On December 26th, Beijing time, Liu Guoliang announced his focus on nurturing new talent, leaving an unexpected suspense in the new cycle. What kind of training does he plan to provide for the core ace stars of China's national table tennis team?
We all know that in the new cycle, Chairman Liu Guoliang has made a clear statement during an interview, which is to cultivate newcomers. He has even thought out a four-step strategic plan for cultivating newcomers. The first step is to give young people more opportunities in 2025; the second step is for young people to gradually mature in 2026; the third step is to enter a sprint stage in 2027; and the fourth step is to start Olympic preparations in 2028, the year of the Los Angeles Olympics.
There's no problem with starting to prepare to promote newcomers. However, under this background, when Liu Guoliang speaks these words, has he overlooked something? That is, the players they regard as the middle generation, can they only play a bridging role? Is it possible that they should receive more training?
For the veterans, Liu Guoliang has already shown his stance, saying that in the new cycle, there will be a restructuring within the national table tennis team, including adjustments to coaches and players, and a renewal of blood. From the aspect of age, changes may need to be made to the national table tennis team, meaning that many veterans may not have too many opportunities.
The strategy for cultivating young people is already very clear. However, you've overlooked a group of people, the middle-aged batch, such as Sun Yingsha, Wang Chuqin, and Wang Manyu. They cannot just be responsible for bridging the gap between the old and the new, then guiding the growth of newcomers. Do they not also have their own dreams?
Simply put, Yingsha wants to complete the Grand Slam, Wang Manyu also aims to achieve this, and Wang Chuqin is now pursuing a championship in one of the three major events. Shouldn't these dreams be given attention first, and consider how to handle the middle-aged players? Instead of just focusing on newcomers and veterans, the middle-aged group is actually very important. You can't just treat them as tools for bridging the gap; you must also provide them with corresponding opportunities to fulfill their dreams.