(by Steve Hopkins, photo ITTF)
China has dominated major team events for several decades (in both Men’s and Women’s team events), so it is not unexpected at all that Chinese squads sporting players who are World Nos. 1-3 won a team event played in Hangzhou, China against Asia’s best. China winning the 2023 Asian Games team events was almost a given. But let’s give credit where credit is due – China’s Men’s team defeated Korea 3-0 on Tuesday to cap off a tournament run that included three wins, all 3-0. In fact, Chinese players did not lose a game in their match against Singapore in the Quarterfinals, or against Taipei (with their very strong Lin Yun-Ju as anchor). In fact, the only game dropped by any Chinese player in the Men’s team event was Wang Chuqin losing the second game to Korea’s Lim Jonghoon in opening team match of the Gold Medal Match – Chuqin went on to win 3-1.
The Women’s Team event mirrored the men’s results. China topped Vietnam 3-0, then Thailand 3-0, and then Japan 3-0. China’s women did have some trouble against Japan, with Sun Yingsha winning 3-1 over Hina Hayata, Chen Meng winning 3-2 over Miu Hirano, and Many Wang winning 3-1 over Miwa Harimoto (in a match where Japan’s top ranked Mima Ito did not play). “Some trouble” is relative, as China still won the Gold Medal Match 3-0.
As the world gears up for the Olympics and the other major tour events this Fall and next Spring leading up to Paris, it is clear that China will be very heavy favorites to sweep any team events. It is not uncommon for a major tournament to see one or two major upsets of top seeds as the singles rounds progress – but to put this in perspective as China currently holds the top three spaces in both Men’s and Women’s World Rankings – to beat a Chinese team, there would have to be three major, news-worthy upsets in a single team match.
Still, there is plenty of drama ahead for team events as we look to 2nd and 3rd places. Here in this tournament, Korea and Taipei both played well. Japan is on schedule to peak next year with Harimoto as the anchor and young players quickly improving. And, perhaps Iran, with its 3-0 upset of Japan has entered the discussion as a dark horse medal contender in Paris next year? Certainly the European teams will have their say as well – so when you add Germany, Sweden, and France to this Asian mix, it should make for some great team table tennis next Summer.
Next up in Hangzhou are singles and doubles events. Some of the early matches are underway today, and the top seeds will see action starting Thursday. We’ll have more updates throughout the weekend.
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