China have received 28 of 32 desk tennis gold medals awarded at the Olympics, however their supremacy might face its largest take a look at but in Tokyo this summer season.
Few international locations have dominated a sport fairly like China has in desk tennis — profitable each gold for the final three Games — however one state media outlet has damaged ranks to warn of a “disaster”.
Home advantage for fierce rivals Japan, inconsistent form among China’s top players and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic suggest the world’s most populous country might not have it all their own way when the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics start in just over two months.
Alarm bells rang earlier this month when what was billed as an Olympic simulation among China’s players threw up some shock results.
Zhou Qihao, ranked 122nd in the world, stunned reigning Olympic singles champion Ma Long and world number one Fan Zhendong to win the men’s title.
There was also an upset in the mixed doubles, which will make its Olympic debut in Tokyo.
State-run China News Service was unusually fierce in its appraisal, calling it “a wake-up call” and a “not-so-small disaster”.
“The form of the main players is so up and down, can it be readjusted before the Olympics?” requested the information company, warning in regards to the menace from the Japanese staff.
Mima Ito, the ladies’s world quantity two from Japan, has been recognized by Chinese media because the prime menace to a different clear sweep in Tokyo.
There can also be Japan’s 17-year-old prodigy Tomokazu Harimoto — whose mother and father are Chinese — within the males’s singles.
Peng You, editor-in-chief of the web journal Ping Pong, dismissed discuss of a disaster.
Other pundits framed the stunning latest outcomes as wholesome competitors, and proof of China’s outstanding depth of expertise.
“If issues are uncovered at Tokyo as an alternative of at this simulation, that may be the worst factor,” said Chinese Table Tennis Association president Liu Guoliang.
Not ‘invincible’
Peng said that the biggest problem for the Chinese players was the expectations of fans. For some, anything but all five gold medals in Tokyo will be failure.
“Most fans or so-called fans only pay attention to the result and don’t know much about the details or the inside story,” he stated.
“Our previous wonderful outcomes conceal many current issues. Everyone thinks that the Chinese staff is invincible… this isn’t the case.”
With a strong Japanese team enjoying home advantage, Peng believes that “the threat is unprecedented” since desk tennis turned a full Olympic sport in 1988.
Aside from China, the one different international locations to win Olympic desk tennis titles are South Korea (thrice) and Sweden (as soon as).
China this week named their six-member staff for Tokyo and the announcement made waves after world champion Liu Shiwen was controversially unnoticed of the ladies’s singles line-up.
Instead the 30-year-old, who has suffered with accidents, will play staff occasions and blended doubles.
A hashtag associated to Liu racked up at least 370 million views on the Twitter-like Weibo, underlining the extreme curiosity within the staff.
Peng says China will in all probability once more win all 5 golds in Tokyo, however he is not going to be disillusioned in the event that they don’t.
“I personally consider that for desk tennis on a worldwide scale, it is a good factor (not profitable every thing),” Peng said.
“That would be more conducive to the promotion and development of the game.
“Because if it’s not only China, the sport will have more charm.”
The Tokyo Games, which have been postponed from final summer season due to the pandemic, are scheduled to start on July 23.
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