Team China at Tokyo 2020: To seek dominance despite all difficulties

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Top L-R: Chinese table tennis players Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng and Liu Shiwen. Bottom L-R: Chinese table tennis players Xu Xin, Ma Long and Fan Zhendong. /CGTN

Team China is sending eight players to the Tokyo Olympics for five table tennis events. The list is as follows:

Men's singles: Ma Long, Fan Zhendong

Women's singles: Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha

Mixed doubles: Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen

Men's team event: Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Wang Chuqin (backup)

Women's team event: Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, Liu Shiwen, Wang Manyu (backup)

Fan Zhendong (L) and Ma Long of China pose on the podium during the medal ceremony after the men's singles final match in the International Table Tennis Federation at the Zhengzhou Olympic Sports Center in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, November 22, 2020. /CFP

Ma Long, who won the men's singles table tennis gold medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016, and Fan Zhendong, who is the current International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) No. 1 men's singles player, make the best formation to compete for the men's singles gold in Tokyo.

Xu Xin will join the two in the men's team event. Xu was a member of the team that won the title in Rio and has paired with Ma, Zhang Jike and Fan to win multiple men's doubles gold medals in several World Table Tennis Championships. It's safe to say that Xu is the best men's doubles choice for China.

"All three of our players for the men's events are in their best form and health. Their injuries all under control too. They are the best the national team can send to Tokyo," said coach Qin Zhijian.

Chinese table tennis players Chen Meng (L) and Sun Yingsha. /CFP

On the women's side, current ITTF No. 1 singles player Chen Meng has won nine international and five domestic titles in the past two years. Twenty-year-old Sun Yingsha has beaten China's biggest challenger, Mima Ito of Japan, multiple times, including in the World Championships and World Cup.

Liu Shiwen won the women's team event gold with her teammates in Rio in 2016. She also claimed the title in the women's singles and mixed doubles events in the World Championships in 2019. She suffered a series of injuries afterward but overcame them all and got herself ready for the women's team and mixed doubles in the Tokyo Olympics.

Liu Shiwen (L) and Xu Xin of China in the mixed doubles quarterfinal match in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, December 12, 2019. /CFP

The mixed doubles event has been added to the Olympics in Tokyo for the first time, making it even more attractive to players around the world. Its final will happen before the final of other events too. Winning the mixed doubles gold would therefore make a good start for the Chinese national team.

Coach Ma Lin called Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen the best pair China can send to Tokyo. The two not only won multiple international championships together but have kept a 3-0 record over Japan's ace pair Jun Mizutani/Mima Ito.

Wang Chuqin (L) and Wang Manyu compete in a mixed doubles match during the Tokyo Olympic warm-up domestic event in Weihai, east China's Shandong Province, June 21, 2021. /Xinhua News Agency

Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu are the backup players (p-card holders) for the national team, and their stage will be Paris in 2024.

"We are confident and will continue to grow more united, more powerful and more integral, beating every challenge we meet. We will respond to people's expectations and make our players' efforts count by defending the honor of the Chinese national table tennis team in Tokyo," said coach Liu Guoliang.

(Top image designed by CGTN's Li Wenyi)

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