On March 8, 2022, Beijing time, the main athletes of the national table tennis team from Hainan to participate in the WTT Grand Slam have arrived in Singapore safely, and they have begun intensive preparations.
It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that Olympic champion Sun Yingsha and his new head coach Qiu Yike have cooperated to participate in the competition, and the two have now been engaged in training, and they look very relaxed in the face of the camera master and apprentice. Liu Shiwen, Wang Manyu and others also appeared in the stadium and practiced on the same table, and everyone is working together to welcome the arrival of this table tennis conference!
The WTT Grand Slam tournament actually started as early as March 7, but of the 16 players participating in the Chinese team, only Xiang Peng and the opening two needed to play the qualifying round, so the big troops arrived late until March 8. The athletes looked a little tired due to the choice of starting late at night, but after a short break, they quickly threw themselves into training and preparation.
For the post-00s young player Sun Yingsha, this competition is also of great significance, because she just ended her 4-month "free range" experience not long ago, ushered in her new head coach Qiu Yike, and now urgently needs to test the cooperation of the two, and the result is to participate in the WTT Grand Slam Tournament where Chinese and foreign masters gather.
In January this year, Sun Yingsha suffered a defeat at the WTT Macau Tournament, losing to Liu Shiwen, a veteran who is about to turn 31, and her status has declined. Now the WTT Grand Slam tournament not only has to face Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and others, but also may once again face strong opponents such as Ito Mimachi and Hayata Shina, which is not a small challenge!
Liu Shiwen and Wang Manyu were the women's singles champions of the 2019 and 2021 World Table Tennis Championships respectively, and they were also the runner-up and champion of the women's singles of the WTT Macau Competition, which can be said to represent the highest level of veterans and newcomers of the current national table tennis women's team. Although there is a competitive relationship between them, they still cooperate in training together very friendly, which shows the deep friendship within the national table tennis.
According to the arrangement, in addition to Xiang Peng and Ku Man, the remaining 14 contestants of the national table tennis - Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, Lin Shidong, Liu Shiwen, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong and He Zhuojia will directly participate in the main tournament that starts on March 11, so there is still time for rest.
Finally, I wish the Chinese team a successful victory, another good result in Singapore, defeating zhang Benzhihe, Ito Mimachi and other strong opponents to win various championships: come on, everyone!