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Olympic Outlook: Difficult for Chinese Ping-Pong Team to Sweep
Chinese ping-pong team won all medals in World Table Tennis Championships and Olympic Games four times, which has placed more pressure on the team. It seems that the Chinese ping-pong team can't face their compatriots if they do not win all the four gold medals in the Olympic Games.
Cai Zhenhua, the head coach of the Chinese ping-pong team, has kept low goals for the Chinese ping-pong team in the Olympics. He has repeatedly emphasized on many occasions that the Chinese ping-pong team is obviously behind the one four years ago. Thus, the current team has to face greater difficulties than the last Chinese ping-pong team.
He said, the Chinese ping-pong team will win two gold medals in a normal case. If they play well, hopefully win three gold medals. If we want to win all the four medals, the entire team must play their best to have even a shot."
The Chinese ping-pong team still has the strength to win gold medals in the four events. Cai Zhenhua evaluated the possibilities from greatest to least as: women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, men's singles.
The Chinese women's singles competitors are extremely talented. Wangnan and Liju, who are called "the two peerless women masters", held the top two world rankings all along after Deng Yaping retired and have taken turns winning the gold medals in many international competitions. Sunjin, an up and coming youngster, plays very well and has the ability win a gold medal.
They will face many worthy adversaries in the Olympics but three will threaten them for the gold: Jin Maoxiao and Liu Zhihui from Korea, and Chen Jing, from China Taipei. Only Chenjing, a gold medalist in the Seoul Olympic Games, is really a serious threat. Chen Jing has played in international competitions for more than ten years and has always kept competitive.
The men's doubles is the bright spot on the men's team. The Chinese team has invested more in this event than any other events. Since ping-pong became Olympic event in 1988, no player from another country has won the gold in men's doubles. In the international competitions in recent years, the "golden combination" of Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang, have been undefeated and Wang Liqin and Yan Sen, the "acute and vigorous partners," played well. In the recent competitions held in America and Brazil, the Chinese players all reached the finals of both competitions.
The primary adversaries of Kong Linghui and Liu Guoliang include the combinations of Waldner and Pederson from Sweden, Jin Zezhu and Liu Chengmin from Korea, and Jiang Penglong and Zhang Yanshu from China Taipei.
The Chinese team used to dominate women's double. The Chinese players won all the gold and silver medals of this event in the World Table Tennis Championship last year. The two combinations, formed by Wangnan/Liju and Yang Ying/Sunjin, should be peerless in international competition. But they lost the games one after another in the America and Brazil opens recently and didn't win any gold medals.
The combination of the Korea players, Liu Zhihui and Jin Maoxiao, which beat Wang Nan and Li Ju in Brazil is their most formidable enemy. Their partnership has lasted for many years and they play well together. The Koreans followed the example of Chinese men's team and chose the women's doubles as their strong suit. Aside from the Korean team, the combination of Chen Jing and Xu Jing, of China Taipei, also should not be underestimated.
Men's singles has always been the most competitive event. There are more than ten people who have the ability to win the gold medal include Waldner, Pederson, Jiang Penglong, Jin Zezhu are all aiming for the gold.
The Chinese men's singles players hit the skids somewhat this year. Liu Guoliang, the top player on the team, has been scarred by a "stimulant incident." The fame he gained from winning his points in three strokes was broken by Sweden and has lost in many competitions. Although he shaved head to prepare for Olympic Games and won the gold medal in the Brazil Open, finding some confidence back, he will have great difficulty playing well in the Olympics his problems with his skill is not addressed. Kong Linghui, another world champion, has stood out and played well, but he hasn't been able be consistent. Liu Guozheng and Ma Lin, the up and coming youngsters have played badly this year.
It will be very difficult for China to bring back two golds from Sydney.
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