Saudi Arabia Grand Slam upset
A brother and a sister are out one after another
Table tennis has always been regarded as China's "national sport", and in the past few decades, Chinese players have repeatedly won gold medals and won championships, which can be described as a dominant existence. In the first round of the just-concluded 2024 Saudi Grand Slam, China's "one brother and one sister" suffered Waterloo one after another, which was shocking.
The first to bear the brunt is the women's singles No. 2 seed and world No. 2 Wang Manyu. The former world champion lost 3-1 to India's "dark horse" Batra in the round and is ranked only 11th in the world. For Wang Manyu, this is undoubtedly a huge blow. As the number one player of the national table tennis women's team, she should have advanced easily, but she stopped at the beginning of the event, which is really incredible.
In men's singles, the situation is also a mess. Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan and other Chinese "first brothers" have stopped in the top 32, and there are 7 top 10 seeded players in the world with the same fate. These top contenders, who were supposed to be contenders for the title, were ruthlessly eliminated in the first round, which was unexpected.
The upsets keep happening
In addition to the exit of China's "one brother and one sister", this Saudi Arabia Grand Slam also staged a number of upsets. Among them, the most striking is the experience of South Korean star Shin Youbin.
Shin Youbin is ranked No. 7 in the world and is a top player with extraordinary strength. But in the first round, he lost 0-3 to Japan's Miyu Kihara, and the world ranking is only 23rd. As a representative of the traditional power of Asian table tennis, Shin Youbin should have easily qualified, but he was swept at the beginning of the event, which is really shocking.
The fate of other well-known players is also very different. Lin Yunru, Sokos, Liang Jingkun and other celebrities stopped in the first round and failed to extend their good luck in other events. The Saudi Grand Slam is undoubtedly a huge setback for these masters, and they need to reflect in time to avoid falling deeper into the trough.
The national table tennis has been hit hard
For Chinese table tennis, the performance of this Saudi Grand Slam is undoubtedly a heavy blow. As the leading figures in table tennis, the Chinese team has always had high expectations, and fans are looking forward to them shining in every event.
This time, the unpopular result was unexpected. In addition to the Olympic champion Chen Meng, who survived, other national players were eliminated one after another, which is really sad. For the overall strength of Chinese table tennis, this is undoubtedly a huge setback and needs to be seriously reflected.
This unpopular result is not accidental. In recent years, the level of table tennis in Asia and Europe has made great progress, and new forces continue to rise, making the competition more fierce and brutal. Therefore, the Chinese team needs to adjust its mentality in time and be prepared to deal with various difficulties.
Japanese and Korean players shine
The performance of Asian players such as Japan and South Korea, who have been eliminated by Chinese players one after another, is very eye-catching. Japan's Miyu Kihara knocked out South Korea's Shin Youbin and was ranked only 23rd in the world but beat the world No. 7, which was a surprise.
On the other hand, India's "dark horse" player Batra is also one of the big winners of this event. She defeated China's number one female player Wang Manyu 1-3, earning Indian table tennis a valuable honor on the world stage.
The outstanding performance of these emerging Asian players not only added infinite excitement to the tournament, but also proved to the world that the overall strength of Asian table tennis is constantly improving. For the Chinese team, this is undoubtedly a slap in the face, and it is necessary to pay close attention to the strength of emerging opponents.
The reason for the upset of the event
What is the reason for so many upsets in this Saudi Grand Slam? After the process, there are mainly the following aspects:
As an early season event, many of the seeded players are not yet fully in peak form. They may have had problems in the process of preparing for the war, which made their performance not as ideal.
The rise of new players is also a big reason. As we have seen in this tournament, the strength of players from Asian countries and regions such as Japan and South Korea has greatly improved, and they are no longer as simple as "sparring".
The impact of the format cannot be ignored either. The Saudi Arabian Grand Slam is a straight-out tournament, which means that seeded players who make a mistake in the first round will be eliminated without any room for manoeuvre.
Based on the above reasons, we may be able to understand why there are so many upsets in this event. This is a valuable experience for Chinese table tennis, and lessons need to be learned in time.