The wtt Grand Slam Singapore tournament will start next month, and the six main players of the national table tennis women's team, Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xing and Liu Shiwen, will all participate. Liu Shiwen, a veteran who has always chosen to participate in the competition, appeared in the list, which also made some fans have doubts in their hearts. Why doesn't the national table tennis choose to continue to cultivate new talents and leave the opportunity to young players such as Kuman?
The origin of Liu Shiwen's quota
Before explaining this question, it is necessary to first talk about how Liu Shiwen got this ticket. The Singapore Grand Slam Tournament uses an invitation system, and according to the world ranking, Liu Shiwen is in the big list of invitees. According to the latest world rankings, Liu Shiwen is now ranked 17th, the 8th place of national table tennis players, in front of Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, as well as Zhu Yuling and Ding Ning. Ding Ning has chosen to retire, and naturally it is impossible to be invited. Zhu Yuling just had surgery last year and is still in the recovery period and has no chance to compete. Under such circumstances, Liu Shiwen got the quota for the competition.
Due to the low rankings, these young players are not invited at all, which is the opportunity to participate. Each association has a maximum of 6 places, which does not mean that the national table tennis must take 6 places, and it is difficult for young players to get opportunities no matter how they substitute.
Participating in the Singapore Competition, Liu Shiwen deserved it
The WTT Grand Slam Singapore tournament is a newly established event and the first leg of the Grand Slam series. As a meritorious veteran of national table tennis, Liu Shiwen's participation in the competition is really not a guarantee, but it is deserved.
First, Liu Shiwen's state is restored, and her strength is online
After the fiasco at the Tokyo Olympics, Liu Shiwen has recovered from injuries at this stage, and her competitive status has improved significantly. Although it is a selective participation and fewer competitions, this does not mean that Liu Shiwen has no strength. At last year's National Games, Liu Shiwen defeated Chen Meng and won the bronze medal in women's singles. In the past Macau competition, Liu Shiwen defeated Wang Yidi and Sun Yingsha in the case of not being optimistic, and reached the final all the way. From the analysis of strength, Liu Shiwen still has the strength of the top five national table tennis at this stage.
Second, Liu Shiwen's influence is relatively large, which is conducive to the holding of the event
The reason for holding Grand Slam events is not to develop table tennis and expand the influence of table tennis. As the first Grand Slam tournament, this requires the bonus of star players to attract the attention of fans. As a long-established veteran, Liu Shiwen has a solid fan base and a relatively large influence, which is not available to young players.
Young and older, Liu Shiwen's chances of participating in the Paris Olympic Games are slim. She is no longer the focus of the future training of national table tennis. Although participating in the Singapore tournament is not in line with the plan of cultivating young players, it is reasonable to participate in such a commercial competition and can better reflect its own value. Moreover, in this game, Liu Shiwen only played in the women's singles competition, giving more opportunities to young players such as Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu.
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