In the recent update of the global team rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation, the situation of the Japanese men's team has sparked a lot of discussion. China's overwhelming strength has secured the top seed in the men's team at the Paris Olympics, while other countries are keeping a close eye on the rankings in hopes of earning a place at the Olympics.
For athletes from countries such as Japan, the battle for an Olympic medal depends not only on their performance, but also on the timing of their encounter with China. If they can meet the Chinese team in the late stages of the competition, they may climb to the podium and even win a silver medal; On the contrary, if you face the Chinese team in the early stage, no matter how strong the strength is, the road to promotion will be blocked.
With a gap of nearly 300 points to the world's fourth-ranked team, with just two months to go before the deadline to determine seeding, it is almost impossible to catch up with this huge margin in that time. As such, Japan is likely to compete as the fifth seed, and whether they can avoid China in the quarterfinals will be key to their medal progression.
In addition, the Japanese team has not had good luck in history, and in the past two World Table Tennis Team Championships, they have met the Chinese team early and were eliminated. Although the Japanese team is strong, if it does not meet the Chinese team, it will not be difficult to advance to the semi-finals. However, the ranking determines the probability that they will meet China in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games.
Japan's sluggish ranking is directly related to the performance of its leader, Tomokazu Haramoto. In contrast, the rising star of the provincial team, Lin Yunru, rose to prominence at the Tokyo Olympics, and his individual and team performances far surpassed Tomokazu Zhangmoto. In the next two months, it will be extremely difficult for Zhang Benzhihe to catch up with Lin Yunru and balance the score gap between the two teams.
Therefore, in the face of the upcoming Paris Olympics, the Japanese team can only hope that their luck will improve in the quarterfinals draw and avoid facing the Chinese team too early like the previous two World Table Tennis Championships, so that they can have a chance to make a breakthrough in the Olympic arena.