The 2022 WTT Singapore Grand Slam is about to start, in order to test the results of the closed training, the national table tennis sent a full main squad to play. Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Xu Xin, Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Liu Shiwen all made their debuts. Before the match, the International Table Tennis Federation predicted the competition, believing that the Chinese team has obvious advantages in the singles event, and the gold medal is already in the bag, but in the doubles event, other players may be able to win the championship. Qin Zhijian and Li Falcon, head coaches of the national table tennis men's and women's teams, revealed that this Singapore Grand Slam tournament is the first important battle of the team's cycle in Paris.
In the just-concluded Oman competition, the Chinese team competing in the second team once again showed a thick bench depth, winning all 5 individual events, and winning the championship and runner-up in the men's singles and women's singles events. This result made Liu Guoliang, chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, overjoyed and praised the strength and performance of the young players. It is worth mentioning that Lin Shidong, the future star of the Chinese men's singles team, entered the Singapore Grand Slam tournament list after the end of the Oman tournament. Obviously, this is the national table tennis coaching staff showing themselves to the bigger stage of this potential stock.
The 2022 Singapore Grand Slam is the first shot fired by Ma Long and Xu Xin, two men's singles veterans in the Olympic cycle in Paris. From the technical and tactical level, the playing style of the two is no longer advanced, especially Xu Xin, and the characteristics of straight and horizontal play have been thoroughly studied by opponents. Ma Long and Xu Xin are the favorites to win the men's singles in this competition, and what kind of results they can finally get is also a concern of the coaching team. Xu Xin's failure to qualify for the Paris Olympic singles is a foregone conclusion, and the mixed doubles and Liu Shiwen combinations have been replaced by Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, and all his hopes are pinned on the team competition.
Ma Long is different, and among the male members of today's national table tennis team, except for Fan Zhendong, everyone else is not Ma Long's opponent. If Malone wins the men's singles title in Singapore, the idea of a three-game Olympics will take root in his mind. Fan Zhendong won the World Championship and World Cup finals last season, and in the first event of the year, Xiao Fat is still the biggest favorite. In women's singles, Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha will fight each other, two World Championship singles champions, an Olympic singles champion and a World Cup final champion, who can laugh last in Singapore?
In addition to the two most watched singles events, the national table tennis will also strive to win all three doubles events. Interestingly, the reason why the ITTF is not optimistic about the Chinese team winning the doubles championship is the rise of Sweden and Japan. Sweden won the world championships in the men's doubles final, and the Japanese women's doubles also improved significantly, and both teams are the main threats to national table tennis. Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin's men's doubles, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha's women's doubles, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha's mixed doubles, whether these three pairs can win the gold medal and fight back against the QUESTION of the International Table Tennis Federation!
(Luo Treasurer)