The national table tennis was hit hard at the Saudi Grand Slam
At the 2024 Saudi Grand Slam table tennis event, the Chinese team suffered a heavy blow in the men's singles event, which is undoubtedly a major setback. Top seed Ma Long was eliminated in the opening match after losing 0-3 to South Korea's Jang Woo-jin, which was undoubtedly a big upset. As a top player ranked in the world and a three-time World Cup champion, it is shocking that Ma Long was eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament. However, under closer inspection, Zhang Yuzhen has previously defeated Ma Long in the 2023 World Cup, so he has some strength. But even so, Ma Long's elimination in the first round as the top seed was a huge surprise and defeat.
Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan also failed in the 1/32 finals and 1/16 finals respectively, and were eliminated by Iranian veteran Alamiyan and Denmark's Grote. Liang Jingkun, as the world's No. 6 powerhouse, was eliminated in the first round, which is really regrettable. Although Lin Gaoyuan is ranked lower, as the main force of the national team, it is also a pity that he was eliminated in the 1/16 finals. The exit of these two players, coupled with Ma Long's first-round tour, caused the national table tennis to be upset in the men's singles event one after another, and the main forces in the first half and the lower half were eliminated, leaving only Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong to advance to the top 16.
The women's singles side also had an upset
In women's singles, Wang Manyu lost 1-3 to India's Batra in the 1/32 finals, becoming the first player to be eliminated in this Grand Slam tournament. Wang Manyu, as the world's No. 11 powerhouse, was eliminated by an Indian dark horse in the first round, which is undoubtedly a major upset. However, in addition to Wang Manyu, Chen Meng, Wang Yidi and other main national table tennis women's singles players have successfully qualified, so the overall performance of the women's singles event is okay.
Alarm bells rang for a long time
This Grand Slam tournament is undoubtedly a major setback for the national table tennis men's team and a wake-up call. Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan and other main forces have been eliminated one after another, which is shocking. In the end, in the men's singles event, only Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong were left in the upper and lower halves of the national table tennis to advance to the top 16, which can be described as "the only seedling left in the half of the region". This situation can be said to be unprecedented in the history of national table tennis.
As a traditional powerhouse in table tennis, the Chinese team has been eliminated one after another in Grand Slam events, which is undoubtedly a huge wake-up call. This not only shows that the level of table tennis in other countries and regions is constantly improving, which has formed a strong challenge to the Chinese team, but also reflects that there are some problems and deficiencies in national table tennis.
National table tennis needs to summarize lessons in a timely manner, reflect on the reasons, find deficiencies, and adjust the state in a timely manner. Whether it is in preparation, selection, training, etc., it is necessary to comprehensively sort out, formulate new countermeasures, and earnestly improve the overall strength of the team. With only a few months to go until the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the national table tennis team must go all out to prepare for the Olympic table tennis championship and strive to regain its glory.