Recently, Xinhua News Agency's sports department selected the top ten Chinese athletes of 2024, including Ma Long, the Chinese gymnastics team, Deng Yawen, Deng Zhixuan, Quan Hongchan, Yang Jiayu, Zheng Qinwen, Sheng Lihao, Jiang Yuyan, and Pan Zhanle! Although most netizens support the list of China's top ten athletes, some have raised questions about why Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin, table tennis players, did not appear on the list. In the view of some netizens, as core players and traffic magnets for the national table tennis team, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin are not lacking in any aspect and should logically be included in the list of China's top ten best athletes.
It cannot be denied that Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin indeed have high popularity and performed very well in the 2024 season. However, to be included in the list of China's top ten athletes, they still fall short! Observant netizens may have noticed that most of the athletes selected for the list made history at the Olympics or their victories had special significance, such as Jiang Yuyan winning seven gold medals, breaking two world records and three Paralympic records; at the closing ceremony, Jiang Yuyan and male track and field athlete Di Dongdong served as flag bearers for the Chinese delegation; and Yang Jiayu, who won the gold medal in the women's 20km race walk final at the Paris Olympics with a time of 1 hour, 25 minutes, and 54 seconds, becoming a grand slam champion with Olympic, World Championship, Asian Games, National Games titles, and world records.
Although Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin also won gold medals at the Olympics, including two golds in mixed doubles and team events, they lost the singles gold medal with the highest value! If Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin could be included in the list of China's top ten athletes, why couldn't Fan Zhendong and Chen Meng, who won the singles gold medals, be included, considering their singles gold medals carry higher value. However, it should be noted that Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin's failure to make the list does not mean that their performance or results in the 2024 season were unsatisfactory or poor.
If we only consider their achievements, Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin are no worse than anyone else, with a 100% win rate in the mixed doubles event! The only regret is that Wang Chuqin lost to Moregad in the men's singles 1/16 elimination round, and Sun Yingsha lost to Chen Meng in the women's singles final, narrowly missing the women's singles championship and failing to achieve the grand slam feat.
However, for Sun Yingsha, losing the women's singles title at the Paris Olympics is just a temporary setback, and there is still an opportunity at the Los Angeles Olympics! Judging from the current situation, it is almost certain that Sun Yingsha will obtain the qualification for the women's singles at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. At this stage, Sun Yingsha only needs to do her best and wait quietly for the opportunity to come.