Chen Meng has repeatedly missed opportunities to make history.
In 2018, 2019 and 2020, when Ito Mimako's strong rise, she successively defeated Wang Manyu, Zhu Yuling, Sun Yingsha, Ding Ning and many other national table tennis main players, only Chen Meng, always maintained the "undefeated golden body" of Ito Mimako. When the national table tennis women's team encountered challenges, Chen Meng stood up, and she quickly grew into the "first sister of national table tennis".
On November 10, 2020, Chen Meng won the World Cup women's singles championship for the first time 4-1 Sun Yingsha.
On July 29, 2021, Chen Meng defeated Sun Yingsha 4-2 to win the women's singles championship at the Tokyo Olympics.
If Chen Meng wins the women's singles championship of the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston that year, the women's singles final will be on November 30, 2021, then Chen Meng's time to achieve the "three major tournaments" Grand Slam is only 385 days. The person holding the record for "fastest Grand Slam" was Zhang Jike, who took 445 days. Unfortunately, Chen Meng stopped at the final four of the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, did not qualify for the final, did not win the World Table Tennis Championships women's singles championship, and did not win the honor of "the fastest Grand Slam".
From time to time, some people slander the table tennis association and the coaching staff for manipulating the game, and letting Chen Meng win is a "black box operation". Chen Meng regrets missing the opportunity to create history, and this result is enough to show that some people's speculation about Guoping and Chen Meng is pure nonsense.
On March 20, 2022, Chen Meng defeated Wang Manyu 4-3 to win the WTT Singapore Grand Slam women's singles championship.
WTT Grand Slam events, like the World Table Tennis Championships and the Olympic Games, the champions are 2,000 points, and the original singles World Cup has become an event under WTT. Grand Slam tournaments officially replaced the World Cup as one of the "three major competitions" of table tennis.
Who will be the first player to win the World Cup, World Table Tennis Championships, Olympic Games, WTT Grand Slam, and combine these four top singles championships?
Young players like Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Wang Chuqin, they have no chance, because the original singles World Cup has been canceled.
Among the current players, the players who have won the World Cup singles championship are:
Women: Liu Shiwen (2009, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019), Miyu Hirano (2016), Chen Meng (2020).
Liu Shiwen is already semi-retired and has no possibility of participating in the competition again.
Miyu Hirano's current strength is hovering around 20th, and it is difficult to impact the championship again.
Chen Meng is the only active female player who is likely to achieve the "four championships".
Men's players: Ma Long (2012, 2015), Xu Xin (2013), Fan Zhendong (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020), Ochalov (2017).
Xu Xin is in a semi-retired state, Ochalov's strength is not as good as before, and the possibility of them hitting the "four championships" is basically 0.
That left only Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.
Ma Long has won the World Cup men's singles, the World Table Tennis Championships men's singles champion (2015, 2017, 2019), the Olympic men's singles champion (2016, 2021), and only lacks a WTT Grand Slam men's singles gold medal.
Fan Zhendong has the World Cup men's singles champion, the World Table Tennis Championships men's singles champion (2021, 2023), and the WTT Grand Slam men's singles champion (2022, 2023), and lacks an Olympic men's singles gold medal.
Chen Meng has a World Cup women's singles champion, an Olympic women's singles champion (2021), a WTT Grand Slam women's singles champion (2022), and lacks a World Table Tennis Championships women's singles gold medal.
Chen Mengdeben World Table Tennis Championships entered the final again, and had a great chance to win the women's singles championship set the "four champions" in one, but unfortunately the final performance was too poor, and in the end, he was the runner-up and did not have the opportunity to make history.
The next singles World Table Tennis Championships will be until 2025, after the end of the Paris Olympics, even if Chen Meng can stick to that time, before that, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong have the opportunity to take the lead in creating history.
According to the practice of WTT Singapore Grand Slam in the past two years, the 2024 WTT Singapore Grand Slam should still be scheduled in March, before the Paris Olympics. Ma Long reached the finals of the WTT Singapore Grand Slam in 2022 and 2023, but unfortunately lost to Fan Zhendong and missed the championship. 2024 may be Malone's "last chance," but the challenges will only grow.
Compared to Ma Long's difficulties at the Grand Slam, Fan Zhendong is undoubtedly the top favorite to win the men's singles title at the Paris Olympics.
Therefore, after Chen Meng missed the Durban World Table Tennis Championships women's singles championship, Fan Zhendong is most likely to become the first person to become the "champion of the four major competitions".
Chen Meng, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, who is everyone more optimistic about?