Top 5 non-Chinese players against the 2018 WTTTC Team China, who would you pick?

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I'm curious to see which table tennis players you will pick to face 2018 Team China, assuming you can pick players from any countries besides China.
This year the five players China sent out are: Ma Long, Fan Zhendong, Xu Xin, Lin Gaoyuan, and Wang Chuqin.

My dream team would be
1. Dimitrij Ovtcharov (GRN)
2. Timo Boll (GRN)
3. Hugo Calderano (BRZ)
4. Lee Sangsu (KOR)
5. Harimoto Tomokazu (JPN)

And below are the matches I want to see.

1. Ovtcharov vs. Fan ZD (revenge for Ovtcharov from 2017 World Tour Grand Final)
2. Boll vs. Ma Long (revenge for Boll from 2018 German Open)
3. Calderano vs. Xu Xin (revenge for Calderano from 2017 WTTC)
4. Lee SS vs. Lin GY (revenge for Lin GY from 2018 Asian Cup)
5. Harimoto vs. Wang CQ (young talent vs. young talent)
 
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I would select Jun Mizutani and Koki Niwa over HC and LSS.

BTW, TT World Magazine has interviewed CNT players and asked them to pick 3 non-CNT players to form a best international team against China. So far the answers from XX, WMY and LSW are released.
XX: 3 is not enough. I can name a dozen. Non-CNT players have improved a lot recently.
WMY: It is hard to pick 3. Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano, Hina Hayata, Cehng I Ching, Doo Hoi Kem, Bernadette Szocs and so on.
LSW: Top 3 of Japan (Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano)
 
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I would select Jun Mizutani and Koki Niwa over HC and LSS.

BTW, TT World Magazine has interviewed CNT players and asked them to pick 3 non-CNT players to form a best international team against China. So far the answers from XX, WMY and LSW are released.
XX: 3 is not enough. I can name a dozen. Non-CNT players have improved a lot recently.
WMY: It is hard to pick 3. Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano, Hina Hayata, Cehng I Ching, Doo Hoi Kem, Bernadette Szocs and so on.
LSW: Top 3 of Japan (Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano)

I think Mizutani and Niwa (I'm a huge fan of Niwa Koki) are both great players. But neither had proven successful against Chinese players in the past.

Mizutani's lacks power from mid-range and on. When it comes to longer topspin rallies, his percentage drops considerably. To win, he has to rely on aggressive over the table receives and 3rd-ball attacks to end points quickly, without letting the rally get too long. This creates a lot of pressure on Mizutani's part and he ends up missing half the shots. And even with this tactic, Chinese players regularly recover from Mizutani's initial attacks and win the point. While Mizutani's aggressive blocking and patient fishing style has proven successful against many European players, against Chinese players, he's a no go.

Niwa is interesting. He can pull off some superhuman shots, but other times he just misses completely. On top of that, he lacks power from far away as well. His record against top Chinese players is not good neither.

That's why I picked Harimoto and Lee Sangsu instead. Besides, Hariomoto regularly defeats Mizutani and Niwa. Most recently Harimoto defeated Mizutani in the final of Japan National Championship.

It would be interesting to see Mizutani play Lin GY and Niwa play Wang CQ, since they never faced each other before. But the match up wouldn't favor the Japanese players.
 
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Seriously? JM already played with LGY once and beat him in 2017 Asian Cup group stage. JM also beat XX in 2016 Rio final. He never beat ML and FZD though.
KN beat XX in 2017 Asian Championships. He beat ML once in 2012 and LGY multiple times. He never beat FZD though.
DO beat FZD and LGY in 2017, he beat XX once in 2010, never ML.
TB beat ML and LGY in 2017, he beat XX in CTTSL in 2013, never FZD.
LSS can be considered as he beat XX in 2017 and LGY multiple times and ML once in 2012. He never beat FZD though. So the choice is between LSS and HT who recently beat FZD :p

CNT tends to play safe. If LGY and WCQ play, most likely they will play group not KO stage and play 3rd set only.


I think Mizutani and Niwa (I'm a huge fan of Niwa Koki) are both great players. But neither had proven successful against Chinese players in the past.

That's why I picked Harimoto and Lee Sangsu instead. Besides, Hariomoto regularly defeats Mizutani and Niwa. Most recently Harimoto defeated Mizutani in the final of Japan National Championship.

It would be interesting to see Mizutani play Lin GY and Niwa play Wang CQ, since they never faced each other before. But the match up wouldn't favor the Japanese players.
 
