Recently, the table tennis world has been in turmoil due to the announcements from Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng that they will be withdrawing from the world rankings, drawing significant attention from fans.
In their statements, both Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng expressed the immense psychological toll and physical exhaustion they experienced during their preparations for the Paris Olympics, which has left them unable to participate in WTT events at present.
Chen Meng further elaborated that throughout the high-intensity preparations for the Paris cycle, she faced tremendous pressure, and as the intensity increased, so did the injuries, making the entire process exceptionally arduous.
As a result, after the Paris Olympics, both Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng opted for extended periods of rest and have now decided to withdraw from the world rankings.
However, during the preparations for the Paris Olympics, two individuals endured even greater fatigue and exhaustion than Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng. These two athletes, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin, despite their extreme weariness, could not express it, nor dare they do so.
Since entering the Paris Olympic cycle, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin were entrusted with the crucial task of reclaiming the lost mixed doubles gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
At the Houston World Table Tennis Championships, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin took on three events each, with Sun Yingsha, in particular, participating in three events and reaching the finals in all of them. She won the mixed doubles and women's doubles titles but fell short in the most significant women's singles final, losing 2:4 to Wang Manyu and missing out on the championship.
In the 2023 Dalian World Table Tennis Championships, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin again participated in three events each. This time, Wang Chuqin reached the finals in all three events, winning the mixed doubles and men's doubles titles. However, he also missed the men's singles title, losing 2:4 to Fan Zhendong in the final.
Not only in the World Championships but also in the four WTT Grand Slam events during the Paris Olympic cycle, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin took on three events each. Regardless of whether they ultimately won the singles titles, they never let the mixed doubles title slip away!
At the Paris Olympics, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin once again took on three events each, starting with the mixed doubles competition. After rounds of grueling battles, they successfully secured the Olympic mixed doubles gold medal, which was also the first-ever Olympic mixed doubles gold medal in the history of Chinese table tennis!
In the subsequent singles competitions, Wang Chuqin suffered a setback when his racket was maliciously stepped on, leading to a 2:4 loss to Sweden's Moregaard in the second round with a spare racket.
Meanwhile, Sun Yingsha swept through her women's singles matches with a 4:0 record, eventually advancing to the final. However, she lost 2:4 to Chen Meng in the final and missed out on the championship!
Despite their singles defeats, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin continued to fight bravely in the team events. Sun Yingsha, after her women's singles loss, remained the unshakable first singles player in the women's team event, facing the strongest singles opponents in every match. Despite this, she maintained an undefeated record, helping the Chinese women's team successfully defend their Olympic women's team championship title!
Wang Chuqin, in the men's team event that followed, took on both the men's doubles and singles events. He also withstood immense pressure and remained undefeated, helping the Chinese men's team successfully defend their Olympic men's team championship title!
It is undeniable that from the preparations for the Paris Olympics to its conclusion, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin bore the greatest consumption. However, because they did not win the singles titles at the Paris Olympics, they could not and dared not express their exhaustion!
After the Paris Olympics, Sun Yingsha, without systematic training, still managed to consecutively win the women's singles titles at the WTT Macau Championship and the WTT China Grand Slam!
Wang Chuqin, on the other hand, was even more physically and mentally exhausted after the Paris Olympics. Due to losing in the singles event to an external association player at the Olympics, he faced immense pressure. Following the Olympics, he participated in a series of competitions and lost too many external matches!
The day after Sun Yingsha courageously won the women's singles title at the WTT China Grand Slam, she traveled to Kazakhstan to compete in the Asian Championships. The continuous battles led to injuries for Sun Yingsha, causing her to lose to Zhang Benmei in the women's team event at the Asian Championships. Consequently, she had to withdraw from the competition!
Sun Yingsha's forced withdrawal sparked attacks from many fans, with some even slandering her as a deserter!
After the Paris Olympics, Sun Yingsha faced widespread cyberbullying. Chen Meng repeatedly emphasized in public that during the women's singles final at the Paris Olympics, she was disturbed by Sun Yingsha's fans, often complaining about the noisy venue and personally guiding fans to attack Sun Yingsha!
Yet, Sun Yingsha could only remain silent!
Did the cheers from the audience at the Paris Olympics women's singles final only affect Chen Meng? Did they not affect Sun Yingsha?
But because Sun Yingsha did not win the women's singles title, she could only bear the blame from her teammates and the cyberbullying from her teammate's fans!
Is the continuous battles and the personal involvement of her teammate in guiding fans to attack her not a greater harm to Sun Yingsha? Yet, she cannot say it, nor dare she admit her fatigue!
After each match, Sun Yingsha still has to smile and thank the fans for their support of Chinese table tennis, silently enduring the attacks and abuse from her teammate's fans!
When it comes to physical and mental exhaustion, I believe Sun Yingsha has even more reason to say she is exhausted. However, she cannot say it, nor dare she admit her weariness!
Because Sun Yingsha still has dreams to fulfill, believing that after experiencing the storm, one can see the rainbow. I believe in Sun Yingsha, who will continue to face challenges head-on and bravely move forward in the future, and will surely achieve her dreams. Go for it!