On May 11, 2024, Beijing time, the table tennis Saudi Arabia Grand Slam competition ushered in the final day of the competition. This is a top-level event belonging to the WTT series, where the main players of table tennis from all countries gather together to compete for championship glory. The tournament will have a prize fund of up to $65,000 and the winner will receive 2,000 ranking points, which is expected to influence the finalization of the Olympic roster.
The national table tennis sent a total of 12 main players to participate in the competition, ambitiously striving to win the feat of five crowns. Although all the players managed to advance to the round of 32, the following matches, including Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Lin Gaoyuan, Wang Manyu and Liang Jingkun, were eliminated in the foreign war. However, in the team competition, the national table tennis team members performed well, winning the mixed doubles, men's doubles and women's doubles championships, showing a strong overall strength.
In the women's singles final, Sun Yingsha, ranked No. 1 in the world, faced Chen Meng, ranked No. 4. Chen Meng has won both the World Cup and the Olympics before, and she is eager to achieve the feat of a Grand Slam. In the game, Sun Yingsha won the first game 11:6, but Chen Meng then won three games in a row 11:5, 11:8, and 11:9, leading 3:1. Sun Yingsha pulled one back with 11:6 in the fifth game, but Chen Meng won 11:8 in the sixth game and finally won the championship with a score of 4:2.
In the Men's Singles final, world No. 1 Wang Chuqin will face Germany's Patrick Francesca. Wang Chuqin, who has already won the mixed doubles and men's doubles titles, will be hoping to complete the feat of a triple crown in this tournament. Despite Patrick Francesca's low ranking, the quality he showed in the game should not be underestimated.
The results of this competition will directly affect the list of national table tennis players in the Paris Olympics, let us look forward to their success in the future competitions!