At 10 a.m. on May 14, the Chinese Table Tennis Association announced the national table tennis squad for the Paris Olympics. Some were expected, and some were unexpected.
According to the list published by the Table Tennis Association. Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong participated in the men's singles competition, and Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong and Ma Long participated in the men's team competition. Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng participated in the women's singles competition, and Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, and Wang Manyu participated in the women's team competition. Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha competed in the mixed doubles competition.
In addition: Liang Jingkun won the men's table tennis P card, and Wang Yidi won the women's table tennis P card.
When the list was announced, it caused an uproar on the Internet.
During the Saudi Grand Slam, the Table Tennis Association has already announced part of the list. At that time, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong had been selected for the men's singles and men's team lists in advance, Sun Yingsha/Wang Chuqin participated in the mixed doubles competition, and Sun Yingsha automatically won the women's team list.
Judging from the latest announced list, Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong, and Sun Yingsha won the singles places, and the list of men's and women's teams, as well as the mixed doubles candidates, are not in suspense, and they are also expected by everyone.
Chen Meng's qualification for the women's singles competition was also expected by many people. It's just that there are a lot of fans who are not satisfied.
In the Paris Olympic cycle, Wang Manyu won eight women's singles titles in international competitions, while Chen Meng only had two. And Chen Meng won the women's singles championship in international competitions after more than two years.
According to the original plan of the Table Tennis Association, if the assessment of the Saudi Grand Slam is not increased, then Wang Manyu will be qualified for the women's singles. Later, the Saudi Grand Slam was forcibly added, and Chen Meng counterattacked and qualified for the women's singles at the Paris Olympics. Some netizens feel that this is a one-stop ranking set. This doesn't seem to be fair to Wang Manyu. Of course, Wang Manyu is not angry, how did he lose to Indian player Batra at a critical moment.
Judging from the current strength and state of Wang Manyu and Chen Meng, Wang Manyu is slightly stronger. But since the Table Tennis Association has changed the selection plan, it has to be implemented. If they let Wang Manyu participate in the women's singles competition, it will be said that it is a change of day, and there will be more complaints. I don't know if the Table Tennis Association and the coaching staff will regret it.
There is also a P card, which was given to Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi, which made it difficult for many people to understand.
In the past, the national table tennis team generally gave potential young players to prepare for the next Olympic cycle. Originally, many people thought that the national table tennis coaching staff would give P cards to young players Lin Shidong and Kuo Man. The two have achieved excellent results in the mixed doubles competition and are well prepared to compete in the 2028 Olympic Games. Unexpectedly, the Table Tennis Association gave the P card to Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi. Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi are both 27 years old and unlikely to compete in the next Olympics. Could it be that the national table tennis is worried about substitutions like the Tokyo Olympics? Maybe they think Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi are more stable in the competition.
Even if there will be a temporary substitution, Lin Shidong and Kuo Man can stand up to it. Wang Yidi has lost many foreign wars, which is really difficult to reassure.
There are also people who cry out for Marlon. Fan Zhendong's current state is very average. Some fans feel that Ma Long won the World Cup men's singles championship in April and is in very good shape, and Ma Long should be allowed to participate in the men's singles competition at the Paris Olympics. According to the Olympic selection plan formulated by the Table Tennis Association, Fan Zhendong has more Olympic selection points than Ma Long. The Table Tennis Association did not allow Fan Zhendong to participate in the men's singles competition, which is not appropriate, and the controversy will be even greater.
Now that the rules have been made, they must be enforced. Otherwise, why make selection rules.
In short, no matter how the Table Tennis Association arranges the list, it will be complained by netizens. After all, some things are hard to do both.