On January 16, Beijing time, the ittf official website announced the list of participants for the 2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships. What fans can't understand is that Chen Xingtong has withdrawn from the main force. Wang Yidi is expected to become the second singles player of the women's team. The rules that the national table tennis team has just established are about to be broken again.
Breaking Rule 1: If Chen Xingtong fails to submit the entry list according to the world ranking, can he still be considered the main player if he fails in the competition?
In the Chengdu World Table Tennis Championships, the top four players of Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, and Wang Yidi were directly selected into the team lineup based on the world rankings. For the fifth place, the coaching staff adopted two selection methods: First, if Chen Xingtong won the women's singles championship in the Oman Challenge, he would directly get the fifth place in the World Table Tennis Championships team competition. Second, if Chen Xingtong does not win the women's singles championship in the Oman Challenge, the national table tennis team will hold a round-robin tournament. Chen Xingtong will compete with 6 teammates including Qian Tianyi and Kuaiman for the last spot.
In the end, Chen Xingtong won the women's singles championship in the Oman Challenge and retained his position as the fifth main player. The Busan World Table Tennis Championships is the only team competition before the Paris Olympics. Chen Xingtong was not selected for such a competition. Is she still considered the fifth main player? The key is that Chen Xingtong broke the rules when he was defeated. According to the world rankings, Chen Xingtong ranked 6th and Qian Tianyi ranked 7th. Why did the coaching staff directly apply for Qian Tianyi, who ranked lower? It can only be said that the rules are set by people, and the coaching staff can break them at any time at different stages.
Indeed, the coaching staff also gave Chen Xingtong many opportunities to participate, but the fifth sister of the national table tennis team did not seize it well. Although Wang Yidi also lost the foreign competition, she won the Asian Cup women's singles championship after all, while Chen Xingtong was eliminated in the first round. If you always stand still and make no breakthroughs, it is inevitable that you will be replaced. Moreover, Qian Tianyi is a left-handed player. Adding a left-handed player to the main team may also be beneficial to the future matching of the main players in women's doubles.
Breaking Rule 2: The order of appearance is based on the world ranking. Can Wang Yidi take on the second singles role?
There is still a month until the Busan World Table Tennis Championships starts, and Wang Yidi should be able to maintain his second position in the world before the start of this competition. The order of appearance of the national table tennis team in recent competitions is based on the world rankings. Previously, players ranked fourth and fifth in the world had no chance to play in the team semifinals and finals. As the number two player in the world, can Wang Yidi be assigned as the second singles player against the Japanese women's team?
The Japanese women’s team’s lineup for the Busan World Table Tennis Championships is: Hina Hayata, Miu Hirano, Miwa Harimoto, Miyu Kihara, and Mima Ito. Among these five opponents, Wang Yidi has never lost except for Miu Harimoto and Mima Ito. The other three have all lost in the Paris Olympic cycle, and Hina Hayata has lost twice. So, if Wang Yidi is afraid of losing in the women's team final against the Japanese team and sends Wang Manyu to play, doesn't this mean that he does not play according to the world ranking and breaks the rules set by the national table tennis team?
2024 Busan World Table Tennis Championships national table tennis women’s team entry list: Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, Qian Tianyi. What do you think of this list? Without the opportunity to participate in the competition, is Chen Xingtong drifting away from the main force? Can Wang Yidi take on the heavy responsibility of second singles? Welcome to leave messages and discuss, thank you for reading!
