(by Steve Hopkins)
With the seedings set as Paris is just days away, the most current ITTF Rankings have little impact on the Games, but do offer a snap shot into how well the world’s best are currently playing.
World No. 1 Wang Chuqin will be a heavy favorite in Men’s Singles, and the Chinese Men will be heavy favorites in the Team event. But according to the most recent rankings, the other Chinese Men’s Singles entrant, Fan Zhendong, is the World’s 4th best player. Due to late surges, Liang Jingkun has jumped to No. 2, and Ma Long has jumped to No. 3. Ma Long is expected to see action in the Team Event but will not play Singles, and it is likely Liang Jingkun will see no action in Paris at all.
France has peaked at the right time – with Felix Lebrun (World No. 5) set to be the third seed in Singles, and with brother Alexis Lebrun (World No. 16) and Simon Gauzy (World No. 29), France should be in medal contention both in Men’s Singles and Men’s Teams. Japan will have two players in the Top 10 in Paris – Tomokazu Harimoto (World No. 9) and Shunsuke Togami (World No. 15). Germany will also have two players in the Top 10 seeds in Paris with Dang Qiu (World No. 11) and Dimitrij Ovtcharov (World No. 14) – though Germany’s top ranked player (Patrick Freanziska at No. 10) will not be a factor in Paris for Germany. Korea may be a dark horse medal contender with Jan Woojin (World No. 13), and Cho Daeseong and An Jaehyun at World No. 20 and No. 21.
At least for the Men’s Singles competition, big absences at the top of the rankings as World Nos. 2, 3, 7, 10, and 12 have all failed to qualify. That list, in order, is Liang Jingkun, (defending Champion) Ma Long, Lin Gaoyuan, Patrick Franziska, and Lin Shidong. Most of the reason for this is that only two players can qualify per country – but with how the rankings are today, nearly half of the best 10 players in the world will be watching.
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