With the official announcement of the doubles list of the Saudi Grand Slam, the lineup of the national table tennis team for the Paris Olympics has surfaced. This list, which represents the future direction of Chinese table tennis, not only demonstrates the strong strength of national table tennis, but also reflects the many challenges faced by this strong team in the new Olympic cycle.
On the one hand, the many historic breakthroughs made by national table tennis in this Olympic Games are undoubtedly exciting. Ma Long created a legendary record of "four Olympic Games" and became the first athlete in the history of national table tennis to achieve this feat; Chen Meng became the oldest player in the Olympic history of the national table tennis women's team at the age of 30; The "Dream Fish" combination, which has served as the main force of the national table tennis women's doubles for two consecutive years, has also created a new chapter in the history of the national table tennis Olympics. These remarkable achievements not only demonstrate the outstanding strength of national table tennis athletes, but also highlight the outstanding achievements of this strong team in talent training and scientific training.
At the same time, with the determination of the national table tennis Olympic lineup, the battle for P card has also entered a white-hot stage. The final choice of Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi has undoubtedly become the biggest suspense of this Olympic Games. Whether these two 27-year-old players can successfully qualify for the P card will directly affect the overall strength of national table tennis at the Paris Olympics.
Behind this fierce competition, it also reflects the shortcomings of national table tennis in cultivating reserve forces: even in the cycle after the Tokyo Olympics, national table tennis has not been able to cultivate a group of new forces in time to take over, which will undoubtedly have a certain impact on the construction of talent echelons in the next Olympic cycle.
In general, these historic breakthroughs made by the national table tennis team at the Paris Olympics also indicate that this strong team is facing many new challenges in the new event cycle. How to speed up the construction of talent echelon and cultivate more rookies who can succeed while ensuring traditional advantages has undoubtedly become an urgent issue that national table tennis needs to solve.
1. Ma Long created a new record of the "Four Olympics" in national table tennis
As the leader of the men's team of national table tennis today, Ma Long is undoubtedly the "evergreen" of this strong team. Since being selected for the national team for the first time in 2012, Ma Long has been the absolute main force of the Chinese men's table tennis team, and has participated in three Olympic Games in London, Rio and Tokyo. Now, in the upcoming Paris Olympics, Ma Long has once again been successfully selected for the national table tennis men's team.
This also means that this great veteran of table tennis will create another feat in the history of national table tennis - becoming the first national table tennis male player to participate in four Olympic Games.
You must know that in the glorious history of national table tennis, there are only a handful of players who can participate in three consecutive Olympic Games. And Ma Long's ability to be selected for the national team again after the Tokyo Olympics and successfully qualified for the Paris Olympics is undoubtedly the best proof of his excellent strength and extraordinary willpower.
It is worth mentioning that although there have been some athletes in the sports world who have participated in 9 consecutive Olympic Games, most of these players come from some relatively niche sports, and compared with top teams such as national table tennis, their talent echelon construction and iteration speed are completely incomparable. Therefore, Ma Long's ability to appear on the Olympic stage for four consecutive times in table tennis at the highest level is undoubtedly a remarkable achievement, and it will surely become an irreproducible permanent record in the history of national table tennis.
For Malone himself, this is undoubtedly the highest recognition of his career. As a table tennis player, being able to maintain a super high level of competition for such a long time and being selected for the national team for four consecutive times is undoubtedly the biggest affirmation of Ma Long's career. He not only became the first player in the history of national table tennis to achieve the "Four Olympic Games", but also will forever become a part of the legend of table tennis.
2. The yen became the oldest Olympic player in the men's team
While Ma Long set a new record in the Olympic history of the national table tennis men's team, Chen Meng will also create a new milestone for the national table tennis women's team at this Paris Olympics. It is reported that Chen Meng's age will reach 30 years and 7 months by then, which also makes her the oldest player in the history of the national table tennis team to participate in the Olympic Games, breaking the previous record of 29 years and 8 months for Wang Nan.
For a sports athlete, 30 years old is a very old age. But Chen Meng was able to be selected for the national team at such an advanced age, and also played an important role in the national table tennis women's team, which is enough to show her extraordinary strength and willpower.
In fact, behind Chen Meng's achievement, it is inseparable from the outstanding achievements of national table tennis in material selection, training, and scientific training. Only with such a perfect talent system can national table tennis ensure that outstanding athletes like Chen Meng can still maintain their peak condition at the highest age and take on the important tasks of the national team. This is undoubtedly also a strong confirmation of the current overall strength of national table tennis.
Of course, whether Chen Meng can add another honor to the Chinese table tennis world in this Olympic Games has also attracted much attention. As the absolute master of today's women's table tennis world, Chen Meng is undoubtedly responsible for winning the gold medal. As the oldest female player in the history of national table tennis, whether she can maintain her peak condition in terms of physical fitness and condition will become the key to determining whether she can successfully defend her title.
No matter what the result is, Chen Meng can still be selected for the national team at such an advanced age, which has undoubtedly created another miracle in the national table tennis women's table tennis world. This not only fully demonstrates her excellent strength and professional quality, but also further highlights the advantages of national table tennis in talent discovery and training. I believe that in the future events, Chen Meng will be able to achieve better results and write a new legend for the Chinese table tennis world.