On April 17, 2024, the table tennis Macau World Cup broke out a big upset, the first world champion lost, Chinese Taipei star Zhuang Zhiyuan lost 1-3 to Croatian player Pucar, Pucar won 1 and drew 1, and maintained an unbeaten record in the group stage, Lin Gaoyuan was also affected.
Croatian player Pucar is 1.97 meters tall, which is rare in table tennis, once won Wang Chuqin, but that was a long time ago, there is no reference value, in recent years, Pucar's performance is average, the results are very mediocre, the men's singles world ranking is only 47, the competitiveness is not even as good as teammate Gacini, I didn't expect to be able to play 2-2 with Lin Gaoyuan, and beat the world champion Zhuang Zhiyuan.
This World Cup Pucar is in the 6th group, from the perspective of comprehensive strength, there is a gap with Lin Gaoyuan and Zhuang Zhiyuan, but there is an accident in the special competition system, and it is indeed easy to break out of the upset, Pucar did not give up after 0-2, and won two games in a row to tie Lin Gaoyuan, but it added up to Lin Gaoyuan to win 1 point, and then Pucar faced Chinese Taipei star Zhuang Zhiyuan, who won the World Table Tennis Championships men's doubles championship once.
After the start of the game, the first game Pucar was very firm, although he made a lot of unnecessary mistakes, but he always fought for the initiative to get started, forming a stalemate to add quality, Zhuang Zhiyuan had an advantage in the first three boards, but he really couldn't beat back to the middle and far platform, both sides had technical and tactical adjustments, Zhuang Zhiyuan seized the opportunity to take the lead with 11-8, Pucar was not discouraged when he lost the first game, his mentality can indeed be.
In the second game, Pucar became more and more courageous, but Zhuang Zhiyuan was a little unable to keep up with the rhythm, and it was difficult to maintain the feel, Pukal was not to be outdone, and blasted out 11-5 and colored, Zhuang Zhiyuan gave everyone the feeling that he suddenly dropped the line, and Pucar's excellent performance also had something to do with it, and the third game The two sides played back and forth, Pucar always led, Zhuang Zhiyuan chased the score in vain, and then Pucar won another game 11-8.
In the fourth game, Zhuang Zhiyuan did not change, Pucar led the game in an all-round way, ended the game with 11-4, and finally reversed Zhuang Zhiyuan 3-1, Pucar remained undefeated in the group stage, 1 win and 1 draw exceeded expectations, Zhuang Zhiyuan became the first world champion to lose, so Lin Gaoyuan's pressure must be greater, and strive to win Zhuang Zhiyuan 4-0, otherwise there will be new variables, and the two need to calculate the small score at that time.
In the past, the coaching staff did not pay much attention to Pucar, now it seems that it really can't underestimate any opponent, in fact, the most favorable score for Lin Gaoyuan is Pucar 2-2 Zhuang Zhiyuan, relatively speaking, it is much easier, now Pucar wins Zhuang Zhiyuan 3-1, who can qualify at that time, it all depends on Lin Gaoyuan's performance against Zhuang Zhiyuan, and I believe that he will be able to do his best, seize this opportunity to continue to move forward, come on!