Looking back on the international competitions in 2023, let's take a look at the performance of the five main players of the national table tennis women's team. Among them, Sun Yingsha is the best, she has won seven singles titles, which can be called the world No. 1. Although Sun Yingsha was challenged by a foreign player and lost to Miu Hirano, she could have won eight singles titles this year. However, compared to 2022 and 2021, Sun's consistency has decreased, mainly because her playing skills are no longer ahead as she gets older. Zhang's successive challenges prove this. Although her opponent is only 15 years old, she has continued to challenge Sun Yingsha in three events, and has achieved remarkable results.
Last year's Zhang Benmei was yet to compete at the top level, and despite her young age, her skills have matured, which is the main reason why Sun Yingsha is a threat. Next year, it will be difficult for Sun Yingsha to win so many championships. Although Sun Yingsha has won seven championships, only the Hangzhou Asian Games championship is the most substantial, and the other events have national table tennis teammates to relieve her pressure. In the women's singles final of the Hangzhou Asian Games, Sun Yingsha defeated Hina Hayada and won the championship. Chen Xingtong only won the Bangkok Star Challenge in 2023, and he did it alone.
Chen Xingtong not only won the singles event, but also won the doubles and mixed doubles events, becoming a true triple crown winner. In the doubles competition, Chen Xingtong partnered with Kuo Man to win the championship, and she was more adaptable in the doubles competition, surpassing the other main teammates. Chen Meng's best result this year was a doubles runner-up at the World Table Tennis Championships, but she failed to win four finals in all competitions. As a veteran of national table tennis, it is difficult for Chen Meng to win the championship again. This is not to say that Chen Meng's stability has decreased, but in the duel with Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, Chen Meng is always a little lacking in details.
In the final, Chen Meng no longer had an advantage in the duel with Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha, which was in stark contrast to the previous two years. Chen Meng is undoubtedly the most frequently defeated player by Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu in this Olympic cycle. Although fans still think that Chen Meng is the first choice for singles competitions at the Olympics, she has lost back-to-back matches on the international stage this year, especially by Europeans, which has surprised many fans. Considering Chen Meng's current strength, it seems that participating in the Olympic team event is more suitable for her. Chen Meng also seems to understand this, and is no longer obsessed with winning the singles competition.
In the finals, she also admitted that she was very close to Hina Hayata, and either side could win. Her statement has been very clear, so whether Chen Meng can compete in next year's Olympics will depend on the adjustment of the coaching staff. Wang Yidi won the Goa Star Challenge and the singles title at the Frankfurt Championship this year. In the Eintracht Frankfurt Championship, Wang Manyu was in the bottom half of the bracket and defeated Zhu Qianxi and Hina Hayada in succession. At that time, Wang Yidi defeated Ito in the top half, and she did not face too strong opponents on the international stage.
However, Wang Yidi was defeated by Hina Hayada in the singles competitions of the World Table Tennis Championships and Asian Games, which are the most important of the year, so the player will need to play against Japanese table tennis players if he wants to compete in next year's Olympics. Although she has won two singles titles this year, there is still room for further improvement. On the other hand, Wang Manyu has won three singles titles this year, including the Macau Championships, the Asian Championships and the Taiyuan Challenger. Fans can't deny that Wang Manyu faces strong opponents in every international event.
Although the Taiyuan Challenge did not have a high number of points, Wang Manyu defeated the strong Zhu Qianxi and won in a big reversal. It is worth noting that before the two sides fought, Sun Yingsha personally practiced with Zhu Qianxi, and Zhu Qianxi also brought a lot of trouble to Wang Manyu in the game. However, Wang Manyu still has a gap compared to her in terms of ability to withstand pressure, but she won with her comprehensive strength. As for the Asian Championships, not to mention. Wang Manyu defeated Chen Meng, Wang Yidi and Sun Yingsha in succession in this event to finally win the singles championship.
It is worth mentioning that she did not even have her head coach to accompany her in the Asian Championships, and many times she had to rely on herself to train and prepare for the competition, and also had to practice with foreign players at the table. Therefore, the evaluation of the five main players of Chinese table tennis still needs to be specifically analyzed, and the advantages and disadvantages cannot be judged only by the number of times they have won the championship. Because in many competitions, the five main players participate together, which virtually reduces the gold content of their championship. The road to the 2023 championship can be described as extremely challenging, and in this fierce competition, Wang Manyu is undoubtedly in first place, followed by Chen Xingtong, Sun Yingsha in third, and Wang Yidi in fourth.
As for Chen Meng, although she did not win the championship, she was not counted in this ranking. When it comes to the 2024 competition, it is still in full swing. The national table tennis team sends five main players to participate in almost every event, and at first, fans may not be able to notice the difference. However, as the number of entries increased, fatigue began to manifest in some of the players, and at the same time, it became more difficult for the five main players to participate. And at the moment, the players are facing a watershed moment. Only those who can compete alone and win the championship will be able to truly show their strength, because it means that they can overcome the difficulties of the competition.