ITTF WTTTC Finals London 2026, 4/28-5/10

[NextLevel]

France, Japan, Taiwan, Germany. Crazy how fortunes change in 24 hours lol. Though with China looking weaker, this is not as big a deal as it would have been. That two European teams topped both groups is fascinating...(lets forget conveniently that two European teams were also at the bottom of both groups).

Correction: Germany is 3rd and Taiwan 4th as 4-5 beats 3-4.

 

[M51]

There's a video that explains all of it:

It's in Chinese but essentially he was stripped of training resources when his WR fell due to injuries. Paired with the constant harassment from his own fans and the WCQ army, who wouldn't want to step away? Don't forget that without him, China probably wouldn't have secured gold in the Olympics. He did what he needed to do and left on top.

As much as I want to hate on LSD, he's obviously changing his style of play and he's in a transition period. Was it wise to put him in the tournament with his condition? Probably not.

I transcribed and translated the video using AI, here's the PDF if anyone's interested:

https://files.catbox.moe/aeo8d7.pdf

A lengthy read.

Fan Zhendong: China's Table Tennis Prodigy and His Turbulent Road to the Grand Slam

Fan Zhendong ("Xiao Pang") is one of the greatest table tennis players of all time — the youngest men's world champion in history, a Guinness record holder, and the second man ever to achieve the Super Grand Slam (Olympic singles + World Championships + World Cup). But his journey to the 2024 Paris Olympic gold medal was defined as much by suffering as by triumph.​

A child prodigy from Guangzhou, he joined the national team at 15 and burst onto the world scene at 16. For years he was stuck as perennial runner-up to the dominant Ma Long, though the two shared a deeply competitive mutual respect.

After winning his first World Championships title in 2021, things turned dark. His head coach was mysteriously removed, he was stripped of ranking points, and he fell into a "four-none" status — no personal coach, no sparring partner, no physical trainer, no medical support — despite being the country's top-ranked player in ability. Injuries piled up and went poorly managed. Internally, factionalism within the national team left him isolated and unsupported.

Off the court, a vicious fan war erupted between his supporters and those of teammate Wang Chuqin. He endured public humiliation in arenas, had his personal ID and phone number leaked online, had his family harassed, and was attacked for everything from attending a Taylor Swift concert to celebrating his Olympic berth.
He won the Paris 2024 gold anyway — but looked joyless doing it. Immediately after, his fans published a detailed open letter exposing everything he had gone through, and Fan Zhendong himself gave a visibly exhausted CCTV interview hinting strongly at retirement.

When asked about the future, he said simply: "I'll leave it to time."​

 

[NextLevel]

Funny how each stream (other than t1) is ended so abruptly after the last match ends so we hardly see any celebrations or other reactions

They had probably worn out their welcome, these things cost money lol.

 

[Bollwerk]

France, Japan, Taiwan, Germany. Crazy how fortunes change in 24 hours lol. Though with China looking weaker, this is not as big a deal as it would have been. That two European teams topped both groups is fascinating...(lets forget conveniently that two European teams were also at the bottom of both groups).

the French comeback also prevented Germany 4th, 3 way tie with Japan & Taiwan on 1 win each

 

[NextLevel]

the French comeback also prevented Germany 4th, 3 way tie with Japan & Taiwan on 1 win each

The tiebreaker on matches won/lost Japan 3-0, Taiwan 3-1, Germany 3-2, so Germany is 3rd and you are right. So Japan 5-3, Germany 4-5, Taiwan, 3-4. 4-3 is better than 5-4 but I forgot that 4-5 is better than 3-4.

 

[job59]

Ok. Here we go. This one is with orange sponge. Only the 48 degrees.

GEWO Iconixx HXT Pro 48 Tischtennis Belag kaufen

GEWO Iconixx HXT Pro 48 Tischtennis Belag ✓ Perfekte Balance aus Spin & Dynamik ✓ 48° Schwamm für variables Offensivspiel ✓ jetzt kaufen

www.gewo-tt.de

Tom Jarvis GEWO also? Or is this Hurricane orange sponge?

 

[maxtor]

Tom is a Stiga sponsored player. He is using DNA Hybrid XH both sides

 

[zeio]

Stage 2. Best possible outcome for CNT men.

WT
https://weibo.com/7360795486/QDJmdtrI1
草莓牛奶特别甜
26-5-4 03:24
发布于 福建
来自 微博网页版
已编辑
2026伦敦世界乒乓球团体锦标赛丨女团第二阶段签表
【1/8区】🇨🇳中国🆚波兰🇵🇱、🇰🇿哈萨克斯坦🆚瑞典🇸🇪
【2/8区】🇷🇸塞尔维亚🆚新加坡🇸🇬、🇨🇦加拿大🆚韩国🇰🇷
【3/8区】🇫🇷法国🆚瑞士🇨🇭、🇮🇹意大利🆚葡萄牙🇵🇹
【4/8区】🇪🇬埃及🆚斯洛伐克🇸🇰、🇳🇱荷兰🆚罗马尼亚🇷🇴
【5/8区】🇩🇪德国🆚马来西亚🇲🇾、🇦🇹奥地利🆚朝鲜🇰🇵
【6/8区】🇭🇰中国香港🆚威尔士🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿、🇵🇷波多黎各🆚中国台北
【7/8区】🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿英格兰🆚乌克兰🇺🇦、🇺🇸美国🆚印度🇮🇳
【8/8区】🇧🇷巴西🆚卢森堡🇱🇺、🇭🇷克罗地亚🆚日本🇯🇵

