Site Products

China’s Olympic “Trials”: Qihao Tops Zhendong in Xingtong

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFworld)

If this event were a true Olympic Trials, the table tennis world might have just been turned on its collective ears. As each of the Chinese Olympic Team members fell to much lower ranked opponents – and if the winner made the team, a relatively unknown Zhou Qihao would now be leading the Chinese Olympic Team.

This week’s 5-day event has been called an Olympic Trial, but the team has already been chosen (in 2020) so this is more a warm-up designed to simulate Olympic conditions and prepare their team for Tokyo. The event included Fan Zhendong, Xu Win, Ma Long (World No. 1, 2, and 3 respectively) as well as Lin Gaoyuan (World No. 5), and Liang Jingkun (World No. 10), and Wang Chuqin (World No. 14), and Zhao Zihao (World No. 23).  Despite that extremely elite company, the winner was….. World No. 122, Zhou Qihao.

The Final just finished (see the video below).  World No. 1 Fan Zhendong fell to Qihao 4-2.

World No. 2 Xu Xin and World No. 4 Lin Gaoyuan both lost in the group stage and failed to make the Quarterfinals.  Xu Xin fell to Lin Shidong, a 15 year old phenom who will likely be finding his way onto the National Team in the next year.  Lin Gaoyuan fell to savvy veteran Fang Bo.  *Lin Shidong fell 4-2 to Fan Zhendong – playing close for three games, but then fading.

Zhou Qihao’s final two matches?  A win over World No. 1 Fan Zhendong and a win over World No. 3 Ma Long.  Qihao isn’t a rising junior, he’s an elite talent who has been inconsistent through his rise and that has kept him off the top tier of the Chinese Team.  Still, despite peaking at World No. 37, since 2018 Qihao has logged wins against Ovtcharov, Chih-Yuan, Samsonov, Franziska, Duda, Jingkin, and (of course) now Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.

China is 80 days away from competing in Tokyo – perhaps the upsets this week will be a wake-up call that will help prevent similar missteps when it really counts.

 

Latest News

Geovanni Coello – Short Game to Open Play

September 2, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Geovanny Coello is working with his student on executing a… Read More

MLTT is back in less than a week!

September 2, 2025
(by: Major League Table Tennis) Opening Week Is Around the Corner — Sep 5–7 It’s been months in the… Read More

That One Good Block

September 2, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) The stronger the player, the more predictable their attacking shots tend to be. Why? Because… Read More

Contact the Ball Earlier

September 1, 2025
Robot plays short backspin to Backhand, Jhon Backhand push to long Backhand, robot plays very spinny topspin to… Read More

Jonathan Pino – Falkenburg

September 1, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Butterfly Training Tips, Jonathan Pino is executing the Falkenburg Drill https://youtu.be/BRcvQsyegPo Stay “In The… Read More

US Open Teams Championships: Drama, Determination, and Destination

September 1, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) Labor Day weekend in Myrtle Beach saw more than the typical sun, surf, and seafood —it… Read More

WAB CLUB FEATURE: EC Sports Table Tennis

August 31, 2025
(By Steve Hopkins) EC Sports Table Tennis was founded by 1996 Olympian Amy Feng to spread the joy of… Read More

Pan American Youth Championships Recap

August 31, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins, photo WTT) The ITTF Pan American Youth Championships 2025 finished on Sunday in Rosario, Argentina. … Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.