Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, November 30 (Reporters Su Bin, Zhang Han) On the 29th local time, the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships ended in Houston, USA. The Chinese team won four of the five championships.
Although it failed to replicate the feat of Budapest's five championships two years ago, the Chinese team still showed outstanding overall strength despite the constant upset.
This is the first time in the history of the World Table Tennis Championships to be held in the United States. It coincides with the 50th anniversary of Sino-US "Ping Pong Diplomacy". The pairing of athletes from the two countries to participate in the mixed doubles event also made a good story in this tournament.
For Guoping, the singles scene seems to reappear yesterday.
The same as in Budapest, the four national table tennis players were drawn into the same half, and the final opponent was still from Sweden.
The women's singles event won the semi-finals and showed its dominance.
Due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics for one year, the World Table Tennis Championships are only less than four months away from the end of the Olympic Games, leaving insufficient time for teams to adjust.
Three veterans Malone, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen offered to take a break, and Guoping played in the Houston World Table Tennis Championships with a new generation lineup.
In the men's singles competition, Fan Zhendong won the "civil war" for three consecutive rounds and ushered in the ultimate duel with the 19-year-old Swedish "dark horse" Moregard, and finally proved the world's first singles champion with the first World Table Tennis Championships. The level has also taken a solid step towards the position of the leader of the national table tennis men's team.
As he said after winning the championship, the championship is not the end, and I hope that I can get to the next level through the championship.
Zhou Qihao, who was in the lower half alone, failed to pass the barrier of Boll. The latter advanced to the semifinals and staged a dialogue between European players with Moregard. After seven games, he regretted losing, but the German veteran used him. Perseverance brought surprises and touches to the fans.
In contrast, the performances of Japanese and South Korean players were sluggish. The Japanese team led by Zhang Benzhi and the Japanese team had all been eliminated after the first three rounds. As the "single seedling" of the Korean team in the top-16, Lin Jong-hoon was led by three rounds. Moregard staged a big reversal.
The Chinese team's advantage in the women's singles event is even more obvious. All five participating players advanced to the quarterfinals.
In the quarter-finals, Wang Yidi completed a blockade against Mima Ito, the biggest rival of National Table Tennis. Chen Meng swept another Japanese player Kasumi Ishikawa. Sun Yingsha eliminated South Korean chipper Xu Xiaoyuan. Guoping ensured that he would win the championship, second and third place.
After entering the Olympic lineup as a substitute and winning the women's team gold medal with the team, Wang Manyu has significantly improved his skills and mentality.
Prior to this, she defeated Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha consecutively to win the singles championship at the National Games, where the competition is comparable to that of the World Series.
Coming to the World Table Tennis Championships, Wang Manyu copied the success of the National Games and once again won his first World Table Tennis Championships singles championship after defeating two teammates in the Olympic team gold medal lineup.
In addition, she also defended the women's doubles title with Sun Yingsha.
Through the Tokyo Olympics, the national table tennis women's team successfully completed the transition from new to old.
Wang Manyu's recent outstanding performance in the competition has provided strong support for the national table tennis women's team to maintain its dominance.
Women’s team coach Li Xuan believes that the young players have played more mature than in the Olympics. After the baptism of the Olympics, they will gradually be able to provoke the Chinese team.
Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha won the mixed doubles championship for the national table tennis, and the biggest highlight of the event is undoubtedly the two pairs of China and the United States.
Before the start of the World Table Tennis Championships, the Chinese Table Tennis Association and the United States Table Tennis Association submitted an application for a mixed doubles team to the ITTF, which was approved.
Although the first time the partners played in the official competition, there were not many opportunities for joint training, but the two cross-association combinations still showed a certain degree of competitiveness. Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang An broke into the semi-finals, and Wang Manyu/Karnak stopped in the third round.
Compared with the results, the paired competitions of the two countries' athletes themselves have attracted more attention.
Liu Guoliang, Chairman of the Council of the World Table Tennis Professional League and Chairman of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said, “If the carrier of table tennis and the interaction between the two countries’ table tennis players on the field can convey the friendship between the two peoples, everyone will feel that this is The glory in the history of table tennis."
The only national table tennis champion lost came from the men's doubles.
The absence of Ma Long and Xu Xin caused a certain loss in the competitiveness of the national table tennis project.
Karlsson/Falke defeated two consecutive national table tennis pairs Wang Chuqin/Fan Zhendong and Lin Gaoyuan/Liang Jingkun in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and finally helped the Swedish team win the men's doubles championship in the World Table Tennis Championships for the first time in 30 years.
The Chinese team started the preparations for the Paris Olympic cycle with the four championships of the World Table Tennis Championships.
Looking forward to the future, the men’s team coach Qin Zhijian said that it is necessary to hone the ability of young players to resist pressure on the court. In addition, the team must continue to innovate. “No matter what height the Chinese table tennis team reaches, it must always innovate and develop. To lead the trend of the world table tennis."