The Chinese table tennis team is about to usher in a high-profile competition in 2024 - the Doha Star Challenge. As the first game of the Olympic year, the Chinese team had to secure a perfect start, so they fielded the strongest line-up that could be called invincible. The five main players of the men's and women's teams gathered together, in addition, the men's team also has Lin Shidong, and the women's team has Qian Tianyi.
The configuration of this lineup shows that the coaching staff of the Chinese table tennis team attaches great importance to this game. At the same time, Fan Zhendong received a special treatment, which also means that he has already qualified for the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics in advance. In the team event, he will play as a men's singles player, so there is no need to practice men's doubles.
Although Fan Zhendong has partnered with Wang Chuqin to win the World Table Tennis Championships, now Wang Chuqin still needs to participate in the men's doubles competition and partner with Ma Long. In contrast, Fan Zhendong's spot has been confirmed by the coaching staff as men's singles, and the combination with Wang Chuqin has also been disbanded.
This means that he can focus on the singles competition, as it is certain that he will be a singles member of the men's team at the Olympics. Fan Zhendong has secured his position and secured an early Olympic ticket. However, Wang Chuqin's situation is quite dangerous, because it is still unknown whether he will be able to withstand the pressure without his super partner "Little Fat".
He needs to work well with Ma Long, otherwise his prospects at the Olympics will not be optimistic. If we look at the matter more cautiously, then Malone's chances of getting a third spot will be more adequate. After all, Wang Chuqin's place is still undecided, because his combination with Fan Zhendong has been disbanded, which also means that Fan Zhendong cannot support him.
In contrast, Chubby has already made the cut, which shows that he has what it takes to get through. For Wang Chuqin, he still needs to compete with Lin Gaoyuan and Liang Jingkun to have a chance of qualifying.