With the return of the World Cup, which is one of the three major tournaments, the main players of national table tennis have another chance to complete the Grand Slam. Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha are likely to achieve this feat after the next World Cup and Olympic Games. Only surpassed Zhang Jike's fastest Grand Slam in 445 days, and only Sun Yingsha can hit this record at the moment.
Fan Zhendong won the last World Cup in 2020, Tokyo regretted winning the silver, and only Sasha is expected to become the fastest Grand Slam in national table tennis.
Fan Zhendong has won the World Cup men's singles championship 4 times, winning the championship in 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. After that, he won the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston in 2021, but unfortunately Dong Ge lost to Ma Long at the Tokyo Olympics and was the runner-up. If Fan Zhendong wins the men's singles title at the Tokyo Olympics, he will hopefully break Zhang Jike's record for the fastest Grand Slam. History can no longer be changed, and with the suspension of the World Cup, Fan Zhendong has no chance to surpass Zhang Jike in completing the Grand Slam time.
Chen Meng won the World Cup women's singles championship in 2020, and then won the women's singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but unfortunately Chen Meng failed at the World Table Tennis Championships twice, and Chen Meng's hope of achieving a Grand Slam is very slim at her age. Wang Manyu only won the women's singles championship at the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships, and she has no previous experience in the World Cup and Olympic singles. Even if Wang Manyu won the women's singles championship in both major competitions next, because she won the World Table Tennis Championships too early, she could not break Zhang Jike's record for the fastest Grand Slam.
Sun Yingsha won the women's singles championship at the World Table Tennis Championships in Durban on May 28, 2023, and if Sasha successfully reaches the top of this year's World Cup and Olympic Games, she will only have 433 days to complete the Grand Slam, which is less than Zhang Jike's 445 days. In other words, Sun Yingsha has become the only hope of breaking Zhang Jike's record in the national table tennis men's and women's teams and becoming the creator of the fastest Grand Slam. Liu Shiwen won two major singles championships in 2019, the World Table Tennis Championships and the World Cup. 28-year-old Liu Shiwen can win 2 major women's singles championships in a year, why is it impossible for Sun Yingsha, who is younger now?
In terms of technology, experience and psychological quality of the competition, Sun Yingsha has reached a mature stage, and she has a high probability of winning the championship if she plays normally.
Judging from the Incheon Championship, Sun Yingsha was able to clean up teammates Wang Yidi and Wang Manyu, especially against Wang Manyu with a score of 11-4 in two games, and Sasha's current strength and state are very good. If anyone can defeat Sun Yingsha in the competition, it must grasp her shortcomings, but let's compare, serve and attack the first three boards, who can snatch Sun Yingsha? In the Tokyo Olympic cycle, with the three main forces of Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen, and Zhu Yuling, who faded out due to playing style or injury, Sasha had already taken on the responsibility of charging forward in the National Table Tennis Championship at that stage.
During the Paris Olympic cycle, Sun Yingsha only lost 2 foreign battles, which is the least loss among the main forces of national table tennis. In fact, from 2023, Sun Yingsha has already started the mode of winning the women's singles championship, which is why she is far ahead of her teammates in world ranking points and Olympic selection points. Although she is the youngest of the main force, she is very mature in terms of technology, tactics and on-site adaptability and control ability of the competition. If you play normally, the women's singles champion of the World Cup and the Olympic Games, Sun Yingsha is definitely the one with the greatest probability of winning the championship.
Are you optimistic that Sun Yingsha will win the women's singles championship in the World Cup and the Olympic Games next, breaking Zhang Jike's record for the fastest Grand Slam?