2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam: The Chinese table tennis team won all five championships
Table tennis has a profound cultural heritage and mass foundation in China, and is one of the national sports. The 2024 World Table Tennis Professional League (WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam), as one of the four major table tennis tournaments, is of great significance to the Chinese table tennis team. In this tournament, the Chinese team lived up to expectations and won all 5 gold medals, once again demonstrating the strong strength and dominance of Chinese table tennis.
Chen Menglik and Sun Yingsha won the women's singles championship
The women's singles final staged a classic duel between Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha. As the world ranked Sun Yingsha, she quickly got into the groove in the first game, winning 11-6. However, Chen Meng was not suppressed, she strengthened the line and landing point changes in the game, avoided direct confrontation with Sun Yingsha, and pulled back a city with 11:5.
In the third game, the two sides went back and forth, and the score rose alternately. After a 4:4 draw, Chen Meng broke the deadlock and scored 4 points in a row to lead 11:8. In the fourth game, Chen Meng took another city and led 3:1 in total. Sun Yingsha fought against the odds in the game and won 11:6. However, in the game, Chen Meng controlled the initiative on the court, and although Sun Yingsha was chased by 4 points in a row in the case of a 5:1 lead, she finally won the tiebreaker 11:8, defeating Sun Yingsha with a total score of 4:2 and winning the women's singles championship.
After the game, Chen Meng was excited and cried, she said that she really didn't expect to win the championship. "I have hardly won against Sasha in the past two years, and I also play this match with the mentality of learning from the younger Sasha. ＂
This championship is of great significance to Chen Meng, not only because she won a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in two years, but also because it is the best interpretation of her tenacious struggle.
Wang Chuqin won the men's singles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles championships
In the men's singles final, world ranked Chinese star Wang Chuqin faced Germany's Francesca. Wang Chuqin immediately took the initiative after the start of the game, winning three games in a row 11:2, 11:7, and 11:5. Although Francesca later stubbornly chased the score and pulled back the two games 11:8 and 12:10, Wang Chuqin finally won the next game 11:6 and defeated his opponent with a total score of 4:2 to win the men's singles championship.
May 11 is also Wang Chuqin's 24th birthday. After the match, he held out three fingers to signal that he had achieved the "Triple Crown" at this Grand Slam tournament. In addition to the men's singles championship, he also teamed up with Sun Yingsha to win the mixed doubles championship and partnered with Ma Long to win the men's doubles championship.
For Wang Chuqin, this is a hard-won birthday gift. Speaking after the race, he said: "This is the first time we have played Francesca, and we have prepared well before the race, so we have found a solution under the pressure of the opponent chasing points, which is also a big takeaway from this tournament. ＂
Wang Chuqin and Ma Long took only 26 minutes in the men's doubles final to sweep the Japanese pair of Hayasuke Togami/Shinozuka Oden with an aggregate score of 3:0. Ma Long modestly said after the match: "This is the time that Wang Chuqin and I won the WTT men's doubles championship. He said earlier that I took him five years ago, and now he is taking me. ＂
The Chinese team won all five gold medals
In addition to the outstanding performance of Chen Meng and Wang Chuqin, other members of the Chinese team in this Saudi Arabia Grand Slam also performed wonderfully. In the women's doubles final, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu swept the Korean pair Shin Yubin/Tian Zhixi 3:0 in only 24 minutes to win a gold medal for the Chinese team.
Previously, Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha had already won the mixed doubles event. In this way, the Chinese team won all 5 gold medals in this Saudi Grand Slam, once again showing the strong strength and dominance of Chinese table tennis.
Preparing for the Paris Olympics
This Saudi Grand Slam is not only an opportunity for the Chinese team to test their strength, but also a final preparation for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The Chinese Table Tennis Association has announced the Olympic participation list of the national team, including Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha, the protagonists of this Grand Slam.
At the Paris Olympics, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong will represent China in the men's singles, while Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng will play in the women's singles. Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha will compete in the mixed doubles event. Ma Long, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong will play in the men's team, while Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu will represent China in the women's team.
If the national table tennis team succeeds in winning the men's team championship at the Paris Olympics, Ma Long will make history and become the athlete with the most Olympic gold medals in China. For the Chinese table tennis team, this Saudi Grand Slam tournament is a final preparation, and their impressive results here will undoubtedly add confidence to the Paris Olympics.
In the 2024 WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, the Chinese table tennis team won all five gold medals, once again demonstrating the strong strength and dominance of Chinese table tennis. Chen Menglik won the women's singles title against Sun Yingsha, while Wang Chuqin topped the podium in the men's singles, men's doubles and mixed doubles.