Table tennis: Swinging the racket billions of times, achieving a grand slam

Chapter 300 Mixed Team Qualification for the Olympics and World Cup Spots

The ITTF Mixed Team World Cup, also known as the "Guo Liang Solin Cup".

Just hearing the name of this trophy gives off an aura of shamelessness.

However, this naming convention is in line with ITTF's practice.

For example, the World Cup men's singles championship trophy is called the "Evans Cup," named after Roy Evans, the second head of the International Table Tennis Federation.

It is clear that the Mixed Team World Cup is a new event proposed and initiated by Liu Guoliang, which has been held since last year.

After the chaos of the first competition where the lights were turned off and awards were given out before the competition was even over, most foreign associations did not send their main players to participate in this year's mixed team competition.

The Chinese team, apart from Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, and Chen Jin, fielded almost all of its main players.

There's no other way; it's an event we organize ourselves, so we have to give it our full support.

12 month 1 day.

The first day of the mixed team World Cup.

The Chinese team, led by Sha Tou, defeated the Australian team with a score of 8-0 and advanced to the next round.

Regardless of how exciting the match was, the area around Shatou was already in a frenzy.

According to Liu Guoliang, this represents a significant step forward in exploring the commercialization of table tennis.

Nine p.m.

Chengdu, S Province.

Jinjiang Hotel.

meeting room.

Liu Guoliang, Qin Zhijian, Li Xun and other national table tennis stars gathered.

Coaches Wang Hao, Ma Lin, Liu Zhiqiang, Liu Heng, and others were all holding small notebooks, listening attentively and taking careful notes.

All eyes at the scene were focused on Liu Guoliang.

"All WTT events in 2024 have come to a successful conclusion, and our achievements are gratifying."

Liu Guoliang had a big smile on his face.

In fact, from any perspective, the WTT series of events he organized achieved remarkable results throughout the year.

First of all, the Chinese national table tennis team remains dominant, having won many important WTT tournaments.

Secondly, it successfully promoted the commercialization of table tennis.

Putting aside everything else, the BJ Grand Slam tournament alone has generated over 8200 million in revenue from ticket sales and sponsorships.

With ticket revenue alone reaching 5700 million, it's no wonder Liu Guoliang is smiling so happily.

"It was already announced that the number of WTT events tomorrow will be increased."

Liu Guoliang continued, "For example, in addition to Singapore, Saudi Arabia and China, a US Grand Slam tournament will be added to the Grand Slam series."

"This year is an Olympic year, so the schedule is quite tight. Thank you all for your hard work."

"After the mixed team event is over, I will take a good rest for a while to recharge and prepare for next year's events, including WTT, the Asian Cup, the World Cup and the World Table Tennis Championships."

Speaking of which.

Liu Guoliang paused, looked around, and said, "A new Olympic cycle is a new beginning. All previous achievements are now zero."

"During the Los Angeles Olympic cycle, our first priority is to address the issue of talent development and give more young people opportunities to compete."

"The first year is for focused training, the second year is for relative maturity, the third year is for all-out effort, and the fourth year is for preparing for the Olympics."

"Looking at it now, the first phase has shown initial results. Young players such as Chen Jin, Lin Shidong, Xie Mingyang, Xiang Peng, and Zhang Jiahao are constantly emerging, which is a good thing and can dispel doubts from the outside world about our talent development."

"Of course, these young players need more time and more matches to put them to various tests."

"Next year's Asian Cup, World Cup and World Table Tennis Championships will be the best stage for young players."

Apart from the World Table Tennis Championships, which are held every two years, the Asian Cup and the World Cup are held annually.

As for the World Cup, it was suspended at one point due to the pandemic.

It wasn't until this year that it was restarted.

Although the World Table Tennis Championships, the Olympic Games, and the World Cup are known as the "Three Major Tournaments," the World Cup is often referred to as the "Water Cup" due to its limited number of participants and frequency of events.

Its competition level is far lower than the former two.

However, with the resumption of the tournament and in line with the trend of commercialization of table tennis, the World Cup format is constantly seeking reform.

"The ITTF held a meeting a couple of days ago and had a preliminary discussion on next year's event opportunities, especially the World Cup."

Liu Guoliang picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and moistened his lips and throat.

Then, with another "pui," he spat a tea leaf back into the cup.

"The format and selection methods for the World Cup may undergo significant changes."

Liu Guoliang said, "The competition format is still under study. Let's not talk about it for now, but the selection method has been initially drafted."

"There are four paths: world ranking, Intercontinental Cup semi-finals, World Table Tennis Championships defending champion, and... World Youth Championships U19 singles champion."

World Youth Championships U19 Singles Champion?

Upon hearing this, Wang Hao's heart suddenly trembled.

According to the previous World Cup participation rules, each association could only send two players.

Now, the number of participants has clearly increased.

Competition will also become more intense.

At this moment.

Liu Zhiqiang suddenly raised his hand and asked, "Coach Liu, do you mean that starting next year, the number of teams participating in the World Cup will increase?"

"good."

Liu Guoliang nodded. "In principle, the number of players participating in each association shall not exceed four."

