In the new cycle, the leader of the national table tennis women's team, Sun Yingsha, has not been in good form, especially at the Asian Championships where she was defeated by Zhang Benmeihe and also experienced muscle reaction injury problems. After recovering from her injuries at the Fukuoka Finals, Sun Yingsha suffered a first-round exit in both the women's singles and doubles events. In the face of Sun Yingsha's unstable state, Wang Manyu stepped up to become the backbone of the national table tennis women's team, winning consecutive women's singles titles at the German Championship and Fukuoka Finals.
Wang Manyu is a dark horse player in the Paris Olympic cycle, having beaten Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng multiple times to win the women's singles title. Wang Manyu's playing style is fierce, with a tough and powerful style, excellent physical fitness, and a wide coverage area on the court. Although Wang Manyu missed out on the women's singles ticket, she is still in her prime age in the new cycle. With Chen Meng retiring, Wang Manyu will continue to hold onto her position as a core player.
From recent competitions, it can be seen that Ma Lin, the head coach of the national table tennis women's team, places great importance on Wang Manyu. After all, in the 2024 season, Sun Yingsha lost three foreign matches, against Mugek, Jin Qinying, and Zhang Benmeihe, while Wang Manyu only lost one foreign match, to Barat in the Saudi Grand Slam. Obviously, Wang Manyu's foreign match performance is more stable. However, the national table tennis team places great emphasis on players' foreign match capabilities, so Ma Lin attaches great importance to the training of Wang Manyu in the new cycle.
Recently, Ma Lin even arranged special training for Wang Manyu alone, which may be targeted at imitating Barat's playing style. However, Ma Lin's decision to conduct special training for Wang Manyu alone has caused some controversy, with many fans claiming that Ma Lin is giving special treatment. After all, before the Paris Olympics, Ma Lin had arranged special training for Chen Meng, who was able to secure a women's singles ticket for the Paris Olympics and successfully defend her title, with Ma Lin contributing to her success.
However, the national table tennis women's team is currently facing a situation where there are no successors, and foreign association players pose an increasing threat to the national table tennis women's team, especially after the team's crushing defeat at the Asian Championships. Yet, Ma Lin did not consider the overall strength improvement of the national table tennis women's team. As the head coach of the national table tennis women's team, Ma Lin failed to distribute his attention evenly, focusing on the training of the main players instead of conducting special training for Wang Manyu, which has aroused dissatisfaction among fans. However, Ma Lin did not choose to remain silent in the face of this controversy. He provided completely reasonable reasons for Wang Manyu's special training.
Currently, the core main players of the national table tennis women's team, such as Sun Yingsha, have their respective divisional coaches, and Sun Yingsha's on-site command has always been handled by Qiu Yike. However, in the new cycle, Wang Manyu has not had her own divisional coach. After the Paris Olympics, Xu Hui has not been paired with Wang Manyu. It is understood that Xu Hui has been responsible for training young players within the team, while Wang Manyu's on-site command at the German Championship and Fukuoka Finals has always been handled by Ma Lin.
Under Ma Lin's guidance, Wang Manyu successfully won the women's singles titles at these two major events, showing signs of returning to peak form. Therefore, Wang Manyu's recent state recovery is largely attributed to Ma Lin's efforts. Now that Ma Lin's protégé, Chen Meng, has chosen to retire, and Wang Yidi's position in the national table tennis team is precarious due to poor foreign match performance, Ma Lin also needs Wang Manyu's achievements to prove his coaching ability. Although Ma Lin is only Wang Manyu's temporary divisional coach, if Wang Manyu cannot find a suitable divisional coach, Ma Lin will continue to serve as her divisional coach.