The Chinese national badminton team (国羽) provided opportunities for newcomers to participate in competitions, but many failed to advance past the first round at the Indonesia Masters tournament. This raises the question of who is to blame when they cannot deliver.
After the 2025 selection trials, several post-00s newcomers joined the national team and received more chances to compete. However, from the first day of the Indonesia Masters, it became evident that some of these newcomers were not performing well and were eliminated in the first round.
For instance, Wang Zhengxing, a men's singles player, despite not being considered a true newcomer due to his time with the national team and multiple adult competitions, has not achieved remarkable results and is likely ranked at the bottom of the men's singles team.
The Indonesia Masters is a Super 500 level open tournament where Wang had the opportunity to compete. His first-round opponent, Ng Tze Yong, was not particularly strong, ranking lower and two years younger than Wang. Surprisingly, Wang lost to him.
Losing is one thing, but if it were a hard-fought three-set match with a narrow margin of defeat, it would not be as embarrassing. However, Wang was defeated in two sets, scoring only 12 points in the second set, which is quite unacceptable!
Wang was not the only one to exit in the first round; there was also the men's doubles pair of Zhu Yijun and Sun Wenjun.
Zhu Yijun is a world junior champion and a doubles prodigy, excelling in both men's doubles and mixed doubles. His mixed doubles partner during his youth, Liu Shengshu, is already an Olympic silver medalist, yet Zhu is only now getting the chance to compete in a 500-level open tournament.
His teammate, Sun Wenjun, son of Sun Jun and Ge Fei, is often jokingly referred to as the "prince" of badminton.
They participated in the Indonesia Masters with high hopes of making a breakthrough, but unexpectedly, they were eliminated in the first round, losing 0-2 to the Malaysian pair of Ong Wei Jern and Teo Ee Vern.
Following their early exit from the Indonesia Masters, it is expected that Sun Wenjun will face criticism for dragging Zhu Yijun down...
Of course, there were newcomers who won their matches in their first Super 500 event, such as Li Hongyi and Bao Lijing.
Have you noticed that men's singles and men's doubles are weak spots for the national team? This weakness is not only seen in the veterans but also in the young players. On the other hand, mixed doubles is a strong point for the national team, with both experienced and young players performing well.
Therefore, I believe that the weakness in the men's singles and men's doubles of the national team may not be due to the athletes' lack of ability or talent but rather the need for improvement in coaching standards.
Instead of blaming the athletes who were eliminated in the first round, it would be better to focus on improving the coaching standards or hiring excellent foreign coaches to cultivate strong players. It is not necessary to reach the level of Lin Dan or Chen Long, but even reaching the level of Shi Yuqi would be considered very good!