Sun Yingsha carried the banner of women’s table tennis with the championship won from beginning to end
Beijing Youth Daily reporter Zhou Xueshuai
Time flies, and 2023 is coming to an end in the blink of an eye. As the gold medal team in Chinese sports, the achievements of the Chinese table tennis team have touched the hearts of the Chinese people. Looking back on this year, although new stars in the world table tennis world continue to emerge and the team faces the pressure of “wolves” surrounding them, the dominance of national table tennis remains unshakable.
The new coaching staff of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships completed the “high school entrance examination”
For national table tennis, the most important event in the first half of the year is the Durban World Table Tennis Championships in May. This is also the first world competition that the Chinese table tennis team has participated in since the establishment of the new coaching staff headed by Li Xuan, and it is also a “high school entrance examination” before the Paris Olympics. During the nine-day event, the national table tennis players showed unparalleled strength and tenacious fighting spirit, and finally won all five championship trophies, making them the well-deserved biggest winners.
While consolidating its throne in the world table tennis world, the national table tennis team not only allowed fans to re-understand the main players, but also allowed people to see the strength of the new coaching staff. Head coach Li Xun said: “Judging from the results, the team has completed this mission and it has also played a very good training role for the Paris Olympics. Through this event, the whole team has made great progress and has become more mature during the run-in.” , the atmosphere within the team is getting better and better. If we look at it according to Olympic standards, the team still has a long way to go, and the whole team should still maintain a high level of competition.”
The PyeongChang Asian Championships ended with a sweep of 7 championships
The biennial Asian Table Tennis Championships will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in September. This event is related to Olympic seats. The national table tennis “Five Tigers” Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan, and the female table tennis team Sun Yingsha , Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Wang Yidi and Chen Xing played together. They once again defended the glory of the national football with actions, and finally ended up winning 7 championships, which also laid the foundation for the subsequent Asian Games.
The national table tennis team won 6 gold medals in 7 events at this year’s Asian Games. The only gold medal lost was in the women’s doubles event. Sun Yingsha won three gold medals in women’s team, women’s singles and mixed doubles. Wang Chuqin became the first “four-time champion” in the history of Asian Games table tennis to combine men’s team, men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles championships. The two are equally popular.
In the first Mixed Team World Cup held in December, the National Table Tennis Team won the championship with a perfect victory in 9 games, once again showing its absolute overall advantage and making its opponents sigh in admiration.
Men’s team’s twin stars shine
Malone’s strength should not be underestimated
What is gratifying is that in the new Olympic cycle, the national table tennis men’s team has shown a pattern of shining stars and strong veterans. In the latest world rankings, Fan Zhendong leads the way with 6544 points and can definitely carry the banner of Chinese men’s table tennis. Wang Chuqin performed strongly this year and achieved excellent results many times. In this period full of opportunities and challenges, he will surely shoulder the important responsibility of Chinese table tennis and complement Fan Zhendong. As the well-deserved anchor of the national table tennis team, the veteran Ma Long still maintains a good competitive state. This is really the luck of the national table tennis team.
Women’s table tennis blossoms
Sun Yingsha occupies the top spot
Chinese women’s table tennis has entered an era of “five golden flowers” competing for beauty. As one of the leading figures, Sun Yingsha firmly occupies the top spot in the women’s singles, showing a unique situation. WTT wrote an article praising Sun Yingsha as “a unique existence”, which is appropriate. Winning 7 championships in one year, with a winning rate of 93% throughout the year, ranking first in the world in a discontinuous manner, 23-year-old Sun Yingsha has perfectly taken over the important task of carrying the flag for women’s table tennis. In addition, Chen Meng, Wang Yidi, Wang Manyu, and Chen Xingtong are also promoting each other, ensuring that the gold medal in the competition will not be left behind.
New Olympic cycle
Be wary of the “youth storm” in table tennis
As a banner of Chinese sports, national table tennis carries the expectations of countless Chinese people. In 2023, they undoubtedly delivered a satisfactory answer, leaving too many classic scenes, and the popularity of table tennis continued to rise. But what cannot be ignored is that after entering the Paris Olympic cycle, there have been waves of “youth storms” in the world table tennis world. The national table tennis team needs to attach great importance to this and have targeted strategies.