In the WTT Singapore Grand Slam men's singles final, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong played 7 rounds, and finally Xiao Fat defeated the Dragons 4-3 to win his first Grand Slam singles title. This game can be described as very fierce, the strength of the two sides is between Bo Zhong, and finally Fan Zhendong laughed to the end with a slightly superior impromptu play. Fan Zhendong won the championship at the same time as getting an Asian Games singles quota, while the other place belonged to the Dragons according to the current situation. But the question is, will Liu Guoliang replace Ma Long in order to train young players? What will Qin Zhijian do?
The Asian Games singles selection rules for national table tennis are very simple, with the Singapore Grand Slam singles champion directly getting 1 spot, and the remaining 1 place belongs to the world's highest-ranked national table tennis player in week 14. If the two are the same person, the 2nd singles spot will be placed by the 2nd place in the world number 14. Therefore, Fan Zhendong has taken the lead in reaching the Asian Games, and he is also the world's first, then the world's second Ma Long has won the second singles spot. Now in its 12th week of 2022, it is almost impossible for other players to surpass Malone in the world rankings, so the Dragons' singles qualification can be said to be basically certain.
However, according to the custom of national table tennis, in a field such as the Asian Games, new people are often trained. And Malone is already a meritorious veteran who has won 2 singles gold medals in the Olympic Games, and he does not necessarily have to participate in this Asian Games. As the first large-scale multi-sport event in the new Olympic cycle, the Asian Games can play a great role in exercising young players. In this case, will Liu Guoliang use other players to replace Ma Long to participate in singles competitions? In fact, many fans have also raised this issue, and everyone has also had a discussion.
At this Singapore Grand Slam, Ma Long played well in the men's singles competition, defeating 2 juniors of national table tennis, including Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun. These two are the strongest of the young national table tennis players, and Liang Jingkun has just won the men's singles championship in Oman. However, Wang Chuqin was overturned by Ma Long in the lead, and Liang Jingkun simply lost to Ma Long 0-4, proving that Jiang is still old and spicy, and Ma Long's ability to control the situation is unmatched by young players. In other words, Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun also need to continue to be trained in the singles arena of the competition.
When the Chinese Table Tennis Association proposed the Asian Games selection plan, it said that if the quota is not full, then the coaching team will determine the candidates according to past achievements and the needs of long-term preparations for the next 2 Olympic Games. In fact, this can also be seen as a consideration of the national table tennis selection, that is, it will take into account the preparation for the next two Olympic Games. From this point of view, it is difficult for Ma Long to play another Olympic Games, while Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun are strong contenders for the next Olympic Games. Will Liu Guoliang and Qin Zhijian consider from this perspective and give Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun a chance?
Of course, this is just a speculation, And Malone's current state still makes many people see the possibility of him playing another Olympic. After all, Malone's Asian Games singles quota is also based on his own efforts, so casual substitution is not so convincing. How to deal with it specifically, it remains to be seen by Liu Guoliang and the national table tennis coaching staff, let's wait and see.