Table tennis enthusiasts are well aware that after the Paris Olympics, the Chinese table tennis team experienced a generational gap. At that time, the youngest male player was Wang Chuqin, who was 25 years old, and there was a void following him; the youngest female player was Sun Yingsha, also 25 years old, with a barren landscape behind her.
This situation is actually quite rare in the history of the national table tennis team. Liu Guoliang won the Olympic men's singles title at the age of 20; Kong Linghui at 25, Zhang Jike at 24; Deng Yaping won her first Olympic women's singles title at 19; Wang Nan at 22, Zhang Yining at 23, and Li Xiaoxia at 24. The current mainstays of the national table tennis team, Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha, also took on the mantle of the national table tennis team at around 20 years old.
So, among the young players around 20 years old in the national table tennis team now, who can stand out? In fact, the national table tennis coaches have been searching hard. From the second half of last year to January this year, the Chinese table tennis team released a large group of young players to participate in international competitions, hoping to find the next generation of leaders from among them.
The table tennis kingdom is not just a name, and soon, Lin Shidong, a male table tennis player born in 2005, stood out. He continuously reaped championships on the international stage and quickly became the undisputed leader of the next generation of Chinese male table tennis.
However, the female leader has yet to emerge.
Therefore, last November, these young players continued to play in the Mascot Station, and in January this year, they played in the Doha Station and Mascot Station again, and it was imperative to find this female table tennis leader.
It is very rare that after these three stations were completed, the next-generation leader of the national table tennis women's team finally emerged, and she is Kuai Man.
In last November's Mascot Station, she defeated Zhu Sibing 3-0, Du Kaixin 3-0, Kim Na-young 3-1, Oshino 3-0, and Qian Tianyi 4-2 to win the women's singles championship.
In this January's Doha Station, she defeated Huang Yihua 3-0, Oshino 3-2, Ye Yitan 3-0, Shi Xunyao 3-2, Nagasaki Miu 3-0, and Miharu Mu 4-0 to win the championship again.
In this week's Mascot Station, she defeated Xiao Yaoqi 3-1, Xu Xiaoyuan 3-0, Chen Yi 3-1, and Oshino 3-1, and will meet Shi Xunyao in the final. Unexpectedly, she will win the championship again.
Thus, Kuai Man is expected to achieve the excellent result of winning three consecutive WTT championships. More importantly, she maintains a perfect record against a host of players from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and has no losses against her domestic competitors such as Shi Xunyao and Chen Yi. Undoubtedly, the 20-year-old Kuai Man is capable of great things, and she is the next-generation leader of the national table tennis women's team that the national table tennis team has been looking for.
Kuai Man also has a special skill, which is playing left-handed, giving her a natural advantage in doubles. She partnered with Lin Shidong in mixed doubles, and since last year, they have not lost a match. Because the top five female players are all right-handed athletes, this unique feature of hers might help her squeeze into the Los Angeles Olympic roster.
Of course, Kuai Man currently has a worrying record against the top five female players of the national table tennis team, and only one male and one female athlete have emerged from the next generation of the national table tennis team, which is also not good. The young players of the national table tennis team still need to roll up their sleeves and work hard.