The Chinese table tennis team has arrived in Busan, South Korea at 17 o'clock Beijing time on February 12, led by world No. 1 Fan Zhendong and Sun Yingsha. The entourage includes a strong team of sparring partners and coaches who aim to defend their men's and women's titles and prepare for the upcoming showdown in Paris.
In the early morning of February 12, under the leadership of head coach Li Falcon, the top 10 main players of national table tennis Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, Lin Gaoyuan, as well as Sun Yingsha, Wang Yidi, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu, and Chen Xingtong set off from Haikou Meilan Airport to Busan, South Korea.
After the national table tennis team members finished the Doha regular challenge, they went to Wanning, Hainan Province to start more than 20 days of winter training. According to the usual practice, retired veterans Hou Yingchao, Yan An, Fang Bo, Zhou Yu and others were invited to serve as assistant coaches to help the main players Fan Zhendong, Wang Chuqin, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan improve their ball skills and actual combat ability.
The slogan at the training ground reads: Strict Management, Initiative, Defending the Title in Busan, Decisive Battle in Paris, Self-Pressurization, Strengthening Fitness, Meticulous and Targeted. During the winter training period, the team conducted a test match as planned, and the news from the front showed that the main players were brewing to win or lose in the game, and gained valuable practical experience. There was no holiday during the Spring Festival, and the team members made dumplings by hand on Chinese New Year's Eve and tried the fun of being "chefs". On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the team also held a mixed team competition, where Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Chen Meng, Sun Yingsha, etc. demonstrated their superb skills and won bursts of applause from the coaches and teammates. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, before leaving Busan, the players were still in training, and it can be said that the winter training in Hainan has achieved the expected results.
At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Beijing time on February 12, all the soldiers arrived safely in Busan, South Korea after a long-distance flight, and are about to start training to adapt to the venue and prepare for the official competition on the 16th.
On the flight to Busan, South Korea, in addition to the 10 main players, there were also some coaches, including head coach Li Falcon, men's team head coach Wang Hao, women's team head coach Ma Lin, mixed doubles head coach Xiao Zhan, Qiu Yike, Xu Hui and Liu Heng. In addition, Qin Zhiji, vice chairman of the Table Tennis Association, and He Xiao, the leader of the national table tennis team, will also go to South Korea to supervise the battle.
Among the sparring players, the lineup of the men's team includes: Lin Shidong, Liu Dingshuo, Xue Fei and Yu Ziyang; The lineup of the women's team is: Zhang Rui, Li Yake, Wang Xiaotong and Zhu Sibing. Judging from these 8 sparring players, there are mostly young rookies, providing them with an opportunity to learn and experience.
The Chinese men's table tennis team has won the Swaythling Cup 22 times before participating in the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, and the women's team has also won the Babylon Cup 22 times. At the 56th World Table Tennis Championships held in Chengdu, the Chinese men's and women's teams both won the championship. Participating in the Busan World Table Tennis Championships this time, the Chinese men's and women's teams, as the defending champions, will go out with a complete main lineup and strive to defend their titles. Their goal is for the men's team to lift the Swaythling Cup again, while the women's team lifts the Cobillon Cup. Let's cheer for the Chinese men's and women's teams together!