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Who the hell beat FZD? ;):D That guy is a monster.
Dima - obvious
Hugo - he got pretty good only recently, worth a try. he is got power, that's a key point
Harimoto - obvious
Niwa - double edged weapon, if he don't messes up with unforced errors and BH-BH exchanges he is very-very dangerous
LSS/Timo - I can't decide, coin toss
Others to mention:
Mizutani - I just can't see him winning against anyone else than XX, but XX is weakest point of CNT technically. He has a stable performance though.
Wong Chun Ting - are you kidding? he is a good player, but totally overrated, no chance against the CNT. Maybe the kids...
Jung Youngsik - good, but I can't see the power.
Liam - well, he had a good month. but this means he is capable against the CNT? Nope. Well, he might be a strong choice, but he has to prove it yet.
Jeong Sangeun - he is a good candidate, but I still feel Timo, Lee Sangsu and Niwa a better option. But he is close enough.
Alexander Shibaev - if I remember correctly the chinese doesn't like his style, but he needs more to be in my team. And I don't like his behaviour
Gauzy - made some improvements, but needs some more. he is a creative player, should take more risks like Niwa
JSH - he plays well against nearly everyone, but can't see winning against the CNT

The match I want to see:
Kenta Matsudaira vs Xu Xin - crazy loop-block points!

Also I want to see the Kenta - Niwa double again. The ultimate chopblock double! (well, ML and Niwa would be a good one too) Sick angles, ripping backhands!
 
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FZD: Timo Boll, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, Liam Pitchford (if retired players are considered, I will include Joo Sae-hyuk)


I made a new thread and will update other CNT players' answers.
https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...form-a-strongest-team-in-CNT-players-opinions


I would select Jun Mizutani and Koki Niwa over HC and LSS.

BTW, TT World Magazine has interviewed CNT players and asked them to pick 3 non-CNT players to form a best international team against China. So far the answers from XX, WMY and LSW are released.
XX: 3 is not enough. I can name a dozen. Non-CNT players have improved a lot recently.
WMY: It is hard to pick 3. Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano, Hina Hayata, Cehng I Ching, Doo Hoi Kem, Bernadette Szocs and so on.
LSW: Top 3 of Japan (Kasumi Ishikawa, Mima Ito, Miu Hirano)
 
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Is Wong Chun Ting really overrated? Whenever someone talks about him there are plenty opinions of him being overrated. How is he overrated if most people are b*tching about him?
 
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Is Wong Chun Ting really overrated? Whenever someone talks about him there are plenty opinions of him being overrated. How is he overrated if most people are b*tching about him?
Second that !! WCT is not over rated at all. I would say he is actually under rated considering he performs solidly all year round. Recently he has shown some good improvements to his game as well.
 
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There is a guy who zeio knows who posts on mytt as jackwong23. The guy posts on HK forums and is critical of HK players in general. He has a specific dislike for WCT as the top HK player and started the WCT is overrated meme because he argued that WCT was higher ranked than players he couldn't beat in the original ranking system and had bonus points based on participation. This was when WCT was higher ranked than Freitas, Samsonov, Boll and Fang Bo amongst others because WCT had come 3rd in the Asian cup and won a few events in Europe (this was 2015 or 2016). Zeio also used and popularized the meme in his video satirizing the new ranking system.

For WCT's ranking is what it is. Losing to people like Kanak Jha then beating Harimoto and Koki Niwa (sometimes the joke is that WCT is overrated unless he is playing the Japanese). Then he loses 0-4 to Harimoto in Japan even to confuse that.

Still he is a great player and extremely hard working. I would not take anything away from him and wish him the best. I just wish he performed better against lower rated players in some situations.
 
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Second that !! WCT is not over rated at all. I would say he is actually under rated considering he performs solidly all year round. Recently he has shown some good improvements to his game as well.

Maybe I wasn't too kind, because he definitely is a good player, but still. He is still No.7. You know who is underrated? Ueda Jin! No.25! The WR is a joke. WCT is stable and strong, but can't remember a time when he proved he might stand a chance against the CNT. He is stable, but I haven't really see him making BIG upsets. Plenty of players whom I think weaker on average than WCT have more chance to beat the CNT members.
 
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Who the hell beat FZD? ;):D That guy is a monster.
Dima - obvious
Hugo - he got pretty good only recently, worth a try. he is got power, that's a key point
Harimoto - obvious
Niwa - double edged weapon, if he don't messes up with unforced errors and BH-BH exchanges he is very-very dangerous
LSS/Timo - I can't decide, coin toss
Others to mention:
Mizutani - I just can't see him winning against anyone else than XX, but XX is weakest point of CNT technically. He has a stable performance though.
Wong Chun Ting - are you kidding? he is a good player, but totally overrated, no chance against the CNT. Maybe the kids...
Jung Youngsik - good, but I can't see the power.
Liam - well, he had a good month. but this means he is capable against the CNT? Nope. Well, he might be a strong choice, but he has to prove it yet.
Jeong Sangeun - he is a good candidate, but I still feel Timo, Lee Sangsu and Niwa a better option. But he is close enough.
Alexander Shibaev - if I remember correctly the chinese doesn't like his style, but he needs more to be in my team. And I don't like his behaviour
Gauzy - made some improvements, but needs some more. he is a creative player, should take more risks like Niwa
JSH - he plays well against nearly everyone, but can't see winning against the CNT

The match I want to see:
Kenta Matsudaira vs Xu Xin - crazy loop-block points!

