There are no doubt many reasons why table tennis in China is so strong. One of them is surely the fact that the norm is intense competition.
Consider the national teams which China can field, no-one is there by divine right, no-one is so far ahead of the field that they cannot be challenged. There are no superstars in the elite of Chinese table tennis when it comes to selection, yet in the big, wide world of table tennis, they are all superstars.
Fact Underlined
It is fact underlined by the situation in the Chinese Super League.
Wang Liqin has won the Men’s Singles event at the World Championships on no less than three occasions; in fact he has won every title the event has to offer. It puts him amongst the all time greats of table tennis.
Yet, following the end of the first stage of matches in the Chinese Super League, his name does not appear amongst the top five players in the averages and his team, Shanghai Pudong, will not feature in the title play-off.
Relegation Fight
The top four teams progress to compete for the title, Shanghai Pudong completed the first phase of matches in seventh spot in a division of nine teams and now have to fight for relegation.
Furthermore, he has good support: Chuang Chih-Yuan, Shang Kun and Zhang Yang are his colleagues.
Best Record but No Place in Title Race
Meanwhile, in the Women’s Team competition the player with the best record in Liu Shiwen; of the 31 singles matches in which she has competed, she has won 25 of the contests. Yet despite her efforts, her team Guangdong Shenzhen Changyuan will not feature in the title race.
They concluded the first series of matches in an agonisingly fifth place; just as with Wang Liqin, Liu Shiwen had tremendous support. Ai Fukuhara, Jiang Huajun and Jia Jun were her colleagues.
Top Four Men’s Teams
Focus is now on the top four teams.
After the first series of matches, Shandong Luneng (Zhang Jike, Zhang Chao, Fang Bo) lead the Men’s Division, followed by Zeshang Bank (Ma Long, Hao Shuai, Oh Sang Eun), Bayi Rongsheng (Yan An, Wang Hao, Liu Yang) and Ningbo Haitian (Tang Peng, Wu Hao, Ma Lin, Wang Jianjun).
Zhang Jike leads the Men’s Singles averages, he has won 21 of his 26 singles matches.
Seeking Gold
Top place for Shandong Luneng in the Men’s Division; whilst in the Women’s Division, the top team after the first phase of matches is Datong Yungang represented by Wu Yang, Li Xiaodan and Feng Tianwei.
They qualify for the title fixtures alongside Liaoning Anshan (Wen Jia, Guo Yue, Chang Chengchen, Li Qian), Shandong Luneng (Kim Kyung Ah, Li Xiaoxia, Peng Yulang) and Shanxi Datuhe (Rao Jingwen, Tie Yana, Fan Ying).
Source: ittf.com
