National Table Tennis is indeed the king of traffic in the sports circle, with all kinds of people commenting on it, especially recently. A famous football journalist named He Xiaolong from a certain blog seems to have recently taken issue with the national table tennis team, constantly speaking out and commenting on it.
This guy has publicly expressed his opinions again, making comments on the three golden flowers of the women's team who won the championship at the Baao Olympics. He claims that Sun Yingsha was overpraised and marketed to the point of being crippled, missing out on the women's singles gold medal at the Olympics; while Wang Manyu was suppressed and crippled, her coach was removed, causing her to lose her qualification for the Olympic singles event and suffer a great loss of vitality; only Chen Meng was in a normal state, which is why she successfully defended her Olympic women's singles title.
He Xiaolong said that it is easy to understand why Wang Manyu was suppressed and beaten down. After the Tokyo Olympics, Manyu reached the peak once, defeating Sun Yingsha to win the National Games and beating Chen Meng at the World Championships, becoming the center of attention for a time. Unfortunately, her coach was replaced after that, causing her to fall from the peak into a low point. Before the Baao Olympics, her condition returned, and she thought she had a stable chance at the women's singles spot, but in the end, she lost it at the last moment. Being suppressed everywhere, it's no wonder that her mentality would be affected.
But why was Sun Yingsha, the darling of the team, consumed by marketing and adulation instead? At the Paris Olympics, Sasha lost 2-4 to Chen Meng, missing the opportunity to achieve the fastest grand slam, which was a major blow to both Sasha herself and her fans.
He Xiaolong believes that Sasha was excessively marketed as a king without the achievements of a king. Before the Olympics, she was marketed as an invincible king on par with Deng Yaping and Zhang Yining. However, she actually did not possess the strength of a king and was placed in that position, causing her mentality to change and making her unable to accept defeat.
This seems to make some sense. Looking back at the women's singles final at the Baao Olympics, Sasha's mentality did seem to have collapsed a bit, playing cautiously and not up to her usual standard. Writing this, I remember an interview before the Baao Olympics where Sasha cried after losing to a male player in an internal team match. This shows how much psychological pressure she was under.
However, I do not agree with his other remarks, such as his belief that Sun Yingsha was deceived and crippled, feeling good about herself, obsessed with being the number one in the national table tennis team, and even directing the referee during matches...
Sun Yingsha is a rare modest and humble athlete. No matter what achievements she makes, her post-match remarks are always about starting over after stepping off the court; her interviews outside the field also involve praising her opponents. As for questioning controversial shots, isn't that normal? Referees are human, not gods. Can't we ask for a replay of a controversial shot? Allowing referees to make mistakes without question is not an excellent quality of an athlete.
As for Chen Meng, she has now withdrawn from the world rankings, and it is estimated that it will be difficult to see her appear in international competitions in the future. He Xiaolong said that before the Baao Olympics, she was in a normal state as an athlete, neither overpraised nor suppressed, so her mentality was the best, ultimately winning the championship. Netizens also raised different opinions, believing that Chen Meng had solid resources to support her, with ample logistical support, three physical trainers, two coaches, and private training before the competition, which is something that Sasha and Manyu could not compare to.
What do you think about his comments on Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, and Chen Meng? As fans, how should we view and respond to this? Who is more likely to become the ultimate winner between Sasha and Manyu in the Los Angeles cycle? Is it possible for young players to emerge and surpass them? Please share your opinions in the comment section!