Fan Zhendong arrived in Incheon, next to his sparring partner Zhou Qihao
On the afternoon of March 24, the whole team members of the national table tennis team participating in the WTT Incheon Championship successfully flew from Beijing to Incheon, South Korea.
Please note: In the latest ranking, Liang Jingkun has been ranked in front of Ma Long.
Due to Ma Long's very rare loss in two consecutive tournaments, coupled with Liang Jingkun's very explosive feat of reaching the final of the Singapore Grand Slam, the Olympic lineup of the national table tennis men's team, which was previously unanimously considered to be a certainty, seems to have shown a hint of loosening.
The uncertainties in this are Ma Long and Liang Jingkun.
Now it is clear from all walks of life that the third person in the Olympic Games of the national table tennis men's team needs to meet the following requirements:
* Strong foreign war capability
* Strong doubles ability
* Strong teamwork attributes
Among them, the ability to fight foreign warfare is ranked first. And it is precisely this that worries Ma Long at the moment.
Losing to Lee Sang-so at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan and Francesca at the Singapore Grand Slam, these two are actually not among the strongest opponents in the foreign association. In those two defeats, Ma Long's physical reaction function and technical output level obviously did not match his game awareness needs, if it were not for his huge game experience as a hole card, Ma Long might have lost even more miserably on the field.
But seeing that Ma Long had a high fever at the Singapore Grand Slam, Lin Gaoyuan, was able to win the doubles championship, and the coaching staff had to be very moved by his doubles strength.
Therefore, as long as Ma Long can not lose the foreign war in the last two selection competitions of men's table tennis (Incheon Championships and Macau Singles World Cup), then he can be selected for the team team competition squad for the Paris Olympics with his strong comprehensive strength.
For Liang Jingkun, if he still wants to compete with Ma Long to the end, then his guarantee index for the Incheon Championship is to reach the final.
According to WTT rules, the Incheon Championship will be seeded based on the real-time rankings at the time of the draw. After Wang Chuqin withdrew, the top five seeds will be Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, Ma Long, F. Lebrun and Lin Yunru. Fan Zhendong and Liang Jingkun will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 in the upper and lower halves, while Ma Long will go to Fan Zhendong's semi-band.
Therefore, for Ma Long, as long as he survives the first three rounds and enters the semifinals to meet Fan Zhendong, it means that he has completed the guarantee of not losing the foreign war.
And Liang Jingkun needs to be alone in the bottom half of the field, which is completely different from the situation in which he played together and Fan Zhendong and Lin Shidong in the Singapore Grand Slam and two teammates to cover up, especially the difference reflected in the psychological pressure, which is a world of difference. His highlight-reel performances in Singapore alone certainly won't be able to earn the coaching staff's deep trust, and if Incheon can continue to reach the final, then he may be able to attract more glances from the coaching staff.
But if Malone does a good job of himself, the big fat singles awakening there will still look thin, and it will be difficult to lift him straight to the clouds.
The Incheon Championship will start on March 27 and will feature only one singles event, with 32 quota places for men and women. What will be the outcome of the battle between Ma Liang and Let's wait for the competition!