Some 300 fans greeted Li Jiawei, Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 to congratulate them on their silver-winning feat at the Beijing Olympics.

Also at the airport to welcome the team was Mr Tan Howe Liang, whose weightlifting silver from the 1960 Rome Games had been the country's only Olympic medal before the table tennis team's achievement.

The team then boarded an open-top bus for a tour of the city before alighting at Raffles City Shopping Centre.

There, they were hosted to a reception that was attended by some 1,000 fans.