The 2024 World Table Tennis Championships team competition (opening on the 16th, Busan, South Korea) is about to kick off, and in this World Table Tennis Championships team competition, the national table tennis will attack the men's team for 11 consecutive championships and the women's team for 6 consecutive championships. Yonhap News Agency said that the Chinese team is the defending champion of the men's and women's teams, and they will be ranked No. 1 in the world in both events when they arrive in Busan as the favorites to win the championship. Among them, the world's top two players Fan Zhendong and Wang Chuqin will lead the Chinese men's team, while the national table tennis women's team will chase their 23rd World Table Tennis Championships women's team title in the event under the leadership of Sun Yingsha, the world's first sister.
The national table tennis women's team won the women's team championship at the 2022 Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships
On the 6th, the Chinese Table Tennis Association announced the list of male and female representatives of the team competition of this World Table Tennis Championships. In the men's team, Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan were selected. On the women's team, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, and Chen Xingtong were selected.
Judging from the strength on paper, the biggest opponent of the Chinese women's team to win the championship should be Japan, and the showdown with Japan is the highest priority of the national table tennis women's team.
Miwa Haramoto (left) and Miu Hirano (right), who formed the women's doubles at the Asian Table Tennis Championships
Ma Lin, the head coach of the national table tennis women's team, also mentioned Japan for the first time after the list was announced. "Japan, as our main rival, has confirmed the Olympic roster, and all the main players in the team event will be in the team, so it is very important for the two countries to fight." "The goal is to go all out to win and show the spirit of the new generation of female table tennis players. The five athletes selected as representatives are all expected to achieve the best results during the Paris Olympics. The best and the strongest in terms of competition and experience. ”
Hina, the first sister of Japanese table tennis
The World Table Tennis Championships lineup of the Japanese women's team is composed of Hina Hayata, Miu Hirano, Misei Ito, Miwa Zhangmoto, and Miyu Kihara, which is also the first time that the 15-year-old Miwa Zhang has entered the Japanese national team. According to Yahoo Japan, the goal of the Japanese women's team participating in this World Table Tennis Championships team competition is to defeat China, aiming for the gold medal in the team competition of the World Table Tennis Championships again after 53 years.