On October 30, 2021, the Chinese table tennis team of 10 people, Liu Guozheng, Liu Zhiqiang and Qiu Yike led Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Zhou Qihao, Liu Dingshuo, Wang Yidi, Liu Weishan and other seven people to Slovenia. Represented the Chinese table tennis team in the WTT Slovenia Tournament. The WTT Slovenia Round consists of two races, starting with Rashko from 4 to 7 November and then the regular-season challenge Novo Mesto. After the completion of the two competitions on the 14th, the 10-member team of the national table tennis team will go to the United States to meet with the national table tennis team to prepare for the Houston World Table Tennis Championships on November 23.
Liu Guozheng and a group of 10 people set off from Wenzhou to Shanghai on the afternoon of October 29, and from Shanghai to Europe on the 30th to participate in the competition. Among them, Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Zhou Qihao and Wang Yidi will all participate in the houston World Table Tennis Championships singles competition, this WTT event is a rare opportunity for them to warm up and test their skills and tactics.
For Lin Gaoyuan, this trip to Slovenia has another important task. However, this task the Chinese table tennis team did not explicitly say. The mission is to win the men's singles title in the slovenian tournament and surpass Japan's Tomokazu Jang in world ranking points.
The Chinese table tennis team fell into a more embarrassing situation after Ma Long and Xu Xin "took the initiative" to withdraw from the Houston World Table Tennis Championships. Without ma long, who is ranked second in the world, and Xu Xin, who is third, as the seeded player, Zhang Benzhi, who is ranked fourth in the world, will become the second seeded player in the men's singles of the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, and fan Zhendong will be in the upper and lower half of the zone. It is likely to lead to the Chinese table tennis team's second half of the area unguarded, and the probability of winning the championship will be reduced by half. This is also an important reason why Coach Qin Zhijian said: "Be prepared for young athletes to pay tuition".
Lin Gaoyuan is now ranked seventh in the world with 8034 points. Zhang Benzhihe is now ranked fourth in the world with 8709 points. The difference between the two was 675 points. If Lin Gaoyuan wins the men's singles championship in the slovenian tournament, each championship will have 500 points in the account, so that Lin Gaoyuan's points before the Houston World Table Tennis Championships can probably reach about 9034 points, surpassing Zhang Benzhi and 325 points. He became the fourth-ranked world champion and the second seeded man in the men's singles at the Houston World Table Tennis Championships. Defend the lower half of the chinese table tennis team, strive to block Zhang Benzhihe, and meet Fan Zhendong for the final.
However, to achieve this goal, it is still very difficult for Lin Gaoyuan. Not only do you need to defeat the unfamiliar players of the foreign association, but also you need to defeat your teammates Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Zhou Qihao and others who are similar to their own strength.
For Wang Yidi, if he is smart, he will set himself a small goal in the Slovenian tournament, that is, to win the women's singles championship in two races. Wang Yidi is now ranked 11th in the world with 6621 points. If you win two championships, you increase by 1000 points to 7621 points. It will surpass Zhu Yuling's 7335 points in one fell swoop to become the sixth in the world. In the event that Ding Ning, ranked fifth in the world, retires from the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, Wang Yidi will become the fifth seeded player in the women's singles of the Houston World Table Tennis Championships. In this way, it avoids premature encounters with Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Ito Mimachi and Wang Manyu, and lays a solid foundation for achieving good results in the World Table Tennis Championships.