MT
https://weibo.com/7360795486/QDJqa1WaD
草莓牛奶特别甜
26-5-4 03:34
发布于 福建
来自 微博网页版
2026伦敦世界乒乓球团体锦标赛丨男团第二阶段签表
【1/8区】🇸🇪瑞典🆚匈牙利🇭🇺、🇮🇹意大利🆚克罗地亚🇭🇷
【2/8区】🇩🇰丹麦🆚加拿大🇨🇦、🇷🇸塞尔维亚🆚中国台北
【3/8区】🇩🇪德国🆚斯洛伐克🇸🇰、🇭🇰中国香港🆚朝鲜🇰🇵
【4/8区】🇪🇸西班牙🆚哈萨克斯坦🇰🇿、🇧🇪比利时🆚日本🇯🇵
【5/8区】🇰🇷韩国🆚斯洛文尼亚🇸🇮、🇦🇹奥地利🆚印度🇮🇳
【6/8区】🇷🇴罗马尼亚🆚波兰🇵🇱、🇦🇺澳大利亚🆚中国🇨🇳
【7/8区】🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿英格兰🆚摩尔多瓦🇲🇩、🇸🇬新加坡🆚巴西🇧🇷
【8/8区】🇵🇹葡萄牙🆚埃及🇪🇬、🇺🇸美国🆚法国🇫🇷

 

[job59]

Retire at 21?

What he needs is a lengthy break and some quality mental training.

Also, reducing his body fat percentage wouldn't hurt. Sorry, needs to be said.

I’m often thinking the same. He should try keto diet. 💪💪

 

[Tyce]

Doesn't make much sense to me.

Inertia is a huge factor in footwork.

Also, being lighter on your feet just feels so much better than being heavy. Less strain on your ankles and knees as well.

I speak from personal experience, having played a few matches in the Croatian Superleague during COVID after letting myself go a little and it was horror.

Well, you weren't in your natural state, only in your case (and mine lol) your off-state is heavier than your natural state.

Fzd is "chubby", LSD is a little above athletic figure, but it's their normal state, they have always played like this.

(in my opinion LSD isn't overweight at all though lol. Silly Instagram role models nowadays make anyone look fat)

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

Japanese women in the same half as PRK with a potential SF meeting.

 

[Persistence TT]

I transcribed and translated the video using AI, here's the PDF if anyone's interested:

https://files.catbox.moe/aeo8d7.pdf

A lengthy read.

There's a video that explains all of it:

It's in Chinese but essentially he was stripped of training resources when his WR fell due to injuries. Paired with the constant harassment from his own fans and the WCQ army, who wouldn't want to step away? Don't forget that without him, China probably wouldn't have secured gold in the Olympics. He did what he needed to do and left on top.

As much as I want to hate on LSD, he's obviously changing his style of play and he's in a transition period. Was it wise to put him in the tournament with his condition? Probably not.

"The "No Explosion" Incident and Fan Wars After the Macao tournament, teammate Lin Shidong posted a chat log with Wang Chuqin celebrating his title. But Wang Chuqin, just 20 minutes after the match ended, had posted an implied jab suggesting Fan Zhendong's strength was inferior to the young Lin Shidong — "didn't explode him." The phrase "didn't explode him" instantly went viral on Weibo, igniting a firestorm among Chinese table tennis fans. Netizens began hotly debating whether the national team was truly united. Under enormous public pressure, the post was quickly censored and many accounts that discussed it were silenced. Subsequently, the national team hung banners in training halls urging cohesion — but the situation only escalated. In December 2023, fans of Wang Chuqin's official fan club printed "Didn't Explode Him" on banners, handheld signs, posters, phone cases, earrings, and other fan merchandise, proudly flaunting it online. On December 23, 2023, at the Super League, these fans — wearing masks and hats — walked into the arena waving those banners, publicly humiliating and provoking Fan Zhendong during his match, prompting security to intervene. "

I didnt quite understand what wang chuqin was talking about, did he mean that FZD was no match for LSD? which is extremely hilarious.


Also what a win from alexis lebrun against matsushima. He gave the middle finger to many doubters

 

[NextLevel]

Tom is a Stiga sponsored player. He is using DNA Hybrid XH both sides

Thanks. My brain needs a fix.

 

[NextLevel]

I’m often thinking the same. He should try keto diet. 💪💪

It is generally not smart to estimate someone's ideal fat /muscle percentage based on just looking at them, especially when tendon strength and muscle mass are invisible. Most top athletes who are still into training do keep tabs on what weight they play best at. Also bigger athletes in TT are usually stronger and hit more powerful balls. Those with stronger lower bodies also have more explosive footwork because you need a lot of lower body strength to handle the most powerful movements

Yes there are somewhat obvious cases when someone is likely overweight or underweight but balancing that out with other considerations without working deeply with the athlete is difficult. That is why it is almost always a facepalm when someone goes on about an athlete being overweight. You cant tell someone's genetics just by looking at them.

