| Date | 14 – 20 August 2004 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Olympiako Gymnastirio Galatsiou, Galatsi | |
| Participants | 68 from 26 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament. Top 8 seeds advanced to round four. Seeds 9-16 advanced to round three. | |
Chinese women had not lost a doubles championship at the Olympics or World Championships since the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and the 1987 Worlds. Wang Nan had won the 2000 Olympics with partner Li Ju, and also won the 1999 and 2001 Worlds with her. But in 2003 Wang joined up with a new partner, Zhang Yining, and they again won the World title – they were nicknamed table tennis’s “Dream Team.” The final came down to Wang and Zhang against Koreans Suk En-Mi and Lee Eun-Sil, but it was not close, the Chinese winning in four easy games.
| Date | 14 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to round two. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 14 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Tunisia | TUN | 4 – 2 | Algeria | ALG | |
| Match #2 | 14 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Venezuela | VEN | 4 – 3 | Chile | CHI |
| Date | 15 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to round three. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | 4 – 0 | Tunisia | TUN | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Russian Federation 1 | RUS | 4 – 3 | Nigeria 1 | NGR | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Canada | CAN | 4 – 1 | Greece | GRE | |
| Match #4 | 15 Aug 11:00-11:45 | Italy | ITA | 4 – 3 | Nigeria 2 | NGR | |
| Match #5 | 15 Aug 11:45-12:30 | Singapore 1 | SGP | 4 – 0 | United States 1 | USA | |
| Match #6 | 15 Aug 11:45-12:30 | New Zealand | NZL | 4 – 2 | Australia | AUS | |
| Match #7 | 15 Aug 11:45-12:30 | Czech Republic | CZE | 4 – 2 | Brazil | BRA | |
| Match #8 | 15 Aug 11:45-12:30 | United States 2 | USA | 4 – 0 | Venezuela | VEN |
| Date | 16 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to round four. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 16 Aug 13:00-14:00 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | 4 – 3 | Belarus | BLR | |
| Match #2 | 16 Aug 13:00-14:00 | Hong Kong, China 1 | HKG | 4 – 2 | Russian Federation 1 | RUS | |
| Match #3 | 16 Aug 13:00-14:00 | Russian Federation 2 | RUS | 4 – 0 | Canada | CAN | |
| Match #4 | 16 Aug 13:00-14:00 | Italy | ITA | 4 – 2 | Belarus | BLR | |
| Match #5 | 16 Aug 14:00-15:00 | Singapore 1 | SGP | 4 – 1 | Romania | ROU | |
| Match #6 | 16 Aug 14:00-15:00 | New Zealand | NZL | 4 – 1 | Germany | GER | |
| Match #7 | 16 Aug 14:00-15:00 | Croatia | CRO | 4 – 1 | Czech Republic | CZE | |
| Match #8 | 16 Aug 14:00-15:00 | Republic of Korea | KOR | 4 – 0 | United States 2 | USA |
| Date | 16 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to the quarter-finals. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 16 Aug 20:00-21:00 | People's Republic of China 2 | CHN | 4 – 0 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | |
| Match #2 | 16 Aug 20:00-21:00 | Japan | JPN | 4 – 2 | Hong Kong, China 1 | HKG | |
| Match #3 | 16 Aug 20:00-21:00 | Hong Kong, China 2 | HKG | 4 – 0 | Russian Federation 2 | RUS | |
| Match #4 | 16 Aug 20:00-21:00 | People's Republic of China 1 | CHN | 4 – 0 | Italy | ITA | |
| Match #5 | 16 Aug 21:00-22:00 | Republic of Korea 1 | KOR | 4 – 0 | Singapore 1 | SGP | |
| Match #6 | 16 Aug 21:00-22:00 | Democratic People's Republic of Korea | PRK | 4 – 2 | New Zealand | NZL | |
| Match #7 | 16 Aug 21:00-22:00 | Croatia | CRO | 4 – 1 | Hungary | HUN | |
| Match #8 | 16 Aug 21:00-22:00 | Republic of Korea 2 | KOR | 4 – 3 | Singapore 2 | SGP |
| Date | 18 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to the semi-finals. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 18 Aug 11:00-11:45 | People's Republic of China 2 | CHN | 4 – 2 | Japan | JPN | |
| Match #2 | 18 Aug 11:00-11:45 | People's Republic of China 1 | CHN | 4 – 2 | Hong Kong, China 2 | HKG | |
| Match #3 | 18 Aug 12:00-13:00 | Republic of Korea 1 | KOR | 4 – 2 | Democratic People's Republic of Korea | PRK | |
| Match #4 | 18 Aug 12:00-13:00 | Republic of Korea 2 | KOR | 4 – 0 | Croatia | CRO |
| Date | 19 August 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Winners advanced to the final match. Runners-up advanced to bronze medal match. |
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 19 Aug 11:00-11:45 | People's Republic of China 1 | CHN | 4 – 2 | People's Republic of China 2 | CHN | |
| Match #2 | 19 Aug 12:00-12:45 | Republic of Korea 1 | KOR | 4 – 0 | Republic of Korea 2 | KOR |
| Date | 20 August 2004 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitors | NOC | Result | Competitors | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 20 Aug 14:00-14:45 | People's Republic of China 1 | CHN | 4 – 0 | Republic of Korea 1 | KOR | |
| Match 3/4 | 20 Aug 13:00-13:45 | People's Republic of China 2 | CHN | 4 – 3 | Republic of Korea 2 | KOR |