The main competition of the 2023 National Table Tennis Championships began, in which the first round of the women's singles competition became the focus, and Liu Shiwen returned to the competition venue. She played against the star Liu Fei, and the match attracted a lot of attention. Despite being away from the international scene for some time, Liu Shiwen still showed excellent competitive form, sweeping Liu Fei 3-0 to successfully advance to the next round.
In the women's singles main event of this national championship, some superstars such as Sun Yingsha did not sign up, while Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Xing and other players each guarded half of the district, and the eight big seeded players have reached the round of 16. District 1/4 where Liu Shiwen is located is the competition venue for this stage of the competition. Liu Shiwen was once a world-class table tennis player, but after the Tokyo Olympics, she bid farewell to the national team, remained semi-retired, and served as the chair of the ITTF Athletes' Committee. However, her return to the playing field aroused the attention of fans and showed excellent competitive form.
In the first set of the match, Liu Shiwen was quick and showed a top-notch forehand attack. Although her opponent was experienced chipper Liu Fei, Liu Shiwen showed great patience and superb ball control skills to win the first set 11-9. In the second game, she still took the initiative and suppressed Liu Fei in the far platform, eventually winning another game 11-4. In the third game, Liu Shiwen performed well, and although Liu Fei once led, Liu Shiwen turned the tide through an excellent counterattack to seal the victory 11-7, winning 3-0 on aggregate.
Liu Shiwen showed excellent competitive form in this competition, and her performance was impressive. Despite her occasional mistakes against chips, her control is still excellent. Liu Shiwen has solid basic skills and rich competition experience, which allows her to face the challenges of her opponents with ease. If Liu Shiwen can successfully advance to the round of 16, she will face Chen Meng, and this matchup will be highly anticipated.
Unlike Liu Shiwen, Xu Xin suffered an unexpected round in the game. He faced straight boarder Xu Haidong from Liaoning, and although he led 5-0 in the first set, his quality of his serve and his missy control of the ball were noticeably worse than at his peak, resulting in him losing two consecutive sets 8-11 in two sets. Although Xu Xin once recovered a game to 11-8, his performance in the fourth game was erratic, and at one point he fell behind 1-10, eventually losing the match 5-11 and accidentally leaving the game with an aggregate score of 1-3. Despite the unsatisfactory results of this match, Xu Xin seems to be mentally prepared for this, and he shows a calm attitude because he has been away from the national team for quite some time.
The return of Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin to the field undoubtedly brought a surprise to table tennis fans. These two former world-class players, although they are no longer at their peak, their appearance still inspires the passion of fans. Their return is a highlight in the world of table tennis and also sets an example for young players and motivates them to keep moving forward.
Although the glory days of the superstars may be over, their return is gratifying and has also triggered fans to think about the future of table tennis. In this new era, young players will gradually replace the older generation and continue to work hard for the glory of Chinese table tennis. As seen in the game, Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin still show extraordinary competitive quality, which also indicates that Chinese table tennis is still full of hope in the future. With the rise of a new generation of players, the glorious history of Chinese table tennis will continue, no matter what, this history will never stop.