WTT Star Contender Goa: Despite Ma Long and Chen Meng’s absence, Liang Jingkun headlines Chinese sweep

Then, just days before the event, it was announced that Long and other top Chinese players, including women’s Olympic champion Chen Meng, had withdrawn due to Covid-19 and injuries. The Chinese had decided to rest their main team ahead of next week’s Singapore Smash, the top-tier WTT tournament, and sent their second division side instead.

Only the men’s world number one Fan Zhendong was seen as the main Chinese player, and when he shockingly lost in the series to 32nd-ranked Cho Daeseong of Korea, China’s dominance was threatened and Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto emerged as the favourite.
But China showed why they rule the table tennis world when they managed to capture the men’s and women’s singles here on Sunday.

What was striking about the wins was that both the winners were not in the initial list of players coming to India for the tournament. It was only after Long and Meng withdrew that they were told they had to travel to India.

Petra Sorling, President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF); Cheng I-Ching (women’s singles runner-up); Wang Yidi (Women’s Singles Winner) and Shri. Anurag Thakur, Hon’ble Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Minister for Youth and Sports

In the women’s singles, China’s Wang Yidi swept aside Cheng I-Ching 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4), but the highlight of the day was the men’s singles final between the two Chinese. paddlers teenage prodigy Lin Shidong and 26-year-old Liang Jingkun. The experienced Jingkun won 4-2 (11-6, 9-11, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9) in a match that fully lived up to its lofty billing.

After winning the first game, Jingkun lost the next two and was in a difficult situation 1-7 in the fourth. But he fought back and saved three game points at 7-10 before winning 10-12. The fight was something he had to do in the next game as well, when he was down 10-8. In the sixth, however, the situation was the opposite. Leading 8-2, the world No. 7 allowed Shidong to equalize before holding his nerve to close out the match.

Although Shidong lost, he treated table tennis lovers who had traveled from all over India, mainly Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi, to some exciting action in the first WTT tournament held on Indian shores.

Cheng I-Ching & Li Yu-Jhun (women’s doubles runners-up) and Miyu Nagasaki & Miwa Harimoto (women’s doubles winners) on the right, and Shunsuke Togamai & Yukiya Uda (men’s doubles runners-up) and Cho Seungmin & Jaehyun (men’s doubles winners) on the left. (WTT)

One of the main paddlers of the Chinese national team, Shidong has many hopes to ride with him. With his lightning-quick forehands and counter-spin, he is considered Longs’ successor and has some formidable shoes to fill. Jingkun even admitted after the final that he will treat Shidong as the main player of the Chinese team in the coming years. .

Challenger of the Paris Games

Jingkun himself has been in phenomenal form and is seen as a medal contender for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He had been in superb form all week leading up to the final, posting impressive wins over world top 30 players Wong Chun Ting and Lin Gaoyuan. His 3-1 quarter-final win over Harimoto was a thrilling topspin contest.

China dominates the world table tennis rankings. The top three men and top four women are all from the country. By far, they have been the most successful country when it comes to TT at the Olympics, winning a whopping 60 medals, including 36 gold.

When asked what they do differently that makes them such a dominant force, Jingkun just laughed. There is no secret ingredient. We just train hard as a team. We train together and constantly motivate each other to get better, he said.

Then there’s also the mentality of never giving up, which Jingkun showed quite prominently in the title match.

My thought was positive. Even though he (Shidong) played really well, because I was mentally strong, I was able to pull through to win. Even when you’re down, the mindset is to make a comeback. You just have to stay positive, Jingkun said.

It may be his first Star Contender title, having previously won four WTT series trophies, but Jingkun has no time to celebrate. I just want to go home and rest before the Singapore event next week, he said.

He wasn’t considered a smash favorite, but this win doesn’t rule him out.