On May 14, Beijing time, the Chinese Table Tennis Association announced the list of athletes participating in the Chinese table tennis team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In this regard, many fans have raised questions, can Fan Zhendong complete the important task of defending the glory of national table tennis in the Olympics?
Since winning the WTT Lubuyarna Star Challenge in July 2023, Fan Zhendong has been caught in a championship drought of nearly 300 days. During this time, he competed in 9 races, which were as follows:
WTT Frankfurt Championship lost 1-3 to South Korea's Lee Sang-so to stop in the round of 16;
ITTF Mixed Team World Cup 1-2;
WTT Men's Finals 0-4 teammate Wang Chuqin was the runner-up;
WTT Star Challenge 1/4 Finals 2 (Injured Retirement)-3 Lin Shidong;
Busan team World Cup finals with one single and two points to help China win the championship;
WTT Singapore Grand Slam 1/16 finals 1-3 teenager Lin Shidong;
WTT Incheon Championship semifinals 2-4 Hugo Carlladno;
ITTF Macau World Cup 2-4 Lin Gaoyuan missed the semifinals;
WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam 2-3 Patrick Francesca stopped in the round of 16;
To sum up, four lost foreign wars and five lost civil wars. With such results, it is no wonder that netizens are worried about his selection for the Olympics.
Therefore, there is a fan on Weibo who is particularly concerned about him, and paid to consult his former coach Mr. Wu Jingping: "Can 588 improve the current technology of Xiaopang in the short term?" Can you point him out? "It is a great honor for Coach Wu to reply to this question, as follows:
Based on the above Coach Wu's reply, it is found that Fan Zhendong's state is in a downturn, and there are the following points to sum up, let's see if it is correct?
1. Recognize what netizens said about Fan Zhendong's recent unsatisfactory performance, but judging from his professional perspective and years of experience, it is not his real level. Is it the active pressure state or is it not fully exerted by other influences? Debatable.
Second, Fan Zhendong is adjusting his state for his ultimate goal - the impact of the Olympic champion. For example, the pace of the game, the mentality of the game, and repeatedly trying to find your best state.
3. The schedule of WTT commercial competitions is too dense, which has a great impact on the physical condition of athletes, and Fan Zhendong is no exception, which also has an impact on the ups and downs of his performance during this period.
Fourth, the current use of balls in various competitions has changed, such as the use of seamless balls in the Macau World Cup, which requires competitive athletes to make technical and tactical adjustments and adaptive training every time, so the results presented in the game may be much more uncertain.
Fifth, I still believe in Fan Zhendong's strength, because before the Olympics, he will stop participating in the training camp, rest can be guaranteed, and the Olympic ball has already been determined, and targeted training can be carried out in advance, so I believe that Fan Zhendong can achieve excellent results in the Olympics.
After reading the above information, have you regained confidence in Fan Zhendong? As Coach Wu said, he is only one Olympic singles champion away from a Grand Slam in his career, and the Paris Olympics is his last chance to attack, and he will definitely fight against the water. That's fine, I look forward to him being able to win the championship and runner-up with his teammate Wang Chuqin in the Olympics. As for who wins the championship, I don't stand in line, and I also respect Wang Chuqin's dedication.
Attached is Coach Wu Jingping's profile:
Born on May 9, 1954, he was selected to coach the men's national team in 1991 and is known as a meritorious coach. He has successively cultivated world champions such as Lu Lin, Ma Lin, Wang Hao, Chen Qi, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, etc., and retired to settle in Hainan in 2019. After retirement, he is still active in the table tennis world, and has published the book "Table Tennis is Interesting", and also said: "I am young again, accompany you to fight in Paris", expressing his concern and recognition for Fan Zhendong, a disciple who closed the door, and the helplessness that he is too old to continue to teach Fan Zhendong.