Table tennis is extremely popular and influential in both China and Japan. In this Singapore 2024 Grand Slam, the top players of China and Japan, Chen Meng and Hina Hayata, will once again face off in what promises to be a clash of dragons and tigers.
Chen Meng and Hina Hayata's technical style
Chen Meng and Hina Hayada are both the top women's singles players in table tennis today, and their technical styles are very different. Chen Meng is good at defensive counterattacks, and his offensive means are also quite diverse. She often has a change of spin on her serve, a flexible ball movement, and a knack for keeping her opponent's rhythm at bay. Once the opponent attacks, Chen Meng's backhand baseline ball is quite sharp and can suppress the opponent in the middle and far platform.
Hina Hayada is more focused on active attack. Her serve spin is extremely varied and can put a lot of pressure on her opponents. Hina Hayata's forehand attack is full of power and the landing is quite accurate. She is adept at dominating the tempo of the game in the offensive phase, constantly changing spins and tempo to create scoring opportunities.
In the past Grand Slam tournaments, Chen Meng and Hina Hayada have met many times, and fierce offensive and defensive confrontations have been staged on each side. The contest between the two can be called one of the most exciting duels in contemporary table tennis, and every encounter has attracted the attention of countless fans.
In this Grand Slam, the two sides are evenly matched
Entering 2024, Chen Meng and Hina Hayada are both in excellent form. Chen Meng won the women's singles title at the Tokyo Olympics and then won the 2024 ITTF World Cup. She is currently ranked third in the world and is just one step away from top seed Sun Yingsha.
Hina Hayada topped the women's singles title at the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban. In 2024, she will win another game at the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston and get 1,000 world ranking points. Hina Hayada is currently ranked fifth in the world, which is on par with Chen Meng's strength.
In this Singapore Grand Slam, the two sides are evenly matched, and who can seize the opportunity at the critical moment will determine the final victory. Win or lose, it's going to be a classic table tennis feast, with fans in both China and Japan eagerly looking forward to seeing Chen Meng and Hina Hayada go all out on the court and compete at the highest level.
The recent status of Chen Meng and Hina Hayata
In order to fully prepare for the 2024 Singapore Grand Slam, Chen Meng and Hina Hayada have made meticulous preparations. At the ITTF Singles World Cup in February, the two had already passed.
In the quarterfinals, Chen Meng swept Miyu Hirano with a score of 4-0 to advance to the semifinals. Hina Hayata, on the other hand, defeated Wang Manyu 4-1 in the quarter-finals, and the two sides will meet in the semi-finals.
In the semifinals, Chen Meng was still in excellent form, and she defeated Ma Long with a score of 4-2 and continued to advance. Hina Hayada reversed Lin Gaoyuan in three consecutive games after losing two games first, and finally advanced to the final with a total score of 4-3.
In this way, Chen Meng and Hina Hayada both performed quite well in the singles World Cup, and the strength of the two sides was equal. After all, the Singles World Cup is a small event, and the Singapore Grand Slam has a higher gold content, and it will be a more comprehensive test of the strength of both sides.
The first day of the Singapore Grand Slam
On March 10, 2024, the women's singles 1/32 finals of the Singapore Grand Slam kicked off. As the top seed, Chen Meng, swept Japan's Miyu Nagasaki 3-0 to advance to the round of 32.
Fourth seed Wang Manyu didn't have much resistance in the first round, beating India's Srija Akula 3-2 to move forward. Hina Hayata, the No. 5 seed, also had no hold back in the round of 32, as she swept past Poland's Szokos 3-0.
In addition to the seeded players, Chinese Taipei's Zheng Yijing and Li Yuzhen also performed well in the Women's Doubles. In the 1/16 finals, they defeated Japan's Miu Hirano/Miwa Zhang 2-3, and the doubles pair will be Chen Meng/Wang Manyu's opponents in the final.
The Chinese team made an all-out attack
As the competition deepened, the lineup of the Chinese team in the Singapore Grand Slam was gradually assembled. In addition to Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Xing and other national players also went all out in their respective events.
On March 11, in the men's singles round of 32, national player Lin Gaoyuan unexpectedly encountered Waterloo, and he lost 1-3 to South Korea's Lee Sang-so and missed the promotion. However, soon, Ma Long got back the court for the national table tennis men's team, and he defeated German veteran Francesca 3-1 and successfully entered the round of 16.
On March 12, Malone was upset again, he lost 2-3 to Francesca and missed the top 8. However, Lin Shidong's outstanding performance justified the name of the national table tennis men's team, and he defeated the top seed Fan Zhendong 3-1 to advance to the round of 16.
In the women's singles field, the national table tennis occupies 6 seats in the top 8. In addition to Chen Meng and Wang Manyu, Qian Tianyi, Wang Yidi, Chen Xingtong and Sun Yingsha also successfully entered the top 8.
The civil war in national table tennis is heating up
Entering March 15, the Singapore Grand Slam entered a white-hot stage, and the national table tennis civil war was staged one after another.
In the women's singles quarterfinals, Chen Meng defeated teammate Qian Tianyi with a score of 4-1, and Wang Manyu also defeated Chen Xingtong 4-1, and the two met in the semifinals. In the other half, Wang Yidi swept Sun Yingsha 4-0, and she will compete with Hina Hayada for another ticket to the final.
In Men's Singles, Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin defeated Lin Yunru and Felix Lebrun respectively to advance to the semi-finals. Lin Shidong defeated defending champion Fan Zhendong in an upset and met Lin Gaoyuan in the semifinals.
On March 16, the civil war of the national table tennis men's and women's teams continued. In the men's doubles final, Ma Long/Lin Gaoyuan defeated the defending champion Fan Zhendong/Wang Chuqin 3-2 after five rounds of fierce battles and won the championship.
In the women's singles semifinals, Wang Manyu reversed Chen Meng 4-1 and took the lead in advancing to the final. In the other semi-final, Wang Yidi lost 0-4 to Hina Hayada and missed the women's singles final.
Wang Manyu and Hina Hayada faced off for the women's singles championship
On March 17, the final day of the Singapore Grand Slam kicked off, with Wang Manyu and Hina Hayada facing off in the women's singles final.
This is the second time Wang Manyu has reached the women's singles final of a Grand Slam, having lost to Chen Meng in 2022 and finished as runners-up. In this tournament, she has won the women's doubles championship with Chen Meng, and she is in excellent form.
Hina Hayada reached the women's singles final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, and she performed eye-catching in this tournament, defeating Wang Yidi and Miu Hirano. This time, Hina Hayada will be aiming for her first career Grand Slam title.
The last time the two sides met in an official tournament was at the 2023 Taiyuan Regular Challenge, when Wang Manyu swept Hina Hayada 4-1. However, the two have met in the WTT finals last two times, winning one each, and they are close to each other.
The outcome of this match will also have a direct impact on the changes in the world rankings. The winner will climb to No. 2 in the world and pose a threat to Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha's world No. 1 titles.
Wang Chuqin won the triple crown
In the men's singles final, Wang Chuqin defeated teammate Liang Jingkun 4-1 and won his third championship of this tournament. He had already won the mixed doubles and men's doubles titles, becoming the biggest winner of the Singapore Grand Slam.
After the game, Wang Chuqin couldn't hide his excitement, and he praised his teammates for their excellent performance: "Everyone's contribution is great, we are all champions. Wang Chuqin said that there is still a long way to go in the future, and he will continue to work hard to win glory for the country and the team.
Qin Zhijian, the head coach of the national team, also spoke highly of the performance of the players. He said that this Grand Slam tournament is an important review of the preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and the team's run-in state is satisfactory.