On November 24, Beijing time, the Houston World Table Tennis Championships began the first day of competition, in the high-profile mixed doubles battle, 2 pairs of Sino-US multinational combinations defeated their opponents by a score of 3-0, entering the round of 32.
Compared to the high score of 19-17 between Kanak/Wang Manyu and his opponent, the combination of Lin Gaoyuan and Zhang An seems to be in better shape. Facing Apollonia/Shao Jieni from Portugal, Lin and Zhang are obviously faster in speed and much stronger, so many balls play 2 pairs of players do not seem to be in the same level.
Before the game, when he learned that he would compete with Zhang An to participate in the mixed doubles, Lin Gaoyuan said that he wanted to compete for the first place, and through the first round of competition, the 2 people who gradually found some tacit understanding also praised each other after the game. They also mentioned that no matter which set of opponents they have to face next, they must be based on the present and fight one by one.
Speaking of the most important coordination issue in mixed doubles matches, because Zhang An will say Chinese, so the combination of handsome men and beautiful women can communicate well in all aspects of technology and tactics.
Born in California in 1996, Zhang An is actually more well known by her English name: Lily Zhang, and she is more willing to answer in English when she receives interviews. However, Zhang An's parents are from Xi'an, Shaanxi, and his mother was a former table tennis player, so the reason why he named his daughter "An" is also to miss his hometown.
In 2019, with his 4-3 defeat to Miyu Hirano in the first round of the World Cup, and his excellent performance in the final battle for the third place, Zhang An successfully won the itmasson's "Breakthrough Rising Star of the Year" award. Coupled with the opportunity to fly to China for training, Zhang An's ability has been affirmed by Liu Guoliang, chairman of the Table Tennis Association, and the "fat man who doesn't know the ball" is also very optimistic about her, often "opening a small stove" for Zhang An to improve some of her details and skills.
Of course, to become the "female number one" of the current American team, it is not enough to rely on Liu Guoliang's "cross-border". Zhang An's real "master" is another high person, she is a former national table tennis player, and later played for the United States team Gao Jun.
When it comes to Gao Jun, perhaps fans who watched the ball early will remember that as one of the best straight-shooting fast attackers in China in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gao Jun fought side by side with Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong. And in the 42nd World Table Tennis Championships, she also became the only remaining fruit of the Chinese women's team's women's singles final four.
At that time, in Gothenburg, Sweden, the combat strength of the "Overseas Corps" reached its peak, and the first two seeds at that time, Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong, were defeated by Jing Junhong and Shi Jie, who represented Singapore and Germany, respectively. Gao Jun then stopped in the semi-finals, winning her by Chinese Taipei's Chen Jing, who was also a member of the national table tennis team before.
Later, gao jun left with regrets and a bronze medal in the World Table Tennis Championships and went to the United States to play as a coach. The ups and downs of the period may not be anything for her who has experienced the Folding of the World Table Tennis Championships in Gothenburg. And now cultivating a strong player like Zhang An can also be regarded as a great comfort to Gao Jun, who has been engaged in the cause of table tennis. (The above text copyright belongs to "Owen Say Sports", not published by the account with the same name, all of which are plagiarism)