"However, if an association has players who qualify by defending their World Table Tennis Championships title and winning the World Junior Championships U19 singles title, then the maximum number of players that can participate can be increased to six."

This statement came out.

Everyone present gasped.

If what Liu Guoliang said is true, this World Cup reform is truly revolutionary.

As is well known, the defending champion of the World Table Tennis Championships is Fan Zhendong.

It is perfectly normal to qualify for the World Cup.

However, what's most surprising is the sudden surge in importance of the U19 World Junior Championships singles title. Presumably, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) intends to use this opportunity to increase the level of attention given to the World Junior Championships.

"correct."

Liu Guoliang turned his head and asked, "How's the situation at the World Youth Championships going?"

"Today should be the final day of the team competition."

Li Xun said, "All four teams, both men's and women's, from U15 and U19, have made it to the finals."

As he spoke, he took out his phone and checked the time. "In a little over two hours, the finals of the four team competitions should start simultaneously."

"pretty good."

Liu Guoliang smiled and nodded, "Oh, right, there's another piece of news I'll let you all know in advance."

"The International Table Tennis Federation has made a recommendation to the International Olympic Committee to include mixed team events in the Los Angeles Olympics."

Just finished speaking.

Everyone was startled again, and they looked at each other, each seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.

The mixed team format was a new competition system proposed by Liu Guoliang.

The International Table Tennis Federation has only organized two tournaments.

Unexpectedly, it was included in the agenda of the Los Angeles Olympics.

There was a pause.

Wang Hao couldn't help but ask, "Then the Los Angeles Olympics will have two team events, right?"

No, only one.

Liu Guoliang laughed and said, "We'll cancel the men's and women's team events and add a mixed team event."

"In addition, men's doubles and women's doubles will also be separated, which is equivalent to restoring the previous competition format."

Everyone present was stunned.

Table tennis was included in the Olympics for the first time at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, with a total of four gold medals awarded in men's and women's singles and men's and women's doubles.

Until the 08 Beijing Olympics, men's and women's doubles were canceled and replaced by men's and women's team events.

The mixed doubles event was added to the Tokyo Olympics in 20.

Now, another transformation may be on the horizon for the Olympic table tennis competition.

— Doubles returns, mixed team enters the Olympics.

This will be a huge new challenge for both the coaching staff and the players.

There was silence for a while.

Xiao Zhan broke the silence by asking, "What about mixed doubles?"

"Mixed doubles remains unchanged."

Liu Guoliang said.

If such a proposal is passed, the table tennis competition at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics may become six gold medal events: men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, mixed doubles, and mixed team.

The pressure on the coaching staff and players has increased dramatically.

Another half hour passed.

The meeting concluded with a wealth of information.

It covers WTT, the Asian Cup, the World Cup, the World Table Tennis Championships, the National Games, and even the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

After the meeting.

Wang Hao was thinking about things while packing his things, just about to leave the conference room.

Suddenly, Liu Guoliang called out to him, "Wang Hao, come with me."

Wang Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he was even more confused as to why Liu Guoliang had left him behind alone.

But he had a bad feeling.

After a moment's hesitation, he sat down again.

How is Chen Jin doing at the World Junior Championships?

Liu Guoliang asked with a smile.

"According to Li Qian, those foreign athletes at the World Youth Championships looked at Chen Jin as if they had seen a ghost."

Wang Hao laughed, "With max-level players refreshing the starting village, no one can withstand a single blow from Chen Jin."

"Chen Jin's strength is undeniable, which certainly gives people peace of mind."

Liu Guoliang tilted his head and leaned back, "During the U16 selection trials, who could have imagined that Chen Jin would rise to second place in the world so quickly?"

His words were tinged with regret.

"Yes."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "However, based on my understanding of Chen Jin, I estimate that he won't be satisfied with being second in the world."

"Deep down, I also think highly of him, and the Chinese national table tennis team needs him."

Liu Guoliang laughed and said, "With his current strength, it shouldn't be a problem for him to compete in next year's World Cup and World Table Tennis Championships, or even the Los Angeles Olympics."

Wang Hao tapped the armrest of the chair lightly with his fingers, listened quietly with a smile, and did not interrupt.

"but--"

As expected, Liu Guoliang changed the subject, saying, "The Chinese national table tennis team is a team, and the development of its talent pool cannot be dominated by any one team. Sometimes we need to know how to give others a chance and consider the overall interests of the team."

Hear the words.

A fleeting, almost imperceptible look crossed Wang Hao's brow.

But soon, it disappeared.

"Uh... I don't quite understand what you mean, Coach Liu."

Wang Haodao.

"Take Chen Jin for example. With his current ranking, he has already secured a spot in the World Cup, so there's no need for him to waste a valuable quota."

Liu Guoliang lowered his voice slightly, "If both of us make it to the finals of the World Junior Championships singles, for the sake of the bigger picture, I think Chen Jin could... well, relax a bit."

"This way, we can have an extra spot in the World Cup, which is good for both the coaching staff and the young players."

(End of this chapter)