Despite a gold-laden campaign at the world championships, China's once invincible national table tennis team has left the prestigious tournament in Doha, Qatar, with alarm bells ringing for its Olympic ambitions.
Winning four of the five events at the world championships finals, it seemed like business as usual for China's table tennis squad to have proved its mighty prowess again in the Qatari capital. However, the surging challenge from the rest of the world, underlined by the squad's early exit in men's doubles, has triggered a sense of urgency for the celebrated program.
The men's doubles final, the first event on Sunday, proceeded without a Chinese pair for the first time in 50 years, with two Chinese teams eliminated in the quarterfinals. Japan's Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami won the final after beating Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-jui and Lin Yun-ju 3-2 in the best-of-five format.
Women's World No 1 Sun Yingsha and men's World No 2 Wang Chuqin, both from China, then held court at the Lusail Sports Arena, delivering in top form to each claim a singles title, adding to their golden harvest after bagging the mixed doubles title together on Saturday.
"It felt like a huge burden relieved in my heart," Wang said after beating Brazil's reigning World Cup winner Hugo Calderano 4-1 in the best-of-seven final to win his first world championship singles gold medal.
"It was a tough battle and I am so happy to pull it off, driven by the pride representing my country and the team," said Wang, who also successfully avenged his semifinal loss to the same opponent at the Macao World Cup last month.
The recent surge of Calderano, dubbed by fans as the "Thrill from Brazil", saw the world No 3 edge out Chinese players at major events two times in a row after he beat world No 5 Liang Jingkun with a gripping semifinal win on Saturday to set up a clash with Wang. Calderano's meteoric rise has pushed Team China's best to dig harder and stay more cautious in future events.
"To face him again, I tried to position myself as a challenger. He's definitely a big threat for us in future tournaments," Wang said after helping China collect its 11th consecutive men's singles title at the worlds.
In the women's singles final, Sun retained her crown by outplaying teammate and 2021 singles world champion Wang Manyu 4-3 in a seesaw battle.
It was also the 16th consecutive women's singles final at the world championships to feature two Chinese finalists since 1995, serving as testament to the program's dominance in this event.
After a break during the men's singles final, Wang Manyu suited up again in the women's doubles final with partner Kuai Man and ended her Doha outing with a gold, after the world No 2 Chinese pair routed the Austria-Romania duo of Sofia Polcanova and Bernadette Szocs 3-0 in less than 22 minutes to cap off Team China's campaign in style.
Team China's apparent decline of dominance on the men's side, measured by its own standards, at the world championships has raised concerns over its prospects for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where the two team events have been replaced by men's and women's doubles on the Games' program.
The adjustment is expected to pose a tougher threat for China's ambition of a clean sweep of all golds at LA 2028, where international contenders are more competitive in doubles than in team events.
"We are definitely facing much more pressure now following the change in the Olympic program. The world is ready to go harder at us, and we should be prepared better as well," newly elected Chinese Table Tennis Association president Wang Liqin told Xinhua News Agency after taking office last month.
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