Liu Shiwen (L) and Xu Xin (R) of China in the mixed doubles quarterfinal of ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, December 12, 2019.
Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, has made it clear that China aims for all five table tennis golds at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. However, he has not announced his choices for the national team.
After a whole year of different competitions, Xu Xin and Liu Shiwen are leading the contest and if nothing goes wrong, they should be able to secure two spots in the Chinese national team. The bigger problem stays with the rest of the four members. China never lacks great players in table tennis but it's never an easy decision to make for the national team.
Chinese table tennis legend Deng Yaping
Chinese table tennis legend Deng Yaping recently shared her views on the issue and she seemed to have a point. "It's gonna be a hard call to make, choosing for the national team, because there are two standards to be considered. One is to pick the best players and the other is to pick the most consistent players. In this case, consistency beats goodness," said Deng, according to Tencent Sports.
Many table tennis fans may be used to watching Chinese players claiming victories and reaping titles like eating at a buffet, but the Chinese national team is more familiar with the "accidental" loss of championship at World Championship, World Cup and of course, Summer Olympics.
In other words, no matter how many open titles one has won, it may not speak louder than one Olympic gold medal.
Fan Zhendong (L), Ma Long (R) of China at the awards ceremony of men's singles of ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province, December 15, 2019.
Things are relatively simple on men's side. Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong have been China's confirmed unit since the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Though Ma and Fan struggled for quite a while this year, both managed to go through the difficult days and look better than before.
Women's side post a bigger question mark. 19-year-old Sun Yingsha has been known for her aggressive way of playing. She's confident, decisive and never afraid of confronting Japan's Mima Ito, one of the major rivals for China. Nonetheless, sometimes, Sun can have problem remaining focused and if she snaps, it will cost the team terribly.
Sun Yingsha (L) and Chen Meng (R) of China in women's doubles quarterfinal of the ITTF Team World Cup in Tokyo, Japan, November 8, 2019.
Compare with Sun, Chen Meng has more complete skills but improvising is never her forte. Sometimes, she seems to lack confidence as well. The good news is that Chen has been improving – judging by her performance in recent competitions. At least for the moment, she's China's most reliable choice to take on Ito.
As for the two veterans, Liu Shiwen and Ding Ning, things are also different. As we mentioned above, Liu has already proved her reliability. She played at the Olympics before, won singles titles at both the World Championship and the World Cup. Liu can also be a good choice for women's and mixed doubles.
Ding, by contrast, is less hopeful as aging hurt her ability in singles competition, which was reflected in her losses against foreign players. Ding's advantage is her experience and she can still make a good partner in doubles. If China's young players prove to be trustworthy, the team won't have to send Ding. However, if Ding has to be selected, it is also a reason to worry about women's team.