In the final match of the men's singles 1/8 finals of the Table Tennis World Cup, a strong dialogue was staged, and Wang Chuqin from China and Hugo, the first brother of Brazil, launched a fierce duel. Both sides are brave and elite, both are the top table tennis masters in the world today, and their strength is equal to each other, and they must not be careless.
Wang Chuqin is currently ranked No. 1 in the world, and his form can be described as the peak, and he has reached the peak of his career. As the leader of the Chinese national team, he has won championships in many competitions and has made many outstanding achievements. The opponent Hugo is the number one player in Brazil and even the whole of the Americas, and has long been in the top 10 in the men's singles world rankings, and is now ranked seventh, and his strength should not be underestimated. Hugo's performance has been even better recently, and in the semifinals of the Incheon Championships, he defeated Fan Zhendong, the main force of national table tennis, and broke into the final, but in the end he was slightly inferior and missed the championship.
In contrast, Wang Chuqin did not make an appearance in Incheon, and he abandoned the event in order to achieve good results in the World Cup, a higher-profile event. As the first brother of Chinese table tennis, his goal is very clear, that is, to win the World Cup men's singles championship, so as to win the first three-major championship title in his career. In his current hot state, that goal doesn't seem out of reach.
Before the game, Wang Chuqin had his own plans for the upcoming life-and-death battle. Hugo is a strong force and has repeatedly achieved miraculous achievements in recent tournaments, so it is clear that he should not be taken lightly. But as the world No. 1, Wang Chuqin also has enough confidence in his own strength. Through the past few encounters, he has gradually figured out Hugo's style of play and some routines, and has his own strategy for how to deal with the Latin American powerhouse.
At the beginning of the game, the two sides fought back and forth, and they were evenly matched. Although Wang Chuqin fell behind in the first game, he stubbornly chased the score in the second half of the game, but unfortunately lost 9:11 in the end. However, in the second game, he pulled one back in time and tied the score 11-9. This will be crucial for the rest of the game, and if you fall too far behind at the start, the road ahead will only get tougher.
In the third game, Hugo went to the next city, and when he was leading 7:3, he made crazy efforts, scored four points in a row to quickly open the lead, and finally won the game 11:7. In the face of the opponent's stubborn counterattack, Wang Chuqin was not suppressed, but stabilized his position. In the next two games, he won two games in a row, the fourth game started 4:0 and won 11:4, and the fifth game was 10:5 ahead and then 11:8, and the big score was 3:2 ahead.
In the sixth game of the decisive game, the two sides fell into a white-hot tug-of-war again, and they fought until 9 draws. At 9:9, Hugo made mistakes one after another, and Wang Chuqin seized the opportunity to score 3 points in a row, and won the match point three times before and after. Although the first two times were tied by Hugo, on the third match point, after the coaching staff suspended guidance, Wang Chuqin finally seized the opportunity and won the game 13:11 with a kick on the door, defeating the strong opponent with a big score of 4:2 and advancing to the men's singles quarterfinals.
This life-and-death battle is an immersive visual feast, and the competition between the two sides is no less fierce than any martial arts blockbuster. Although table tennis is not as violent as football and basketball, it also requires the athletes' full attention on the court, regardless of right and wrong. Every point and every board is fought hard by both sides, and the slightest negligence will be pulled back by the opponent.
Especially in the sixth game of the decisive game, the two sides attacked and defended and fought to the millimeter, and the audience couldn't help but hold their breath. The goals after 9 draws are quite crucial, and the slightest mistake will fall short. Hugo's position was finally gradually disintegrated by Wang Chuqin, and the continuous mistakes made everything go back to the sky, and Wang Chuqin showed super on-the-spot performance ability in this final sprint. With a big-picture view and exceptional psychological quality, he finally caught those fatal match penalties and took the fruits of victory into his own hands.
This victory is of great significance to Wang Chuqin, not only allowing him to maintain his hopes of winning the World Cup men's singles title, but also an important step in his quest for the title of the three major championships. For any athlete, winning the World Cup, the World Cup, and the Olympic Games is an important symbol of reaching the pinnacle of life, and there is only one way to immortal legend.
Wang Chuqin has won many World Cups and World Cup championships before, and only this World Cup championship is just short of completing his "Grand Slam". In the face of Hugo's strong opponent, he passed the first hurdle of this year's World Cup, adding the necessary confidence and motivation to the future journey.
Of course, Wang Chuqin also has to thank the coaching staff for their contributions. At that critical moment, the national team coaching staff called a timely timeout and gave valuable guidance and advice, allowing Wang Chuqin to get out of the short-term confusion and finally win the winning points. A good coaching team will often escort the outstanding performance of the athletes and become their strong backing on the field.
In addition to Wang Chuqin, the other seven finalists are Zhang Yuzhen, Ma Long, Lin Gaoyuan and Fan Zhendong of national table tennis, Tomokazu Zhang and Hayasuke Togami of Japan, Calderkin of Sweden and Zhang Ling of South Korea.
Judging from the list of qualifiers, the Chinese team occupies half of the 4 seats, the Japanese team has 2 shortlisted, and Sweden and South Korea have 1 each, which can be said to be quite different. However, the competition will become more and more fierce in the future, and it is not easy to win the heavyweight crown of the World Cup, and Wang Chuqin and other national table tennis players are facing huge challenges and pressures.
In general, this World Cup men's singles has begun, and the Chinese team has a huge momentum and has an advantage. But the next journey still has a long way to go, and we will wait and see, looking forward to the national table tennis being able to create brilliance on this top stage.