The WTT Singapore Grand Slam has come to an end, and the national table tennis team tennis has won all 5 gold medals, once again showing strong dominance. However, specific to each athlete, it can be said that some people are happy and some are worried. Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng won the men's and women's singles championships respectively, which can be described as the biggest winners. Since this competition is related to the selection of the asian games roster, it is of great importance. However, the plan released by the Chinese Table Tennis Association some time ago actually has a certain controversy, in this case, the arrangement of Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen is full of topicality, how will Liu Guoliang deal with it this time?
According to the plan previously announced by the Chinese Table Tennis Association, the men's and women's teams at the Asian Games have 5 places each, of which 2 are singles places. There are two criteria for determining singles candidates, with 1 Singapore Grand Slam singles champion and 1 national table tennis player in the world's highest ranking in week 14. If the two are the same person, they will be replaced by the no. 2 player in the world ranking in week 14. According to this rule combined with the ranking after the Singapore race, Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha will qualify for the Asian Games. But if the issue of discussion is expanded to the list of 5 people, then there is more controversy.
According to the plan of national table tennis, there are a total of 4 confirmation criteria for the 5-person list. The first is the Singapore singles champion direct to the Asian Games, the second is the 14th week of the world's top three national table tennis players directly to the Asian Games, the third is the 14th week of the world's highest ranking national table tennis player born after January 1999 directly to the Asian Games, the fourth is in the above three rules can not be selected by the coaching staff to decide. According to the first 3 standards, the national table tennis men's team can confirm that the participating players are Fan Zhendong, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin, and the women's team is Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu.
One of the controversies about the Chinese Table Tennis Association's plan is how to choose the Fourth Criterion. The women's team was born in January 1999, and Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu are already the top three players in the world table tennis world and do not need to rely on this rule to take care of. This also means that there will be 2 vacancies in the national table tennis women's team, because in fact, Chen Meng meets the 1st and 2nd rules at the same time, and Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha meet the 2nd and 3rd rules at the same time, which leads to the national table tennis women's team only selecting 3 people according to the first 3 rules. Wang Yidi is ranked 4th in the national table tennis, but she is not yet able to enter the Asian Games list according to the first 3 rules.
Then in the national table tennis plan, if it is impossible to select enough 5 people, it will be decided by the coaching staff, based on the results of the 2021 and 2022 competitions and the consideration of long-term preparations for the next 2 Olympic Games. In this way, how Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen, who could not be shortlisted according to the first 3 criteria, arranged it has become a topic of concern for everyone. The remaining 1 place in the men's team is nothing more than Xu Xin, Lin Gaoyuan and Xiang Peng, and the remaining 2 places in the women's team may be between Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong, Liu Shiwen and Ku Man. Whether to use young people or veterans, Liu Guoliang needs to be carefully considered.
Considering that the men's team Ma Long has been shortlisted, Liu Guoliang may consider giving Lin Gaoyuan or Xiang Peng a chance. The women's team is in a special situation, and from the long-term perspective of preparing for the next 2 Olympic Games, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong seem to be better choices. Not only that, but also in the selection of the list should also consider the pairing of men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles, for Liu Guoliang, Qin Zhijian, Li Falcon, need to carefully consider it.