: "I have improved on my mental skills to help me to perform my best. These mental techniques have helped me to build confidence and improved my focus."
Good results last year have boosted the confidence of both paddlers, especially with the Olympics on the horizon.
The paddlers will attempt to book their tickets for Rio at the Asian Olympic qualifying tournament in April in Hong Kong.
If two of the Republic's players qualify in Hong Kong, or later through world rankings, qualification for the Olympic team event comes into play.
WORLD RANKINGS
Six places - one each for Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and Oceania - will be awarded, while the remaining nine places will be awarded according to the team world rankings.
Team world rankings are decided by the rating points of a nation's three highest-ranked players, and as such, the individual world rankings of Zhou and Lin Ye will be crucial for Singapore's hopes of winning a third straight team medal at the Olympics.
They won a silver in Beijing 2008, and a bronze in London 2012, with Feng also clinching an individual bronze in the English capital.
While Zhou is aiming to break into the top 15 this year, Lin Ye is taking it slowly.
Lin Ye said: "I'll worry about it when the time comes. Right now, the focus is to take a step at a time and enjoy the process of training hard and getting there."
But, make no mistake about it, both paddlers are gunning for a place in Rio.
Zhou said: "Taking part in the Olympic Games is every athlete's dream and it is also my dream to play at the Olympics."
Lin Ye added: "Playing in the Olympics is definitely a dream. Only the best meet the best at the Olympics."
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