The 2024 Saudi Grand Slam Table Tennis Tournament has come to an end, with the Women's Doubles and Men's Doubles champions decided on May 10. According to the regulations, each association can only send one pair to participate in the doubles event. The national table tennis sent Chen Meng/Wang Manyu and Ma Long/Wang Chuqin, in addition, Chen Xingtong/Wang Yidi and Liang Jingkun/Lin Gaoyuan participated as wild cards.
In the previous match, Chen Xingtong/Wang Yidi lost to Chen Meng/Wang Manyu in the quarter-finals, while Liang Jingkun/Lin Gaoyuan were defeated by the Swedish pair. In the Women's Doubles final, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu took on world No. 1 pair Tian Zhixi/Shin Yubin of South Korea. The South Korean pair have a strong record in the past year, beating Sun Yingsha/Wang Manyu to win the World Table Tennis Championships runner-up and Asian Games champion. However, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu played well in this match, winning 3-0 (11-6, 11-6, 12-10).
When the pair teamed up again in the second half of last year, the results were not satisfactory, but this year they have gradually run in and performed more consistently, apparently in preparation for the doubles event at the Paris Olympics. Although the Korean pair had a certain advantage in coordination and positioning, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu made up for the lack with their excellent comprehensive strength, and won the third game in a reversal to win the championship.
After the game, Wang Manyu said: "Sister Meng and I played very well today, the use of skills and tactics was also clear and smooth, and I am very happy to win the championship with Sister Meng." Chen Meng also added: "The two of us don't cooperate very much, but we can win the championship in important events, and our confidence and tacit understanding are getting better and better." ”
In the Men's Doubles final, Ma Long/Wang Chuqin easily defeated Japan's rising stars Hayasuke Togami/Shinozuka Daito 3-0 (11-6, 11-5, 11-9) to win the title. The Japanese pair were dark horses, knocking out No.2 seeds Lim Jong-hoon/Lee Sang-so and No.4 seeds The Lebrun brothers.
However, Ma Long/Wang Chuqin took complete control of the match with their advantage in the first three boards, as well as excellent forehand attack and pulling. The pair's chemistry and high-quality shots left the Japanese pair powerless. Although Hayasuke Togami scored many times through his backhand, he was still unable to return to the sky overall.
After the match, Wang Chuqin sighed: "Five years ago, it was Ma Long who led me to win the first world championship. Ma Long responded: "Five years ago, I took Wang Chuqin, and now he takes me to fly." "This pair undoubtedly showed the strong strength of national table tennis and drew a perfect end to the Saudi Grand Slam.