On December 13, Beijing time, the 32nd East Asia Hope Cup Table Tennis Championship in 2023 came to an end in Shanghai, China, and the final result was finally ushered in after several days of fierce competition. In this competition, the national table tennis women's singles won the championship with its outstanding performance and successfully won the championship and runner-up, adding another glory to Chinese table tennis. However, compared with the glory of the women's singles, the national table tennis men's singles suffered an unexpected upset, and no one advanced to the finals, which makes people think about the twists and turns of the rise of the new generation of Chinese men's table tennis.
In the women's singles, the national table tennis women's singles showed excellent strength in the final. Liu Zitong successfully defeated teammate Zhu Qihui in the final and won the women's singles championship, adding icing on the cake to the national table tennis. In addition, Zhu Qihui also performed well, won the runner-up, and won the women's singles championship and runner-up for the national table tennis. Japan's Gua Birthday Saki won the third place, drawing a perfect end to this competition.
The strong performance of the national table tennis women's singles once again confirmed China's dominance in the women's table tennis field. Liu Zitong's victory is not only a personal breakthrough, but also an encouragement to the new generation of Chinese women's table tennis. This result will further stimulate the fighting spirit of these young players and cultivate more champions for Chinese table tennis in the future.
Contrary to the outstanding results of the women's singles, the national table tennis men's singles suffered a huge upset in this East Asian Cup. In the final, South Korea's Lee Seung-so successfully defeated Japan's Sama Ohno and won the men's singles crown. Although Zhao Chenze of the national table tennis men's singles performed well and finally won the third place, the overall result was surprising.
This defeat also highlights the dilemma of the construction of the new generation of national table tennis men's singles. Since Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong, national table tennis has not been able to cultivate a new generation of star-level players. In contrast, young players from places such as Japan and Europe have emerged frequently, showing strong competitiveness. The performance of the national table tennis men's singles feeder tournament and the World Youth Championships was also unsatisfactory, forcing the Chinese table tennis community to re-examine the training plan of the men's singles echelon.
Although the results of this East Asian Cup have not changed the dominance of China, Japan and South Korea in the table tennis world, the rise of the new generation of players is a fact that cannot be ignored. In the World Cup mixed team competition and the East Asian Cup, China, Japan and South Korea still won the top three, showing the strong strength of Asia in the field of table tennis.
However, for national table tennis, especially men's singles, it is urgent to strengthen the construction of the new generation echelon. Japan's Tomokazu Zhangmoto, Europe's Lebrun brothers and other outstanding young players frequently challenge the main force of national table tennis, making the domestic training of athletes of the same age dwarf. The road ahead is long, but only by strengthening the construction of echelons can we ensure the continued glory of Chinese table tennis.
On the stage of this East Asian Cup, the national table tennis women's singles once again proved their dominance, while the men's singles faced the test of the rise of the new generation. The table tennis world is changing, and it is expected that Chinese table tennis can achieve more brilliant results in the future challenges.