The ITTF Men's and Women's World Cup, which is being held in Macau, ended the group stage competition on April 17. The Chinese team of 12 players participated, including all the main players, 11 players advanced to the knockout round, and only the women's team rookie Kuo Man was out of the tournament by a fraction. Regardless of whether they qualify or not, in the face of the innovative "four-game system", the national table tennis players will have a lot to gain.
After the first round of matches, the most uncertain situation for the Chinese team to qualify was Wang Chuqin and Lin Gaoyuan, both of whom drew 2 with their opponents and failed to occupy an advantage in the group stage when comparing the total number of wins. However, in the final round of the game, both of them achieved a 4-0 "complete victory" and firmly won the right to qualify.
Men's singles world No. 1 Wang Chuqin, who participated in the World Cup for the first time, saved a match point in the second game against Kazakhstan's Gramensko and did not lose a game in the end. He believes that the format "has no room to lose a game" and reflects the excitement of competitive sports, "It's also good to go through this kind of test to see if you can carry it." Although this game was won, there were still times when it was uncontrollable on the field, so we had to adjust and summarize it well. ”
Lin Gaoyuan saved two game points in the final game, taking four games from Chinese Taipei veteran Zhuang Zhiyuan, avoiding a small score with his opponents in the same group. He bluntly said that his playing style control and stability are relatively poor, and he usually needs more rounds to adjust, and the new format is a good exercise for him. Unlike most players who emphasize that "every point is important", Lin Gaoyuan feels that he shouldn't think too much, "The mentality in the first game is very tight, and when you are ahead, you are still afraid of losing and losing points, which is not conducive to the game." This one is in the state of enjoying the game again, and winning a point is a point. ”
Wang Yidi, the only one in the women's team who lost a game point in the first round, advanced by calculating small points. In this round, she won two games in a row with 9-11 and drew with the German good player Shan Xiaona. After the group stage, Wang Yidi and Du Kaiqin in the same group won the same number of games, and only qualified by a slight margin when comparing the goal difference between them and the latter.
Kuo Man, who qualified as the world junior champion, was not so lucky. Despite winning four games in a row in the first round, she was tied 2-2 with seeded player Tian Zhixi, and the two won the same number of games in total. The Chinese rookie said that this format is a huge challenge for him who is still inexperienced in the competition, "I have gained a lot of experience in terms of mobilization ability and assessment of difficulties." ”
In addition, the rest of the main players of national table tennis and the rookie Lin Shidong of the men's team have firmly grasped the right to qualify in their own hands with their stable performance in two rounds of games. After Chen Meng swept his opponent in the first round, he fought 3-1 with Akula, the Indian "strange ball player" who had just defeated Wang Yidi at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan. "Although the first two games have established a large goal difference, the mind is still about how to win each game. Chen Meng revealed that he didn't dare to relax at all in the game, "This kind of competition is very training." ”
In the next round of 16 knockout rounds, the best-of-7 format will be restored. For the players who have advanced, it is another challenge to adjust their mentality. "Four wins in seven games are different from the group stage and the best-of-five games, so you need to rework your tactics. Ma Long, a veteran of the men's team, said, "For me, it's not easy to deal with any opponent, and I still have to play ball by ball." ”
Courtesy of WTT World Table Tennis Federation