The wolf is coming! There are hidden worries behind the double defense of the team title in the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan

On the evening of February 25, as the Chinese men's table tennis defeated the French men's table tennis 3:0 and won the men's team championship of the World Table Tennis Championships for the eleventh consecutive time, the 10-day 2024 World Table Tennis Team Championships came to an end in Busan, South Korea. Although the Chinese men's and women's table tennis champions successfully defended their titles, both teams encountered a five-set battle on the way to defending their titles. For the national table tennis, which has been smooth sailing over the years, "the wolf is coming" is no longer an empty phrase. If you want to compete for the 5 events of table tennis at this year's Paris Olympics, the national table tennis will have to work harder.

Chinese Women's Table Tennis: was shocked into a cold sweat by the Japanese women's team

At the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, the Chinese women's table tennis team ran into trouble on the first day. In the first round of the group stage, against the Indian team, which has made rapid progress in the past two years, the Chinese women's table tennis team played five sets with the opponent, and finally won the game with a 3:2 reversal. In the first set, the world No. 1 Sun Yingsha lost to Mukherjee 1:3, with the scores of 10:12, 11:2, 11:13, and 6:11 in the four games. After Wang Manyu won the second set, Wang Yidi lost to Akula 0:3. Fortunately, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu won two sets in a row after that, which avoided a black start. It is reported that the reason why Indian women's table tennis has made great progress in the past two years is that the key is to use "strange glue" and a special style of play to win. According to reports, Mukherjee, who won Sun Yingsha, is raw rubber elongated rubber, and Akula, who won Wang Yidi, is anti-glue elongated rubber. In particular, Mukherjee's anti-arc adhesive is now even more rare. According to the data, the "anti-arc rubber" is a special anti-rubber sponge rubber, the surface of the rubber is smooth and slightly astringent, the ball runs slowly, the arc is shorter, and the sinking and fluctuating after landing on the stage makes it difficult for the opponent to judge according to the convention, and it is especially effective against the arc ball. Anti-arc glue was popular in the national table tennis team in the 80s of the last century, and now the national table tennis can no longer find a relatively high-level sparring partner of the same type, which also makes Sun Yingsha, who has not had many confrontations with Indian team players, suffer a big loss.

After narrowly defeating the Indian women's team in the group stage, the Chinese women's table tennis team played 6 3:0 and easily met the Japanese women's team in the final, but I didn't expect the final on February 24 to play for nearly four hours, which made the Chinese women's table tennis break out in a cold sweat. The Japanese women's table tennis, which knew that its overall strength was not as good as that of the Chinese women's table tennis, discharged a "strange formation" in the final: let Zhang Benmei, who was only 15 years old, and be the first to attack Sun Yingsha. Although Sun Yingsha defeated the impactful youngster 3:0, Chen Meng, who appeared in the second game, lost 1:3 to Hina Hayata, the highest ranked Japanese women's table tennis player in the world, which was also her first loss to Hina Hayada in a tournament. In the third set of the ensuing match, Wang Yidi, ranked second in the world, lost 0:3 to Miyu Hirano, ranked 18th in the world, and the Chinese women's table tennis score fell behind 1-2. Fortunately, Sun Yingsha, who played in the fourth place, beat Hina Hayada lightly and pulled the score to 2:2.

Against Zhang Benmeihe, who was 14 years younger than him, Chen Meng, who was the fifth to play, still had some pressure, and lost 4:11 in the first game. But in the subsequent game, Chen Meng gradually calmed down, gave full play to his advantages in experience, won 3 games in a row, scored a key 1 point, and helped the Chinese women's table tennis team achieve the sixth consecutive championship of the women's team in the World Table Tennis Championships.

After the game, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha were in tears of excitement, and Chen Meng choked up and said that if he lost two points in a row in this game, the responsibility would be too great. At the post-match press conference, Chen Meng commented on the match: "In my entire career, apart from the Olympics, this is the most memorable experience. Sun's two points were crucial for China's contribution and I have a lot of confidence in my teammates and I firmly believe she can win the game. Before Sun Yingsha didn't play in the fourth game, I was already preparing for the fifth game, and Chairman Liu Guoliang also gave me a lot of confidence before the game. ”

Although the Japanese women's table tennis team won the final, the Chinese women's table tennis still has to pay enough attention to this opponent and study it carefully. You must know that the average age of the three main players of Japanese women's table tennis is only 20.3 years old, and they will be able to compete with Chinese women's table tennis for a long time in the future. The three of them are also the most important opponents of the Chinese women's table tennis team at the Paris Olympics. Ma Lin, the head coach of the Chinese women's table tennis team, said, "If something goes wrong in the Olympics, the consequences are unimaginable." If something goes wrong now, it's good for the team and for the individual. Ma Lin said that in this World Table Tennis Championships, the Chinese women's table tennis has been very difficult from beginning to end, and the results are very satisfactory, and the process needs to be summarized, but now that problems are found, there is still time and opportunity to work hard to improve.

Chinese Men's Table Tennis: Beware of Korean men's table tennis and French men's table tennis

Somewhat different from the Chinese women's table tennis, the Chinese men's table tennis encountered a strong challenge from the host in the semifinals, falling behind twice and equalizing twice, and finally won 3:2.

In the semifinals against the South Korean men's table tennis, the Chinese men's table tennis lost in the first set: Wang Chuqin lost to Zhang Yuzhen, ranked 14th in the world, 1:3. In the second set, Fan Zhendong, the number one Chinese men's table tennis player, kept controlling the rhythm of the game and defeated Lin Zhongxun 3:0 to pull back a set. In the third set, the veteran Ma Long fought hard for 5 games and lost to Lee Sang-so of the South Korean team 2:3. In the fourth set, Fan Zhendong played again, and he defeated Zhang Yuzhen 3:0 to make the score 2:2. In the deciding set, Wang Chuqin defeated Lin Zhongxun 3:0, and the Chinese men's table tennis reversed. Wang Chuqin also had palpitations after the game, "I'm glad that we are still alive." He said that the loss in the first set was a wake-up call for him, and he will adjust as soon as possible to face his opponent in a better mental state against his opponent in the final. Fan Zhendong also said after the game, "It is rare for the Chinese team to fall behind 1-2, but we are ready every time. [Today I] played this position, so I gave it my all and was prepared for difficulties. ”

In addition to the South Korean men's team, the French men's team, which entered the men's team final of the World Table Tennis Championships team competition again after 27 years, is also a big rival of the Chinese men's table tennis team in the Paris Olympics, after all, they will be the host at that time. In the final on February 25, France's Alex Lebrun fought Fan Zhendong in five games in the second set and lost 2-3. Especially in the fourth game, Fan Zhendong once fell behind 5:8, and finally won this game 12:10.

Of course, judging from the excitement of the game and the attraction to fans, the "wolf" of national table tennis is actually a good thing, after all, the game that is always one-sided and has no suspense is really not good-looking. The Chinese table tennis team has a good tradition of getting tougher the opponent, and I believe that they will well summarize the gains and losses of the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, and seriously prepare for the Paris Olympic Table Tennis Tournament, which will start in five months.

Reporter: Li Fujie Editor: Li Fujie Photography: Xinhua News Agency Proofreader: Gao Xin