Original title: Body Talk
Attack with force
Recently, Chinese women’s tennis star Zheng Qinwen defeated American player Kenning in the women’s singles final of the WTA500 Tokyo Station, winning her fourth career tour championship and her third championship this season. After reaching the top spot in Tokyo, Zheng Qinwen will move to Saudi Arabia to participate in the upcoming year-end finals. This will be her first career appearance in the year-end finals.
Comments: He has advanced to the finals 5 times and reached the top 3 times, especially being crowned the women’s singles champion of the Paris Olympic Games. This season is undoubtedly a success for Zheng Qinwen. Compared with the honors on the field, Zheng Qinwen has gained more technical and psychological growth this year. Next, making his first appearance in the year-end finals, Zheng Qinwen is the next Chinese player to lock a singles seat in the finals after Li Na in 2013. Look forward to Zheng Qinwen continuing to bring surprises.
No national table tennis championship
The finals of the 2024WTT (World Table Tennis Professional League) Montpellier Championship ended recently. Chinese players Lin Shidong and Qian Tianyi both stopped in the semi-finals, which means that the national table tennis competition has no chance of winning. In the end, Japanese player Satsuki Oto won the women’s singles championship, and French player Le Brun, who played at home, won the men’s singles championship. Following the recently concluded Asian Table Tennis Championships, Chinese players failed to win the singles championship in two consecutive international events.
Comment: In this competition, the national table tennis team sent 4 players each to participate in the men’s singles and women’s singles competition. In the end, neither of the two competitions made it to the finals. From the previous defeat in the Asian Championships to the lack of championship in this Montpellier Championship, the fatigue of the main players is certainly one of the reasons due to the intensive competition, but the weak performance of the second tier and reserve forces of the national table tennis team is also an indisputable reality. Needless to say, with the improvement of the strength of strong opponents such as Japan, South Korea and France, it is difficult for today’s national table tennis to show its thickness advantage. Facing the impact of a powerful enemy, it is urgent to be prepared for danger in times of peace.
The final battle
The last stop of the 2024 Badminton World Tour Super 750 event, the China Badminton Masters, will be held in Shenzhen in November. As the last points event leading to the year-end finals, strong players from all walks of life, including the Chinese team, will make a last-ditch effort to advance to the finals. As the highest prize among the six Super 750 events throughout the year, the total prize money of the China Badminton Masters is as high as US$1.15 million.
Comments: Judging from the confirmed registration situation, the national badminton team competing at home is full of elites. There are 5 men’s singles players, 4 women’s singles players, men’s doubles and women’s doubles are all main lineups, and only the mixed doubles is led by veterans. The new focus is on military training. In terms of international players, the Japanese women’s doubles pair Matsuyama Naomi/Shida Chihiro also need to win tickets to the year-end finals through their performance in the China Masters.
Successfully promoted
In the fifth round of Group C of the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers held in Dalian recently, the Chinese U17 national team and the South Korean U17 team ended in a 2-2 draw. Relying on its overall performance and previous points advantage, the Chinese team ranked second in the group with 3 wins, 1 draw and 10 points, and successfully qualified for the 2025 U17 Asian Cup. The U17 Asian Cup will be held in April 2025.
Comment: Although they failed to defeat the South Korean team to win the first place in the group, the U17 National Youth Team still won the right to qualify with the help of five better-performing second place in the group. Compared with the results, the content and tenacious fighting spirit displayed by the Chinese team in this competition are more worthy of praise. However, in the future, facing more high-level opponents like the South Korean team, this national youth team needs to further polish and improve its technical and tactical capabilities. Based on the basics and playing steadily is what Chinese football should do most at this stage.
(Baren Edition)
