WTT officially announced the two stops, and the national table tennis was absent from both stations, and Zhang Benzhi and Lin Yunru became model workersOn December 21, Beijing time, the list of participants for the WTT Doha Regular Challenge and the Goa Star Tournament has been announced, and the national table tennis team has been absent from two consecutive stops, while Lin Yunru and Zhang Benzhihe of the Foreign Association have become model workers.
Lin Yunru will be fully involved in the four races in January next year, while Tomokazu Zhang will participate in three races, including the regular challenge with 400 points, and it seems that they are really trying their best to get more points!
In January 2024, WTT will host four tournaments, including the Doha Men's Finals, the Doha Stars Match, the Doha Regular Challenger and the Goa Stars Challenge.
The national table tennis team plans to return to China quickly after the Doha Stars Tournament and will not participate in the next two tournaments, in order to fully prepare for the upcoming team event at the World Championships in Busan, in February.
Some fans may wonder why the main players do not participate in the regular challenge tournament and choose to train behind closed doorsIn fact, the second echelon will take on the role of sparring for the main players.
The tradition that the national table tennis has always adhered to is to conduct closed training before the competition, during which there will be a warm-up match within the team, which requires the participation of all members of the team.
The Doha Challenger is scheduled for 14-20 January, with the top five seeds in singles being:
Men's Singles: Lin Yunru, Zhang Yuzhen, Zhang Benzhihe, Lin Zhongxun, Falke.
Women's Singles: Shen Yubin, Yang Xiaoxin, Zhu Qianxi, Zheng Yijing, Polkanova.
On this site, although the points are only 400, the absence of the Chinese team means that the foreign association has the best chance to grab points. It is worth mentioning that players such as Hina Hayada and Misei Ito of the Japanese team chose to take a break and concentrate on preparing for the upcoming Japanese Table Tennis Olympic Trials, while Tomokazu Zhang is still working hard in the international arena and is really doing his best for points.
The Goa Stars Tournament will be held from January 23-28, and the top five seeds in the men's singles will be Hugo, Lin Yunru, F Lebrun, Zhang Yuzhen and Ocharov.
The top five seeds in the women's singles are Shen Yubin, Yang Xiaoxin, Zhu Qianxi, Zheng Yijing, and Mittram.
The list of entrants led by Lin Yunru also includes Yuan Jianan, Tian Zhixi, Du Kaiqin, Chen Siyu, Batra, Shan Xiaona, Sutasini, Pavard, A Lebrun, Lim Jong-hoon, Ahn Jae-hyun, Hwang Chun-ting, Ko Seung-rui, Darko, Aruna, Qiu Dang, Carlberg, Carlsen, Freitas, Francesca, Zhao Shengmin, Firus and many more.
France's Lebrun brothers are also in the spotlight, with Hugo choosing not to participate in the previous regular season and going all out to score 600 points in GoaFrance's rookie F. Lebrun recuperated after the men's finals and focused on competing in Goa.
Such a strategy shows that both players are smart and good at weighing the pros and cons, and as for Shin Yubin, who is competing in consecutive competitions, she is the favorite to win the women's championship and is expected to challenge for the highest ranking in the foreign association.
In the men's singles, Lin Yunru is currently ranked 6th in the world with 2,385 points, just 560 points away from No. 4 Liang Jingkun.
With Lin Yunru's strength, he is definitely likely to hit the championship in the last two stops and win high points, looking forward to the national table tennis can achieve good results in the men's finals and the Doha Star Tournament and open up the points gap!