On January 12, 2022, the national table tennis star Zhou Qihao ushered in his 25th birthday, and the International Table Tennis Federation and the World Table Tennis Federation publicly sent him blessings, hoping that he could "grow steadily and steadily".
As the big dark horse of China's table tennis last year, Zhou Qihao defeated Liang Jingkun, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin and other world champions in a row, and got tickets to the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, but unfortunately he was eliminated in the second round. Now that 2022 has arrived, if Zhou Qihao can stabilize the top five main positions, it is likely to realize the dream of world championship at the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships.
So can he do it? The suspense is still there!
Born in 1997, Zhou Qihao is the same age as Fan Zhendong, but his career development is far less than the latter - Fan Zhendong has reached the men's singles final of the National Games as early as 2013, entered the key training list of the national table tennis coaching team, and soon became the main player of the world champion, while Zhou Qihao's fame began two years ago.
In 2020, Zhou Qihao won consecutively against Xu Xin and Ma Long in the team direct race; in 2021, Zhou Qihao defeated Liang Jingkun, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in the team direct race to win the championship, showing a super technical level. Unfortunately, he was not satisfied with the foreign war in the civil war, and lost to athletes from all over the world, which also made many fans and friends criticize him for embarrassing use.
In the case of Ma Long and Xu Xin withdrawing from the competition in the national table tennis team, Zhou Qihao has qualified for the top five main players at the Houston World Table Tennis Championships. But obviously, compared with Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, and Lin Gaoyuan in the front, Zhou Qihao has no advantages in all aspects, so he is also a character who may be replaced at any time.
2022 is the year of the team world table tennis championships, due to the strength of the national table tennis outstanding, so who can get the opportunity to participate, who will most likely become the new world champion, which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Zhou Qihao, but also a severe challenge, after all, the national table tennis talent is abundant, even if it is a team competition, Zhou Qihao may not be able to maintain the advantage all the time.
So can we see Zhou Qihao play again at the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships? Here's a happy birthday to him, and I hope the fierce player can continue to work hard and impact this opportunity: come on!