On October 25, 2021, the official website of the Chinese Ping-Pong Association announced the "Chinese Table Tennis Team 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships Participation List". Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen were unexpectedly not selected. Subsequently, Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen announced on social media that they voluntarily withdrew from the World Table Tennis Championships. Interestingly, the time when the official website of the China Table Tennis Association announced the list of participants in the World Table Tennis Championships was 15:00; the time when Xu Xin announced his voluntary withdrawal from the World Table Tennis Championships on social media was 15:05; the time when Ma Long announced his voluntary withdrawal from the World Table Tennis Championships on social media was 16:19; and liu Shiwen announced his voluntary withdrawal from the World Table Tennis Championships on social media at 16:29. This series of operations, if pure coincidence, then it is also too coincidental.
The chinese table tennis team's 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships is as follows:
1. Men's Singles (5 players): Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan, Zhou Qihao
2. Men's Doubles (2 pairs): Fan Zhendong/ Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan / Liang Jingkun
3. Women's Singles (5 people): Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi
4. Women's Doubles (2 pairs): Sun Yingsha / Wang Manyu, Chen Meng / Qian Tianyi
5. Mixed doubles (2 pairs): Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha, Lin Gaoyuan/Wang Manyu
Xu Xin wrote on social media: Xiao'er is two years old this year, from birth to two birthdays I am not around, my sister was born I am not around, Xin sister-in-law two pregnancies I can say that I have not been accompanied, I have too much debt to this family, but this family is the biggest motivation for me to struggle on the field. The East Olympic Games, the National Games, the league are over, and there is a time when I can spend time with my family and do something I most want to do besides table tennis. So I will be absent from this year's World Championships in Houston, and please continue to support the Chinese table tennis team, we will definitely return home in Houston. Ps: There is no retirement.
Malone wrote on social media: After the Olympic Games, I participated in the National Games and leagues one after another, and I am very happy to see so many spectators in the stadium again, which makes me more determined to continue to stand in front of the table and play.
However, the global epidemic has disrupted the timeline and rhythm of the event, and after the Olympic Games, the National Games and the World Table Tennis Championships have been held in this half year. As a 33-year-old athlete, it's even more important to have more targeted physical training, rehabilitation, and a more long-term plan for participation. This time, I and the coaching staff offered not to go to Houston with the team, and I received the understanding and support of the national team.
I believe that after a period of rest, we will soon see each other again!
Liu Shiwen wrote on social media: It has been a while since the end of the Tokyo Olympics and the National Games, first of all, thank you for your warm encouragement and support in the process of preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games. After 5 years of preparation and the Olympic Games, their bodies and minds need a period of rest, this Houston World Table Tennis Championships, I and the team also offered not to participate with the team, hoping to return to the table tennis table in the best state through this period of adjustment. Although I will not go out with the team this time, I will always pay attention to the performance of my teammates and look forward to our Chinese team achieving good results in Houston again, victory and triumph!
For Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen's voluntary withdrawal from the World Table Tennis Championships. The coaching staff of the Chinese table tennis team also expressed understanding and support.
Qin Zhijian, head coach of the Chinese men's table tennis team, said: "In this World Table Tennis Championships, Ma Long and Xu Xin have offered not to participate because of their own adjustments and other reasons, as the absolute main force in the team, although they still have strong competitiveness, especially Ma Long won two gold medals in the men's singles and men's team at the Olympic Games, but from the actual situation of the old players, the team and I both expressed understanding and agreed to the request of the two not to participate. ”
Li Falcon, the head coach of the Chinese table tennis women's team, stressed while respecting Liu Shiwen's choice: "In fact, Liu Shiwen has also shown a good competitive state in the Tokyo Olympic cycle and the just-concluded National Games, although she failed to participate for personal reasons this year, I still hope that she can continue to maintain her state and make new contributions to the development of the team and table tennis in the new cycle." ”
The five events of the 2019 Table Tennis World Championships are: Men's Singles Champion Ma Long; Women's Singles Champion Liu Shiwen; Men's Doubles Champion Ma Long/Wang Chuqin; Women's Doubles Champion Wang Manyu/Sun Yingsha; Mixed Doubles Champion: Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen.
Now that the five champions have suddenly lost three and a half, the difficulty of the Chinese table tennis team winning the 2021 Houston World Table Tennis Championships has increased by not a little. In this regard, head coaches Qin Zhijian and Li Falcon also have a clear understanding.
Qin Zhijian said frankly: "At the beginning of the new cycle, facing such a big competition as the World Table Tennis Championships, in the absence of the men's singles champion and Olympic singles champion Ma Long, the Chinese men's team faced great challenges in the men's singles field, the pressure to defend the title suddenly increased, and the team was also ready for young athletes to 'pay tuition'. However, looking at the Paris Olympics, it is also imperative to hone the ability and responsibility of young athletes to resist the pressure of the competition. ”
Li Falcon, head coach of the women's team, said: "The lineup of the Houston World Table Tennis Championships is based on the Paris Olympics as the ultimate goal. The Paris Olympic cycle is less than 3 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. Among the 5 people who are now registered for singles, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu participated in the Tokyo Olympic Games, and Chen Xingtong and Wang Yidi were chosen because they ranked high in the points of the international and domestic competitions in the last cycle, and in the recent National Games and Table Tennis Super League, they also showed that young players dared to compete and dared to compete for the first. We hope that the women's team will form a new competitive situation in this way. ”
Although Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen voluntarily withdrew from the World Table Tennis Championships from the overall situation, many fans still felt a little panicked in their hearts. In a word, Malone can win the whole world with their skills, but they can't beat the youth! The 2024 Paris cycle of the Chinese table tennis team, they are obviously not in the scope of consideration. In the future, Ma Long, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen can still participate in WTT events as members of the national team, but when it comes to major competitions such as the World Cup and the World Table Tennis Championships in the Paris Olympic Games cycle, the possibility of them being selected is almost zero. It is hoped that Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu and a number of other athletes who have high hopes can live up to the efforts of Ma Long and other veteran team members, truly carry the banner of the Chinese table tennis team, and pass on the glory of national table tennis.