Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, October 25 (Reporter Zhang Han, Zhao Xuetong) The Chinese table tennis team announced the list of participants in the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships on the 25th, and the three Olympic champions Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen took the initiative to take a break, and the national table tennis team will impact the champion with a new generation of lineups.
Tokyo Olympics table tennis men's team semi-finals, Xu Xin/Ma Long (right) in the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Dawei
Qin Zhijian, head coach of the men's team, said that the coaching team took the Paris Olympic team members as the first starting point and comprehensively evaluated the lineup of participants in this competition.
He said: "As the absolute main force in the team, although they (Ma Long and Xu Xin) still have strong competitiveness, especially Ma Long won two gold medals in the Olympic men's singles and men's team, but from the actual situation of the old players, the team and I both expressed our understanding and agreed to the request of the two not to participate. ”
Fan Zhendong, who is now the world number one, previously took the lead in locking up the world table tennis championship with the National Games singles championship, and the leading singles squad will also partner Wang Chuqin in men's doubles. In addition, Liang Jingkun also qualified for the competition in advance with the first place in the table tennis super league points.
Fan Zhendong returned the ball in the game. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen
The other three-line players include Tokyo Olympic P card player and World Table Tennis Doubles Champion Wang Chuqin, left-hand player Lin Gaoyuan, who has experience in two World Table Tennis Championships, and Zhou Qihao, who has defeated Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in the warm-up match before the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In terms of women's teams, the defending team of the Tokyo Olympic Games, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, all attended the Singles World Table Tennis Championships, and chen Xingtong and Wang Yidi, who ranked high in the international and domestic competition teams in the Tokyo Olympic cycle, also "on the list". At the same time, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu will also play in the women's doubles hand in hand, and partner Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan to compete in the mixed doubles.
China coach Li Falcon (second from left) and players Chen Meng (second from right), Sun Yingsha (first from right) and Wang Manyu celebrate the victory. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Dongzhen
Li Falcon, head coach of the women's team, said that the World Table Tennis Championships lineup is based on the Paris Olympic Games as the ultimate goal. He said: "The Paris Olympic cycle is less than three years away for us. Although the women's team can be said to have completed the replacement of the old and the new at the Tokyo Olympic Games, we hope to form a new young competitive group on this basis in the face of the Paris Olympic Games. ”
Talking about Liu Shiwen's absence, Li Falcon expressed respect for the choice of team members while stressing that Liu Shiwen showed a good competitive state at the Tokyo Olympic Games and the National Games, "I hope she can continue to maintain her state and make new contributions to the development of the team and even table tennis in the new cycle." ”
Compared with the "youth storm" set off by the women's team at the Tokyo Olympic Games, the replacement of the old and new national table tennis men's team has not yet fully taken shape, Qin Zhijian frankly said that in the absence of the men's singles champion and Olympic singles champion Ma Long, the pressure of the Chinese men's singles defending the title has increased sharply, and the team is also ready for young athletes to "pay tuition". He said: "But looking at the Paris Olympics, it is imperative to hone the ability and responsibility of young athletes to resist the pressure of the competition." ”
Chinese table tennis team Houston World Table Tennis Championships list:
Men's Singles: Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan, Zhou Qihao;
Men's Doubles: Fan Zhendong / Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan / Liang Jingkun;
Women's Singles: Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi;
Women's Doubles: Sun Yingsha / Wang Manyu, Chen Meng / Qian Tianyi;
Mixed doubles: Sun Yingsha / Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu / Lin Gaoyuan.
Source: Xinhua News Agency