A few days ago, the World Table Tennis Federation officially confirmed that it will revise the rules of the world ranking. One of the important changes is that the initial points will be completely erased, and athletes who have performed well in 2021 and 2022 will have a greater advantage in the ranking system. Such a modification, for liu Shiwen, a veteran of national table tennis, means that her situation will be more difficult. Currently ranked 6th in the national table tennis team, the main pick may fall further.
Liu Shiwen sharpened her sword for ten years at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships and won the women's singles championship, and everyone thought that she would take advantage of the trend to launch an attack on the Olympic singles champion. However, what no one expected was that the Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed for one year, and Liu Shiwen herself suffered serious injuries. In the end, Liu Shiwen was not able to qualify for the Olympic singles competition, but Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha met in the Olympic women's singles final and won the gold and silver medal, which is also a major regret for Liu Shiwen.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Liu Shiwen did not choose to retire, but chose to continue to insist. Xiao Ju also had some amazing performances, such as at the Macau Championship earlier this year, she defeated Sun Yingsha, who was in full shape. However, after all, he is already a 31-year-old veteran, and he cannot compare with his youth in many aspects such as physical strength and energy. In the Singapore Grand Slam competition, Liu Shiwen lost to Sun Yingsha, which made many fans feel a little sad.
Now, the World Table Tennis Federation has confirmed a change in the ranking rules and deleted the original points, which will be detrimental to Liu Shiwen, who mainly achieved good results before 2020. Under the new ranking rules, athletes who excel in major events in 2021 and 2022 will be ranked better. Liu Shiwen has not achieved too good results in more than 1 year, and she has not even qualified for the Olympic Games, nor has she participated in the World Table Tennis Championships, so it is difficult for her to gain an advantage under this new rule.
Like Olympic singles gold medalist Chen Meng, Olympic and World Table Tennis Runner-up Sun Yingsha, and World Table Tennis Championships New Branch Women's Singles Champion Wang Manyu, they will continue to rank among the best in the new ranking system. Not only that, Wang Yidi, who reached the women's singles final four at both the World Table Tennis Championships and the Singapore Grand Slam, will also become a winner. Liu Shiwen is currently ranked 17th in the world, ranking 6th in the national table tennis, and after the implementation of the new rules, I am afraid that she will face the possibility of further decline in the ranking.
But the more we get in this difficult and cruel environment, the more we can see the precious qualities of a veteran. Liu Shiwen, who has experienced many storms, has now seen a lot of things, and she just wants to continue to stick to her beloved court and cheer up!