The qualifying tournament for the 2024 WTT Saudi Grand Slam has begun, and this tournament will be the final battle of the Chinese women's table tennis selection Olympic roster. In the case that the list of 3 women's table tennis players is basically released, the only suspense is who can qualify for the second women's singles between Chen Meng and Wang Manyu. Sun Yingsha has already locked in a women's singles qualification, while Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong are competing fiercely, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong have fallen behind, Wang Manyu won 1 championship and 2 runners-up with a series of competitions in 2024, surpassing Chen Meng in the world ranking and Olympic points. But she and Chen Meng still haven't completely separated the winner or loser, so this stop is very crucial.
Objectively speaking, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu are very good, no matter who is in the Paris Olympics, they are likely to meet Sun Yingsha in the Olympic finals. However, competitive sports are so cruel, participating in singles competitions means that there is no chance to hit the singles gold medal, which is a chance only once in four years, and for table tennis players, the golden period may be 10 years, so basically participate in 2 or 3 Olympic Games. Now Chen Meng and Wang Manyu may rely on the results of the Saudi Grand Slam to lock in who qualifies for the second women's singles, which is indeed cruel, after all, both of them have been fighting for the Olympic women's singles qualification for more than 1 year.
Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha had a sparring session, and both of them were in good shape. In addition to training with Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng also received special training from the coaching staff to adapt to the field.
Sun Yingsha practiced with Diaz. Sun Yingsha has no pressure, but she will never relax in the game, she values every game very much, which is why after winning the Macau World Cup, she was excited to lie on the ground and kiss the table to celebrate.
Sun Yingsha won the Incheon Championship and the Macau World Cup Women's Singles Championship in a row, and she is still the top favorite to win the Saudi Grand Slam this time.
Wang Manyu and Shi Xunyao practiced. Shi Xunyao played a sparring role in this competition, just like He Zhuojia.
In the Women's Singles table, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu are both in the lower half, and there are a number of Japanese stars in this half, including Miu Hirano, Miwa Zhang and Hina Hayata. In other words, the three generals of the Japanese table tennis competition in the Paris Olympics all fell in the lower half of the zone. Chen Meng and Wang Manyu are facing a lot of tests, if the two of them don't lose the foreign war, otherwise whoever loses the foreign war will be deducted points, and they will basically bid farewell to the women's singles qualification.
In addition, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu are likely to meet in the semi-finals, when that match is equivalent to a do-or-die battle for the second women's singles match. The pressure on Chen Meng is even greater, she not only has to reach the final, but also has to fight for the championship.
Sun Yingsha, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi and Qian Tianyi are all in the upper half, plus Misei Ito, the overall strength of the first half is not weak.