On April 9, Beijing time, the German Table Tennis Association nominated the squad for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The six players nominated by the German Table Tennis Association, the youngest Qiu Dang and Mittram, are all 27 years old, Ocharov is 35 years old, Han Ying, Shan Xiaona, and Bol are all over 40 years old, and the age structure of the players has been seriously "aging". Even if they survive the Paris Olympics, the challenge for the German team will be even greater in the future.
The men's singles are Qiu Dang and Ocharov, the "third person" of the men's team is Bol, and the P card is Francesca
1. Qiu Dang
Qiu Dang, Germany's highest-ranked men's team and the only player in the world's top 10, has an undisputed singles spot. A Chinese straight board player, but he didn't expect to become a "German brother".
2. Ocharov
Ocharov lost 3-4 to Ma Long in the men's singles semi-finals at the Tokyo Olympics, and then narrowly defeated Lin Yunru 4-3 in the bronze medal match to win a precious bronze medal. He, like Malone, was born in 1988. The two have played each other 20 times, and Ocharov is difficult to win, which can't help but sigh.
However, after the Tokyo Olympics, Ocharov was plagued by injuries and missed the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston. Since then, his competitiveness has declined, and it is difficult for him to stabilize in the top 10 in the world. However, Ocharov has maintained a high level of competition with his rich experience, versatile serve, and good long-range pull-up ability. Qiu Dang is No. 10 in the world and Ocharov is No. 11 in the world, and it is not surprising that they qualified for singles.
3. Pol
Bol was able to squeeze out Francesca and qualify for the "third person" of the men's group, which is quite surprising. From 2000 to 2024, this will be Ball's seventh appearance at the Olympics.
He has competed in six previous Olympic Games, but his best result in men's singles is only the quarterfinals. He was the runner-up in the men's team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In the past, Bol was both men's singles and men's team at the Olympics, but this time in Paris, the 43-year-old Bol only competed in the team event.
Bol has been on a long hiatus and has only competed in five races in the past year. But when it comes to the "2024 Olympic year", the veterans show a different style: first won the men's singles title at the WTT Challenger Doha in January, and then defeated Lin Shidong at the WTT Singapore Grand Slam in March to reach the quarterfinals. His world ranking has returned to the top 30 in the world from outside the top 100 in a short period of time, and these "god operations" have made everyone have to re-examine this veteran: the sword is not old, and it can be of great use!
4. Francesca
The most regrettable thing is Francesca. He has been in the position of "No. 3" of the German men's team for a long time, and originally thought that Boll should gradually fade out of the national team after the Tokyo Olympics, and he can also take advantage of the trend to be among the top two. Unexpectedly, the rise of the Qiu Party was extremely rapid, and Francesca was once again squeezed into the position of "third". What he didn't expect was that Pol would "kill back the carbine" and directly "snatch" his position as the "third".
The 31-year-old Francisca is in his prime, and his progress in the Paris Olympic cycle is obvious to all, with two successive victories over Ma Long, and a stable world ranking in the top 20, but he did not expect to lose even a place in the team event.
In fact, there are still many players in the German men's team who want to fight for Olympic places, such as Duda, Firus, etc., but Bol and Ocharov are "super long standby", and the young players are not strong, so they can only continue to line up.
A is Han Ying and Mittram, the "third person" of the girl group is Shan Xiaona, and the P card list is to be determined
1. Han Ying
Han Ying has been the only chipper in the world's top ten for a long time, and many masters have been "slashed" by her. However, since he was injured in the WTT Star Challenge Doha match against Tian Zhixi in January this year, he has been recovering from the injury until now, and the world ranking has also fallen to 15th. She is second only to Mittram in the German women's team. Her ability to continue to qualify for the Olympic Women's Singles is a testament to the team's recognition of her ability and belief that she will be able to recover and adjust to her best before the Games. But she went on to miss the Macau Singles World Cup and the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam. After all, at the age of 41, no young person recovers as quickly.
2. Mittram
Solja opted to retire after the Tokyo Olympics, and Mittram's rise made up for it, as she was already very competitive and rose to 13th in the world rankings. In the team competition of the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, where Han Ying was absent, although the German women's team finally reached the quarterfinals, Mittram defeated Pavard and Yuan Jiannan in the quarterfinals against the French women's team and scored two points.
3. Shan Xiaona
Like Han Ying, Shan Xiaona is also a 41-year-old veteran. Young players in Germany are still growing too slowly, and only one excellent player can emerge once in a while, and they have not formed a group advantage. Shan Xiaona has long lost her competitiveness in terms of playing style and physical fitness, but unfortunately the German Table Tennis Association has no better choice.
Mixed doubles is Qiu Dang/Mittram
The German team did not pay enough attention to the mixed doubles, and Qiu Dang and Mittram had a limited number of matches and appearances, and the world ranking was not yet in the top 10. The two of them participated in the mixed doubles at the Olympic Games, and it was just "playing soy sauce". The focus should be on their respective singles and team events.