Chinese men's table tennis team struggles continue with WTT Europe Smash exit
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Alarm bells are ringing once again for the Chinese men's table tennis team after they returned empty-handed from the World Table Tennis (WTT) Europe Smash in Malmo, Sweden, on Sunday . All six men's singles players failed to advance past the third round, marking a significant step back from last year's performance when Lin Shidong, then the world's No. 1 player, lost in the final to Sweden's Truls Moregard .
Key Points
- Chinese men's team has failed to reach the singles quarter-finals in three consecutive WTT tournaments: the US Smash, Champions Yokohama, and the Europe Smash in Malmo .
- The team has not won a title across five consecutive WTT tournaments, with their last victory coming at the Contender event in Taiyuan in April, when Wen Ruibo claimed the championship .
- Lin Shidong, now ranked world No. 6, was eliminated by France's Alexis Lebrun in a 3-2 match in the round of 16, saying he saw hope to catch up but remained hesitant in both attacking and serve reception .
- In doubles events, Lin and Wen were swept aside by France's Alexis and Felix Lebrun in the quarter-finals, while Wang Manyu and Kuai Man suffered only their second WTT loss in nearly two years to Hong Kong's Doo Hoi-kem and Pedrey Ng Wing-lam .
- Chen Yi and Wang Yidi also lost to Japan's Miwa Harimoto and Hina Hayata in the last eight, and at the 2025 World Championships in Doha, all Chinese men's doubles pairs were eliminated by the quarter-finals .
Why It Matters
With men's and women's doubles returning to the Olympics in 2028 for the first time since 2004, the Chinese national team faces mounting pressure to improve their performance levels during the Los Angeles Olympic cycle . The recent struggles suggest that decades of focusing primarily on singles and mixed doubles have left gaps in doubles preparation that must now be urgently addressed .
With men's and women's doubles returning to the Olympics in 2028 for the first time since 2004, the Chinese national team faces mounting pressure to improve their performance levels during the Los Angeles Olympic cycle . The recent struggles suggest that decades of focusing primarily on singles and mixed doubles have left gaps in doubles preparation that must now be urgently addressed .