 

[piligrim]

Moregard behavior was pretty bad

 

[NextLevel]

Stage 2. Best possible outcome for CNT men.

WT
https://weibo.com/7360795486/QDJmdtrI1
草莓牛奶特别甜
26-5-4 03:24
发布于 福建
来自 微博网页版
已编辑
2026伦敦世界乒乓球团体锦标赛丨女团第二阶段签表
【1/8区】🇨🇳中国🆚波兰🇵🇱、🇰🇿哈萨克斯坦🆚瑞典🇸🇪
【2/8区】🇷🇸塞尔维亚🆚新加坡🇸🇬、🇨🇦加拿大🆚韩国🇰🇷
【3/8区】🇫🇷法国🆚瑞士🇨🇭、🇮🇹意大利🆚葡萄牙🇵🇹
【4/8区】🇪🇬埃及🆚斯洛伐克🇸🇰、🇳🇱荷兰🆚罗马尼亚🇷🇴
【5/8区】🇩🇪德国🆚马来西亚🇲🇾、🇦🇹奥地利🆚朝鲜🇰🇵
【6/8区】🇭🇰中国香港🆚威尔士🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿、🇵🇷波多黎各🆚中国台北
【7/8区】🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿英格兰🆚乌克兰🇺🇦、🇺🇸美国🆚印度🇮🇳
【8/8区】🇧🇷巴西🆚卢森堡🇱🇺、🇭🇷克罗地亚🆚日本🇯🇵

MT
https://weibo.com/7360795486/QDJqa1WaD
草莓牛奶特别甜
26-5-4 03:34
发布于 福建
来自 微博网页版
2026伦敦世界乒乓球团体锦标赛丨男团第二阶段签表
【1/8区】🇸🇪瑞典🆚匈牙利🇭🇺、🇮🇹意大利🆚克罗地亚🇭🇷
【2/8区】🇩🇰丹麦🆚加拿大🇨🇦、🇷🇸塞尔维亚🆚中国台北
【3/8区】🇩🇪德国🆚斯洛伐克🇸🇰、🇭🇰中国香港🆚朝鲜🇰🇵
【4/8区】🇪🇸西班牙🆚哈萨克斯坦🇰🇿、🇧🇪比利时🆚日本🇯🇵
【5/8区】🇰🇷韩国🆚斯洛文尼亚🇸🇮、🇦🇹奥地利🆚印度🇮🇳
【6/8区】🇷🇴罗马尼亚🆚波兰🇵🇱、🇦🇺澳大利亚🆚中国🇨🇳
【7/8区】🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿英格兰🆚摩尔多瓦🇲🇩、🇸🇬新加坡🆚巴西🇧🇷
【8/8区】🇵🇹葡萄牙🆚埃及🇪🇬、🇺🇸美国🆚法国🇫🇷

China got a fantastic draw. France awaits them in the semis. England, France and Korea with Korea in the quarters. While they will be getting a full Korea with Jang if they get to play again, they will also habe Wang. They can also build up some players with all the matches and rest Wang vs Australia.. I expect to see Xiang Peng tomorrow unless they have zero confidence in him.

 

[Oliverpool]

It is generally not smart to estimate someone's ideal fat /muscle percentage based on just looking at them, especially when tendon strength and muscle mass are invisible. Most top athletes who are still into training do keep tabs on what weight they play best at. Also bigger athletes in TT are usually stronger and hit more powerful balls. Those with stronger lower bodies also have more explosive footwork because you need a lot of lower body strength to handle the most powerful movements

Yes there are somewhat obvious cases when someone is likely overweight or underweight but balancing that out with other considerations without working deeply with the athlete is difficult. That is why it is almost always a facepalm when someone goes on about an athlete being overweight. You cant tell someone's genetics just by looking at them.

Oh and watching them on the screen is quite different than how they look in real life.

I am always very surprised when I see them up front close. They almost always look quite a lot slimmer and taller at the same time

 

[FIXPOINT]

ITTF WTTC Finals London 2026 Stage 1A WT

ITTF WTTC Finals London 2026 Stage 1A MT

 

[fore.n.back]

This one calls for its own post.

MT Grp2
JPN 2-1 FRA
M3 Togami 2-3 Coton (6, -4, 10, -9, -12)
G5 1213 the WTTC 2022 MT SF Togami struck again and didn't even serve on the damn table!
Retire, Togami! The same old Coton already gave him the chance blowing 2 game points in G3.

His worst worst blunder of his carrer up to date, even worse than the Olympic team semi final against Karlsson (1-3 lost no chance). But anw, Coton has the upper hand in tactics throughout the match, it's just that his execution was inconsistent, other wise he'd have taken it 3-1.

 

[fore.n.back]

Great match. He couldn't finish it, but Togami, this is what happens when you can't finish the job after coming so close. It is better to lose easily so that your teammates are ready lol.

That goes to show how important the 3rd match is, literally deciding the whole momentum of the game