Recently, the well-known media personality He Xiaolong has continuously criticized the national table tennis team, targeting the head of the national table tennis team Liu Guoliang, as well as the two major traffic stars promoted by the national table tennis team, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin. Today, He Xiaolong unleashed his criticism again, criticizing some of Liu Guoliang's practices and ridiculing the combination of Sha and Tou, believing that by embracing a big leg, they are actually puppets on strings, and Fan Zhendong and Zhang Jike were not selected because they are uncontrollable.
He Xiaolong pointed out that the main problem with the table tennis fan circle is not how crazy the fans are, but that the marketing of the national table tennis team is subverting the normal competitive order. He jokingly calls it the "sales champion culture," where the sales champion designated by the leader enjoys unlimited glory, while the true strength players are left in the corner.
In He Xiaolong's view, the sales champion should have been Fan Zhendong or Zhang Jike. Fan Zhendong has such a good foundation in results, and it would be more stable for the national table tennis team to promote him, but the problem lies in the fact that Fan Zhendong obviously cannot become Liu Guoliang's puppet on strings. "Because in this plan, the sales champion's performance must be used for my benefit, and the sales champion must listen to me and follow my orders, so I can't promote Fan Zhendong; if he doesn't listen, all my efforts will be in vain." As for Zhang Jike, his fan circle was already well-established back then, and Liu Guoliang could just bring it over directly, but looking at Zhang Jike's unruly appearance, how could he become Liu Guoliang's puppet on strings? Can Liu Guoliang control him?
Therefore, He Xiaolong ridicules Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin, "Our two sales champions, don't be so domineering; thinking that by embracing a big leg, aren't you just puppets on strings?" He analyzes the two separately, one of whom couldn't reach the current height, but by striving on their own, they might even surpass the ceiling; the other was originally a good player, but now they are almost being coaxed into a limp, with a very poor momentum. Obviously, although He Xiaolong did not name them, it is clear to anyone with discerning eyes that the former refers to Wang Chuqin, and the latter refers to Sun Yingsha.
He Xiaolong's point of view is essentially saying that Liu Guoliang forcibly promoted Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin, raising them to a height they should not have reached. The reason why Fan Zhendong and Zhang Jike were not promoted is that they do not listen and are uncontrollable. In the view of "The Ball in the Opposite Direction," the competitive culture of the national table tennis team is indeed somewhat distorted, mainly because the national table tennis team has always been invincible, so in the eyes of the coaches, whoever goes up becomes a world champion, with little difference. Therefore, Liu Guoliang chooses the most obedient and market-effective person. Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin actually have potential and certain abilities, but because they were forcibly promoted, they have instead become the target of public criticism. Just as He Xiaolong previously said, if it weren't for the national table tennis team's promotion affecting their mentality, Sun Yingsha should have been the women's singles champion at the Paris Olympics.
After all, the internal problems of the national table tennis team, how its selection mechanism works, are only known by insiders. He Xiaolong's analysis is undoubtedly incisive, but whether it really fits the actual situation is still difficult to say. However, everyone can see that Sun Yingsha's strength is beyond doubt, saying that her "momentum is very poor" is not objective. As for Wang Chuqin, he indeed did not have particularly convincing performances before, having won no championship titles in the three major events, so there has been much criticism about his ranking as world number one. Liu Guoliang's promotion of him has been controversial among the people.
Now, the national table tennis team has firmly drawn a line with the fan circle, and it should return to a normal competitive state. Who should be used in major competitions, and who should resources be tilted towards, Liu Guoliang needs to make a decision.