In the recently concluded table tennis World Cup in Macau, the 35-year-old national table tennis grand slam Ma Long became old and strong, winning the men's singles championship with consecutive wins. But unfortunately, because the number of points did not rank in the top two of the men's team, behind Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, according to the regulations of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, he has been selected for the singles team of the Paris Olympics and can only impact the team quota.
In this regard, many fans think that it is a pity that Ma Long is in such a good state but cannot participate in the Olympic singles, so they have suggested on the Internet that the coaching staff give him a chance, but at present, it seems that Ma Long is not very likely to be on the throne.
First of all, the Olympic selection rules of national table tennis have long been determined and clearly announced, if they are changed now because Ma Long is in good condition, it will be too unfair to Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong.
As early as May 15, 2023, the Chinese Table Tennis Association announced the "Table Tennis 2024 Paris Olympic Games Selection Measures", which clearly stipulates the principle of participating in the singles event with the top two athletes in the team's points, and the deadline for the inspection is May 7 this year, although the women's team has been extended to May 15, but the men's team has not changed.
It was in this year that Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong fought many games, and only then did they get the top two positions in the standings, which shows that the comprehensive results of the two are the best.
Secondly, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong did not lose the foreign war in the World Cup, but only lost to their teammates.
In this World Cup, only Liang Jingkun lost to the athletes of the foreign association (3-4 to Carlberg of Sweden in the round of 16), and the rest held the position of the foreign war, of which Wang Chuqin lost 0-4 to Ma Long, and Fan Zhendong lost to Lin Gaoyuan 2-4, all of which were defeated by their teammates.
For the Olympic selection of national table tennis, the performance of foreign wars is the first, although Ma Long's results in the World Cup are stronger than Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong, but the latter two have not lost to foreign association opponents, so the negative impact is not great.
Finally, Malone is also unstable, and has lost two foreign wars this year, and the main players of the men's team have recently lost foreign wars.
There are no winning generals in competitive sports, and although Ma Long is in the limelight now, he only lost to South Korea's Lee Sang-so and Germany's Francesca in two important tournaments - the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan and the WTT Singapore Grand Slam respectively.
Of course, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong have also lost foreign wars; to be precise, none of the five main forces of the national table tennis men's team have been spared in the past year, which also shows that the current competition in the world men's table tennis is indeed very fierce.
To sum up, unless Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong have serious injuries, it is very unlikely that Ma Long will be selected for the Olympic singles by winning the World Cup.
At present, it seems that Ma Long's victory in the World Cup is mainly to offset the negative impact of his loss at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan and the WTT Singapore Grand Slam, and to regain the trust of the coaching staff for himself, so that he has a high probability of getting a ticket to the team event of the Paris Olympics, but it is still very difficult to get a singles place, and it is basically impossible.
Of course, if Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong have serious injuries in the short term, substitutions are inevitable, but of course everyone does not want such a situation to happen, and if the two are healthy, they should play in the Olympic singles normally this year.
So what do you think of the Olympic lineup of the national table tennis men's team? Welcome to leave a message and write your own guesses!