The challenge of national table tennis is at the Macau World Cup
The 2024 Table Tennis World Cup is in full swing in Macau, especially the newly introduced "play four games" format, which has added a lot of variables to the competition. In this high-pressure environment, even Wang Chuqin, the world's No. 1, is facing unprecedented challenges.
Background of the event: unfavorable new competition system and the response of national table tennis
The new format of this year's World Cup is to play four games per game!
1. In the group stage, the game will be played for 4 rounds (e.g., 4-0, 3-1 or 2-2), and the final group ranking will be determined according to the relationship between the players, and the top 16 players in each group will enter the knockout stage. There is only one qualifier for each group.
2. In the knockout stage, the game will adopt a best-of-seven system, which is different from the competitive strategy of the group stage, and the win or loss of a single game will directly determine whether the player can go further.
This means that the wins and losses of each game may have a direct impact on the situation of qualifying from the group. In such a format, even a 2-0 lead does not guarantee the final victory, and every player must always be on their toes and not slack off. Wang's 2-2 draw was in the spotlight, and the result had a detrimental impact on his group qualification situation, making every upcoming match full of pressure.
Key Battles: Wang Chuqin's Adversity and Review
Wang Chuqin's performance on the field has always been highly anticipated, but in this World Cup, he unexpectedly drew 2-2 with his opponent. Wang Chuqin won the opening two games by a slight margin, showing the demeanor of the world No. 1 champion, but in the subsequent match, his opponent's stubborn counterattack caught him off guard, and he lost two games in a row. After the game, in an interview: Wang Chuqin admitted that he was too slow to adjust in the game, irritable, and pursued too high the quality of the ball, and failed to effectively control the score. The draw was almost tantamount to defeat and put his qualification in jeopardy.
Wang Chuqin's technical and psychological challenges
The new format puts forward higher requirements for the technical and psychological skills of the athletes. Wang Chuqin needs a more flexible tactical response and a more solid psychological defense in the face of the ever-changing pace of the game. Especially when he suffered penalties and conceded points in a row, how to adjust his mentality and keep the game calm became the key to his success. Wang's experience will also be an important turning point in his career, and how to find his best form in the next matches will be his biggest challenge.
This time, Wang Chuqin's 2-2 tie is the same as the failure, and I have to admit the three problems this time:
1, Wang Chuqin has used too much force! I haven't played for a long time, I am holding back a lot of energy, full of explosive power, and the result is too big!
2. The truce event is not a good thing! Wang Chuqin's feeling for the game is not in place, and the adjustment has obviously slowed down when encountering a little difficulty!
3. The rhythm of the game is messed up! Wang Chuqin is not afraid of meeting fast, but he is most afraid of encountering Ahn Jae-hyun's soft style of play, and his experience needs to be improved!
Summary of the above problems: In this game, Wang Chuqin was only one point more than Ahn Jae-hyun. Ahn Jae-hyun is also the top four of the World Table Tennis Championships, and his strength is there, but in the face of national table tennis, he will go all out, and even play extraordinarily. In Wang Chuqin's game, the use rate of the forehand is a bit high, and he is deliberately improving the forehand. There is no big problem in terms of tactics, and the backhand pressing style of play is just not played.
Forward-looking and prospective
Although Wang Chuqin suffered a setback in this World Cup, it also provided him with valuable experience and lessons. Other members of the national table tennis team should also learn from Wang Chuqin's case how to better play their own advantages under the new competition system, and at the same time manage the psychological pressure in the game. Looking forward to the future, Wang Chuqin and the national table tennis team need to pay more attention to the diversification of strategies and the deepening of psychological adjustment, in order to achieve better results in the next competitions and achieve a double breakthrough for individuals and teams.
Through this experience of Wang Chuqin, we can see that even the world's top players are not immune to the high pressure and psychological challenges of the game, and every game is a double test of their will and skill. In the future, with the continuous innovation of the competition system, the national table tennis and its players need to constantly adapt and optimize their strategies in order to continue to maintain a leading position in the world table tennis arena.