The landscape of China's national table tennis men's singles is quietly changing, with the emergence of the "three giants of the post-05 generation," which is increasing the competitive pressure on Wang Chuqin.
The 2025 season has already seen two international competitions: the WTT Doha Star Challenge and the WTT Oman Regular Challenge. For me, these matches are somewhat uninteresting as they are low-level events with many unfamiliar faces, making it hard to get excited.
However, after forcing myself to watch a few games, I discovered that there are surprises for the Chinese team in both the men's and women's divisions. The concerns about the梯队 construction might have been overthought, as the coaching staff has already considered these issues.
Professionals see further and more deeply than ordinary people.
For me, the impressive players from these two stations include Kuai Man breaking through herself, Shi Xunyao catching up later, Huang Youzheng + Chen Yuanyu, post-05 players entering the international arena... Focusing on the men's singles, I feel that Wang Chuqin's potential internal competitive pressure is quietly rising again.
Firstly, Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan are gradually becoming "a thing of the past."
Ma Long, who has already stated that he will not participate in international competitions due to his age reaching the veteran category.
Fan Zhendong, after withdrawing from the world rankings, it is unknown whether he will compete internationally in the future. Perhaps only when registering for the Doha World Table Tennis Championships can we see some direction.
Liang Jingkun and Lin Gaoyuan, considered slightly lower-tier world champions compared to Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, are also entering the ranks of veterans. As China needs to cultivate new talents, the opportunities for Gaoyuan and Big Fat are expected to decrease.
Secondly, Wang Chuqin is considered the backbone, aiming to achieve his dreams at the Los Angeles Olympics.
From the current situation, the core of the national table tennis men's singles should be Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong.
For Wang Chuqin, he experienced the era of being a core player alongside Ma Long and Fan Zhendong. Now, he is experiencing the era of competing with Lin Shidong, and perhaps later, he will compete with even younger players.
The 2024 Paris Olympics was originally a good opportunity for Wang Chuqin to achieve fame and success, but due to various reasons, it did not materialize. Therefore, for him now, the best opportunity to realize his dream is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which he may need to treat as his last chance, similar to Fan Zhendong's mindset before the Paris Games - the last dance. After the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, it will be difficult for Wang Chuqin to regain the most central position within the national team, a position that generally changes every two cycles.
However, Wang Chuqin faces significant and increasing competition to achieve his dream of reaching the top in Los Angeles in 2028.
The main competitors currently visible include Lin Shidong, Fan Zhendong (an uncertain factor), Tomokazu Harimoto, Mattias Falck, Anton Kallberg, the Lubren brothers, Lin Yunsu, Jang Woojin and Lim Jonghoon, Koki Niwa...
If post-05 players grow rapidly in the coming years, more newcomers will emerge as main players. Therefore, the next few years are crucial for Wang Chuqin, whether it's in terms of tactics, physical energy, or mentality. How to leverage his rich match experience to find advantages in competition is a challenge he needs to overcome.
Thirdly, Lin Shidong + Chen Yuanyu + Huang Youzheng, the initial appearance of the post-05 three giants pattern.
Lin Shidong is now very stable and, if he performs normally, he will have at least two Olympic competition opportunities, which is more than eight years. Chen Yuanyu and Huang Youzheng have been performing well recently, and the head coach of the national table tennis team, Wang Hao, has given them full affirmation and stated that he will provide more training opportunities to help them grow, such as the recently announced Asian Cup participant list where both of them are included!
Therefore, the competitive pattern of the post-05 three giants in the national table tennis team has shown signs, but whether it can ultimately form depends on the growth performance of the young players!
Finally, let's talk about Qian Tianyi, Wen Ruibo, Xu Yingbin, and other players. They also have competitive opportunities, but their recent performances have been average, so we'll have to see how they perform later.