Dreams and frustrations often go hand in hand, and even more so on the sports field. While Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng qualified to represent China in the women's singles at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Wang Manyu fell short at a crucial moment and missed the opportunity. This long-awaited list has witnessed the blossoming of some people's dreams and the frustration and regret of others. However, that's the beauty of sport – wave after wave in a brutal competition, and only the toughest and best athletes can make it to the top.
As China's national sport, table tennis has always been a must for the Chinese army in the Olympic arena. The women's singles event is the foundation of the Chinese team. At this year's selection tournament, the Chinese team confirmed the selection of two Olympic women's singles quotas - the veteran Sun Yingsha and the rising star Chen Meng, who is in peak form.
Sun Yingsha, this well-known name has been in the table tennis world for many years. As the absolute core of the national table tennis women's team, she once overwhelmed many fierce opponents in the Rio Olympics and won the women's singles championship in one fell swoop, bringing supreme glory to the country and fans. To this day, she is still in excellent form, and she comfortably secured her first ticket to the Olympic Women's Singles at the Qualifiers. With her excellent technical skills and composure on the court, Sun Yingsha has become the best choice for the No. 1 singles of the Chinese women's singles at the Paris Olympics. Her goal is not only to defend her Olympic Women's Singles title, but also to regain the mixed doubles gold medal that her country has missed several times.
And Chen Meng is the brightest star in China's new generation of female generals. Although she has not been able to win the Women's Singles title at a major tournament in the past two years, her outstanding performance in the selection tournament has reopened everyone's potential to her. Passing all the way, sweeping Japan's three main forces Miu Hirano, Miwa Zhangmoto, and Hina Hayata, Chen Meng proved with her strength that she deserved to win the Olympic women's singles ticket. In the final, she defeated Sun Yingsha with a score of 4:2, adding a lot of confidence to herself. On the stage of the Paris Olympics in the future, Chen Meng will be the most anticipated dark horse force of the Chinese team.
In contrast, Wang Manyu's story is not a perfect ending. As the number one leader of the Chinese national team, this outstanding player has high hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Women's Singles. However, in the crucial qualifiers, she was deducted a large number of points after losing to Batra, thus losing her chance to reach the women's singles final. Three years of hard work have been in vain, which makes people sigh. However, we believe that after the baptism of this setback, Wang Manyu will soon come out of the haze and fight for the last women's team seat with more tenacious willpower. After all, for a good athlete, defeat is often just a stepping stone to success.
Overall, the long-awaited Olympic women's singles selection list has a mixed bag. Some people are raising their eyebrows on this field, and some people are temporarily burying their dreams. However, as the famous saying goes, "Gold medals are inseparable from sweat, and success requires a little tears." Although Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng had the last laugh for the time being, their efforts were unimaginable to anyone. As the top masters of national table tennis, every bit of their training ground embodies the persistent pursuit of their dreams.
Looking back on Sun Yingsha's journey in the table tennis world, it is an epic chapter of tenacious struggle. Determined to become a "table tennis player" since she was a child, she endured hardships before she was finally selected by the national team and started her career.