Chen Meng locked in the Olympic women's singles quota
On May 14, 2024, the Chinese Table Tennis Association officially announced the list of national table tennis participants for the Paris Olympics. In the women's singles event, which is highly watched by the outside world, Chen Meng finally overtook teammate Wang Manyu and won the precious qualification to represent China in the Olympic women's singles together with Sun Yingsha.
Behind this result, there is a fierce internal battle. Throughout the Paris Olympic cycle, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu have been battling to the death for women's singles qualification. Before the game, Wang Manyu led Chen Meng by nearly 2,000 points in the Olympic standings with his outstanding performances in the Singapore Grand Slam and the Macau World Cup, and was considered to have more hope of securing the Olympic ticket.
At the critical moment, Chen Meng used his strength to complete the counterattack. At the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, Chen Meng defeated Miu Hirano, Miwa Zhang and Hina Hayata, three Japanese Olympic players, and finally defeated Sun Yingsha in the final to win the championship. With this title, Chen Meng overtook Wang Manyu in the Olympic standings and finally locked up the women's singles qualification.
Wang Manyu's exit at the Saudi Grand Slam became her biggest regret for missing the women's singles qualification. According to the new rules of national table tennis, 3,000 bonus points will be deducted if you lose to players from other associations in important events. Wang Manyu unexpectedly lost to India's Batra in the 1/16 finals and was forced to deduct 3,000 points, thus significantly falling behind Chen Meng in the standings.
Wang Manyu's exit has sparked doubts from fans. Some fans believe that in the entire Olympic cycle, Wang Manyu won 8 women's singles championships, far surpassing Chen Meng's strength, and should qualify for the Olympics. They questioned whether the national team had biased behavior and gave Chen Meng more resources and guidance.
It was also pointed out that Chen Meng's outstanding performance in the Saudi Grand Slam was enough to prove that she deserved to qualify. She showed her top level by overcoming the three main Japanese players under great pressure. Regardless of whether the selection system is controversial or not, Chen Meng's strength and condition have met the standards for participating in the Olympic Games.
Ma Long's four Olympic battles, the national table tennis men's team is under heavy pressure
In addition to the women's singles, the announcement of the lineup of the national table tennis men's team has also attracted widespread attention. In this lineup, Ma Long will participate in the Olympic Games for the fourth time and become the first person in the history of national table tennis.
Ma Long has won five gold medals in the first three Olympic Games, namely the men's team in 2012, the men's singles and men's team in 2016, and the men's team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. If he wins again in Paris, Ma Long will set a record of six gold medals, becoming the athlete with the most gold medals in China's Olympic history.
The national table tennis men's team is also facing a lot of pressure at the Paris Olympics. In addition to Ma Long, Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong were also selected for the men's team list, and they will compete in the men's singles and men's team events respectively.
Wang Chuqin's form is undoubted, but Fan Zhendong has been plagued by injuries recently, and his form has been sluggish. He has lost twice this season and could drop from second to fourth in his latest world rankings. This has left the outside world worried about Fan Zhendong's Olympic prospects.
In addition to the lineup, the national table tennis men's team also faces challenges from traditional powerhouses such as Japan and Germany at the Paris Olympics. In recent years, the level of table tennis in these countries has made great progress, making the road to the championship of the national table tennis men's team more difficult.
Sun Chen, Wang Manyu, the iron triangle of the national table tennis women's team
Compared with the men's team, the lineup of the national table tennis women's team at the Paris Olympics is the "iron triangle" composed of Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu.
These three have won numerous accolades for the national team over the past few years and are some of the most familiar faces for fans. They will join hands in the women's team and women's singles events, placing high hopes on the people of the country.
Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng will play in the women's singles respectively, while Wang Manyu will focus on the women's team event. For Wang Manyu, although she missed the women's singles qualification, the women's team gold medal is also of great significance.
At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, Wang Manyu played as a substitute as a P card, and replaced the injured Liu Shiwen at a critical moment, making great contributions to the national team. In this Olympic cycle, Wang Manyu gradually grew into a top player, and partnered with Chen Meng to win two Grand Slam women's doubles titles in Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Wang Manyu deserves to be qualified for the women's group. She will fight side by side with Sun Chen and work together for the national team to win the gold medal in the women's team.
Mixed doubles new Wang Sun pair national table tennis star
In addition to the traditional events, the national table tennis will also make its debut in the mixed doubles competition at the Paris Olympics. This is both an opportunity and a challenge for Chinese table tennis.
After careful consideration by the coaching staff, the golden pair of Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha was selected to represent the national team in the mixed doubles event. The two have accumulated a lot of tacit understanding in the international arena in the past few years, and they are the most promising combination of national table tennis in this emerging project.
The national table tennis also arranged two new star players in the list announced, namely Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi. They will travel with the squad as substitutes to prepare for future successions.
Liang Jingkun and Wang Yidi are both rising stars who have emerged on the international stage in recent years, and their strength should not be underestimated. Their selection not only reflects the talent pool of the national team, but also gives the younger generation a valuable opportunity to exercise.