The 2024 WTT Saudi Grand Slam is about to kick off on May 4, and it is a very high-profile international table tennis event. As the world's No. 1, Sun Yingsha will lead six Chinese women's table tennis players to the tournament and strive to defend the dominance of Chinese table tennis on the international stage. And the high-profile is also the Indian player A-Mukherjee, who defeated Sun Yingsha in the Busan World Table Tennis Championships, whether he can create another miracle in this competition. I believe that the whole event will be very exciting and intense.
1. The rise of Sun Yingsha, the "little devil" of Chinese women's table tennis
Sun Yingsha is known as the "little devil" in today's women's table tennis world, she is the leader of Chinese women's table tennis, and she is also the first in the world table tennis women's singles. Since 2019, Sun Yingsha has gradually established her dominance, winning championships in many major competitions.
In 2019, Sun Yingsha defeated Japanese star Miu Hirano 3-1 in the women's singles final of the World Table Tennis Championships and won the women's singles championship of the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time. This also means that the Chinese women's table tennis has regained the commanding heights of the women's singles event. Since then, Sun Yingsha has defended her title three times in a row in the women's singles event of the World Table Tennis Championships in 2020, 2021 and 2022, gradually establishing her dominance.
In 2022, Sun Yingsha continued to shine in international competitions. In the women's singles event at the Tokyo Olympics, she defeated Japan's Misei Ito 4-0 to win the Olympic title. In addition, she also went all the way to the WTT Finals in 2022 and finally won the championship, further consolidating her No.1 status.
Entering 2023, Sun Yingsha maintained her strong form and defended her title again at the ITTF Women's World Cup in Macau, which is her fourth time winning the event. It can be said that in the past few years, Sun Yingsha has become the undisputed No.1 player in today's table tennis women's singles event.
2. Chinese women's table tennis 6 will hit the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam
In the upcoming 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam tournament, the Chinese women's table tennis team sent 6 players to play. In addition to the world's No. 1 Sun Yingsha, there are also Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Chen Xingtong and newcomer Qian Tianyi.
As the No.1 in today's women's table tennis industry, Sun Yingsha is undoubtedly the flagship of Chinese women's table tennis. Since 2019, she has maintained her dominance in a number of major tournaments, defending the World Table Tennis Championships three times and winning gold at the Tokyo 2022 Olympic Games. In the upcoming WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, Sun Yingsha is undoubtedly the favorite to win the championship, and she is expected to continue to consolidate her No.1 status.
In addition to Sun Yingsha, Chinese women's table tennis also has other strong players. Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi are both the descendants of Chinese women's table tennis, and they have also performed well in international competitions in recent years.
In the women's team competition of the 2022 Tokyo Olympics, Wang Manyu and Wang Yidi fought side by side with Sun Yingsha, and finally helped the Chinese women's table tennis team win the team gold medal. At this year's WTT Grand Slam in Saudi Arabia, they are also expected to do well in the singles event.
Chen Meng and Chen Xingtong are both veterans of Chinese women's table tennis and have rich experience in international competitions. Chen Meng won the singles championship at the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships, and Chen Xingtong has also achieved good results in many competitions. The appearance of the two will undoubtedly add a force to the Chinese women's table tennis championship.
Newcomer Qian Tianyi will also play in the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam with the Chinese women's table tennis. As a new force in Chinese women's table tennis, Qian Tianyi has also performed well in recent international competitions, and this appearance in the Grand Slam is undoubtedly an important test for her.
In general, the Chinese women's table tennis 6 will participate in the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, which is undoubtedly a concentrated appearance of Chinese table tennis on the international stage. Sun Yingsha, as the leading Hua Dan, will lead her teammates to vow to defend the dominance of Chinese women's table tennis.
3. Can India's dark horse A-Mukherjee create another miracle
In the upcoming WTT Saudi Grand Slam, there is also a dark horse from India, A-Mukherjee, who has attracted much attention.
In the group stage of the team stage of the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan last year, A-Mukherjee defeated world No. 1 Sun Yingsha in an upset, and finally helped the Indian team defeat the defending champion China 3-1. This is undoubtedly a big upset, and it also makes A-Mukherjee a dark horse in the table tennis world.
In this WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, A-Mukherjee is once again in the spotlight. However, in the first round of qualifying, she was eliminated 0-3. Opponent Dutchman's Ayland had the upper hand in the match, and A-Mukherjee had no performance at all, and it was difficult to hide the frustration and frustration.
This result is undoubtedly disappointing. After all, the shocking reversal at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan made A-Mukherjee emerge in the table tennis world for a time. However, in the qualifying tournament of the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, she once again failed to prove herself, which inevitably raised doubts about her strength.
However, we cannot completely dismiss the strength of A-Mukherjee. Her excellent performance in that match at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan was enough to prove that she really has what she has. Perhaps this defeat was just a temporary slump, but she still has a chance to play at the level she deserves in the following games.
After all, table tennis is a sport that is all about consistently performing at a high level. A good performance can certainly attract attention, but to remain competitive in the long term, it also needs to be consistent in all competitions.