The World Table Tennis Championships kicked off, and Guoping ushered in a key battle for preparing for the Paris Olympics.

　　The individual event of the 57th World Table Tennis Championships in Durban in 2023 will officially kick off on the 20th. At present, all teams have entered the competition venues for training. This tournament is a major test of China table tennis team’s ability to participate in the Paris Olympic Games, and it is also a test of the new coaching team. Guoping will participate in all competitions in five events, with the goal of winning all five championship trophies.

　　The national table tennis lineup is a combination of "old, middle and young"

　　The Durban World Table Tennis Championships will be held from May 20th to 28th. This is the first time that the World Table Tennis Championships have been settled in South Africa, and it is also the first time that Africa has hosted the World Table Tennis Championships since the Cairo World Table Tennis Championships in 1939. At the beginning of April, Guoping announced the entry list of the Durban World Table Tennis Championships: Fan Zhendong, Malone, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan in the men’s singles; The women’s singles are Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Manyu Wang, Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong; Men’s doubles are Fan Zhendong/Wang Chuqin, Lin Gaoyuan/Lin Shidong; The women’s doubles are Sun Yingsha/Manyu Wang, Chen Meng/Wang Yidi; The mixed doubles are Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha, Lin Shidong/Kuaiman.

　　This is a list of "old, middle-aged and young". Among the 12 athletes, there are not only experienced "Double Grand Slam" winners like Malone, but also backbones like Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha who have been ranked first in singles for a long time. At the same time, from the perspective of training and echelon construction, Guoping’s doubles lineup has a new face, and young players Lin Shidong/Kuaiman played mixed doubles. Different from previous years, Guoping prepared for the competition and tried to win five championships.

　　Men’s singles Liang Jingkun blocked Zhang Benzhihe.

　　In men’s singles, the "Troika" composed of Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin and Malone performed well in the competition. Fan Zhendong has occupied the first place in the men’s singles world for a long time. As long as he maintains a stable state, he is still the favourite to win the championship. Wang Chuqin, who was recently awarded the "Beijing Youth May 4th Medal", is at the peak, and his personal achievements have soared in the past two years. Malone World Series has rich experience and its stability is still trustworthy. Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun’s recent performance, comprehensive ability and external and internal situation are very good.

　　In men’s singles, Fan Zhendong and Liang Jingkun are in the upper half, and they are in the quarter and quarter respectively. Seed players in the same quarter with Fan Zhendong include Huang Zhen Ting of Hong Kong, China, Ochalov of Germany and Moregard of Sweden. The biggest obstacle to Liang Jingkun’s promotion to the semi-finals is Japanese player Zhang Benzhihe. In the past, the two have played against each other five times, and Liang Jingkun has an absolute advantage of 4 wins and 1 loss.

　　Malone, Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Chuqin are in the lower half. Among them, Ma Long and Lin Gaoyuan jointly guard the 3/4 area, and the strongest opponent in this area is China Taipei player Lin Yunru. The second seed, Wang Chuqin, is located in the quarter-fourth. He will compete with Yukiya Uta of Japan, Hugo of Brazil, falk of Sweden, Zhang Yuzhen of South Korea and Francesca of Germany for the same semi-final seat.

　　Women’s singles Chen Meng will encounter Ito Meicheng.

　　It can be said that among the five events in the World Table Tennis Championships, the women’s singles event is relatively the most stable one. Sun Yingsha has been ranked first in the women’s singles for a long time and has the absolute strength to win the women’s singles. However, she has three events in this competition, which is also a major test for her energy and physical strength. Manyu Wang’s outstanding performance in WTT Macau Championship has got rid of the trouble of injury, and if he plays steadily, he is expected to defend his title. After more than a year, Chen Meng once again hit the Grand Slam, and the task before the semi-final was to stop Japanese player Ito Meicheng. Wang Yidi and Chen Xingtong have won the singles qualification in Durban World Table Tennis Championships by virtue of their excellent ability in foreign wars. At present, they are in a critical period of competition for places in the Paris Olympic Games, and they hope to break through themselves and strive for good results.

　　Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi are in the upper half. Before the semi-final, Sun Yingsha’s main opponents were Yuan Jianan of France and Han Ying of Germany. In Zone 2/4, Wang Yidi is in the same zone as Japanese players Hayata Hina, Nagasaki Meiyou and Hirano Meiyu. Chen Meng sits in the 3/4 area. On the way to promotion, her biggest rivals will be Mikyo Muhara and Miki Ito of the Japanese team. Manyu Wang and Chen Xingtong jointly guard the 4/4 area, and they will compete with seed players such as Zhang An of American team and Zheng Yijing of China Taipei team for a semi-final seat.

　　Men’s doubles are the most worrying.

　　In the last World Table Tennis Championships in Houston in 2021, except for men’s doubles, Guoping won four championships. In this competition, the men’s doubles event is also the most worrying thing for the outside world. The main opponents of Guoping include Carlson/falk, Zhang Yuzhen/Lin Zhongxun, the champion and runner-up of the last tournament, and the lebrun brothers of the French team.

　　In the women’s doubles, Sun Yingsha/Manyu Wang, the "seafood sisters", ranked first in the world, and have won the women’s doubles titles in two consecutive World Championships and two WTT Singapore Grand Slams. They will meet the challenge of Ito Meicheng/Hayata Hina and China Taipei team combination Zheng Yijing/Li Yuzhen.

　　In the mixed doubles competition, the defending champion Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha now ranks first in the world, and has won the championship in many competitions, with rich competition experience and overall strength. Another pair of young mixed doubles, Lin Shidong/Kuaiman, now ranks seventh in the world and has won five consecutive championships in the international arena, with good strength. They will be challenged by Japanese group Zhang Benzhi and/or Hayata Hina and French group Leibesson and Yuan Jianan. Text/reporter Zhou Xueshuai (Source: Beijing Youth Daily)