On April 23, Beijing time, the International Table Tennis Federation released a full set of rules for the table tennis competition of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, which explained in detail the relevant rules of the three major events (singles, mixed doubles, and team) of the table tennis competition of Bao Bao.
Next, let's analyze the relevant rules together.
- The top 32 seeds in the men's and women's singles will be determined based on the singles world rankings as of July 16, 2024
- In the singles competition, players from the same association avoid half of the area
- All singles matches will be played in a best-of-seven format
- All matches in Mixed Doubles will be played in a best-of-seven format
- The men's and women's teams consist of five individual competitions, each of which is a best-of-five format:
第1场双打:BC VS YZ
第2场单打： A VS X
Match 3 Singles: C VS Z
Match 4 Singles: A VS Y
Match 5 Singles: B VS X
- Group P Card Usage:
If the NOC has a "P" certified athlete, a request for a change of athlete can be made at least 2 hours before the next team competition. Once the replaced athlete has been disqualified from the Olympic Games, the "P" certified athlete will be able to activate the new qualification and compete in the team competition.
7. In the case of "two athletes participating in the team event":
If the third athlete of an association is injured and there is no P card to use (with or without a P card), then the team event can be played in a two-athlete format:
Match 1 Doubles: AB VS Opponent Doubles
Match 2 Singles: A VS Opponent 1 Singles
Match 3 Singles: B VS Opponent 2 Singles
Analysis 1: The men's singles has 3 opponents in advance, and targeted preparations can be launched in advance
Fan Zhendong will be cleared of last year's World Table Tennis Championships in Durban next month with 2,000 points, and on July 16, F. Lebrun will be the No. 2 Olympic singles seed and Lin Yunru will be the No. 3 seed. According to the rules of the same association's half-zone avoidance, Fan Zhendong will fall in the lower half of the first half of the small cloth, Lin Yunru will come to the upper half of the Wang Chuqin guard, and the other singles of the French team (Simon Goetz or Dabu) will also fall in the half of the big head.
Therefore, the two main men's singles players of national table tennis have already known the three main opponents in advance. Wang Chuqin received the second order of Lin Yunru and France, and Fan Zhendong will meet Lebrun Jr. One of the strongest advantages of national table tennis is that it can study opponents in a targeted manner. After clarifying the three main opponents, in the next preparations, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong can make some targeted preparations in advance and add enough insurance.
Although these three foreign cooperation masters also know which main national table tennis team they will face, and they will also prepare for targeted battles in advance, no team can study the opponent more vividly and specifically and meticulously than the national table tennis coaching staff, so showing cards in advance is equivalent to unilaterally benefiting us.
Analysis 2: In order to grab the seed ranking, the foreign players will be crazy to participate in the competition to accumulate points until July
Since the national table tennis is basically determined, the Saudi Grand Slam will be the last large-scale training ground of the main Olympic lineup, so a large number of low-level series before July 16 will become the main battlefield for foreign players to scramble for points. In the absence of the main force of national table tennis, foreign players can indeed get higher points, compared to physical fatigue, getting a higher seed ranking does have greater benefits and more temptation.
WTT has started wildly this year, and it should have firmly grasped this psychology of athletes.
Analysis 3: There is a high probability that the national table tennis P card will not be given to young players, and the anime is basically missing
The P card candidates of national table tennis have basically clarified the direction now, and there is a high probability that they will not be given to the young players Lin Shidong and Kuo Man who are closest to the main area. The main reason is that the P card gives priority to "instant combat power", which is the main player of the same level who needs to have the ability to fill the position, and at the same time, it must also have the foundation of doubles cooperation.
Let's take a look at it this way, since the opening of the P card system in the Olympic team competition, the P card players who have signed up for the national table tennis are:
Chen Xi - Li Xiaoxia, Xu Xin - Liu Shiwen, Fan Zhendong - Zhu Yuling, Wang Chuqin - Wang Manyu
When these people became P cards, they all had senior world championship titles in their hands, and they were all the best instant combat power. Now the Samengyu trio of the national table tennis women's team is stable and sturdy, and there are no leaks worth worrying about. However, the fat-headed dragon trio of the national table tennis men's team is not stable, and there is a possibility of replacement. Therefore, when choosing a P card, the coaching staff prefers immediate combat power. This means that Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan of the men's team are more competitive than Lin Shidong. In terms of the women's team, although it is unlikely that the P card will be used, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong's priority is definitely above Kuo Man.
The men's team will not choose left and left in doubles, and the player who is most likely to be replaced in the men's team is Ma Long, so Liang Jingkun's P card proximity is higher than Lin Gaoyuan's, and if nothing else, it is a big fat;
Analysis 4: "2-person group lineup" is allowed to exist, and some associations may abandon the P card
The ITTF allows a two-player lineup to participate in team competitions, so that some associations with a small reserve of masters in the same level may give up the P card and only bring three people to Paris. Once the third person is absent from the game due to force majeure, the 2-man lineup mode will be directly selected. If these two players are strong in singles and have a high tacit understanding in doubles, it is entirely possible to win the team competition - which is the same as the situation where the strength of the three singles is not good and the team needs to get 2 points.
In fact, many teams in Europe actually only have about 2 masters of the same level, and it is really difficult for them to come up with 3 or even 4 top players with eyebrows. In this way, it is better to choose the 2-player mode directly, and if you start preparing now, there is enough time and it is really economical.