Also I want to see the Kenta - Niwa double again. The ultimate chopblock double! (well, ML and Niwa would be a good one too) Sick angles, ripping backhands!

You raise some good points, but I disagree with a few of them.
I don't think Wong Chun Ting is overrated. Besides a few bad losses against lower ranked players, he's pretty consistent overall.
I don't think Jeoung Youngsik lacks power at all. In fact, the top Korean players are all flush in the power department; what they lack are finesse and creativity. Jeoung Youngsik is powerful on both wings; Jeong Sangeun has ripping FH (but needs to improve his BH); Lee Sangsu has powerful BH and decent FH.
The entire Japanese team has creativity, but lacks power in general. Take Niwa, Mizutani, and Matsudaira for example, they are very threatening close to the table, but during longer rallies away from the table, they tend to lose a lot more. Harimoto is still young. He might get a lot stronger in a few years, but he lacks strength at the moment.
If only I can mash Niwa Koki with Jeoung Youngsik, that would pose a challenge to FZD.
 
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Seriously? JM already played with LGY once and beat him in 2017 Asian Cup group stage. JM also beat XX in 2016 Rio final. He never beat ML and FZD though.
KN beat XX in 2017 Asian Championships. He beat ML once in 2012 and LGY multiple times. He never beat FZD though.
DO beat FZD and LGY in 2017, he beat XX once in 2010, never ML.
TB beat ML and LGY in 2017, he beat XX in CTTSL in 2013, never FZD.
LSS can be considered as he beat XX in 2017 and LGY multiple times and ML once in 2012. He never beat FZD though. So the choice is between LSS and HT who recently beat FZD :p

CNT tends to play safe. If LGY and WCQ play, most likely they will play group not KO stage and play 3rd set only.

Some of the win-loss records could be misleading. I recently watched Xu Xin's performance in 2018 German open. His BH has improved a lot. If he continue to play the way he did during German open, I doubt Niwa or Mizutani stands a chance. I also watched Mizutani play in 2018 German open and Niwa in Asian Cup, sadly I do not see to much improvement in either of them. Ovtcharov and Boll are always a threat to CNT. They are both very complete players with experience and power. Harimoto is clearly a weaker player compared to the top CNT players. Yes, he might've recently beaten FZD. But that was during the group stage of a relatively small event. Do you honestly think Harimoto can beat a focused FZD during a major event?
Anyways, I'm excited to see how Xu Xin performs in WTTTC. I know Lin GY and Wang CQ will not get to play at all, but I really wish to see more of Wang CQ (and Lin Yun-Ju from Chinese Taipei). It's always exciting to see young players facing off against veterans.
 
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You raise some good points, but I disagree with a few of them.
I don't think Wong Chun Ting is overrated. Besides a few bad losses against lower ranked players, he's pretty consistent overall.
I don't think Jeoung Youngsik lacks power at all. In fact, the top Korean players are all flush in the power department; what they lack are finesse and creativity. Jeoung Youngsik is powerful on both wings; Jeong Sangeun has ripping FH (but needs to improve his BH); Lee Sangsu has powerful BH and decent FH.
The entire Japanese team has creativity, but lacks power in general. Take Niwa, Mizutani, and Matsudaira for example, they are very threatening close to the table, but during longer rallies away from the table, they tend to lose a lot more. Harimoto is still young. He might get a lot stronger in a few years, but he lacks strength at the moment.
If only I can mash Niwa Koki with Jeoung Youngsik, that would pose a challenge to FZD.

I partially agree with team japan lacking power. However Mizutani and Oshima has power on the FH side, Niwa with all-in shots.
I watched some JYS matches and have to agree, he has enough power (though his FH is pretty weak compared to lots of players, however quite consistent). Still, I wouldn't switch him with Koki, but he is close. I said before WCT is consistent, but his ranking IS too high. For example, I would put JYS, Lee Sang Su, Harimoto, Calderano, Mizutani and Fang Bo (and other china players like Yan An etc.) higher for sure.

(( Oh, my god, that post was full of grammar errors .D ))
 
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I partially agree with team japan lacking power. However Mizutani and Oshima has power on the FH side, Niwa with all-in shots.
I watched some JYS matches and have to agree, he has enough power (though his FH is pretty weak compared to lots of players, however quite consistent). Still, I wouldn't switch him with Koki, but he is close. I said before WCT is consistent, but his ranking IS too high. For example, I would put JYS, Lee Sang Su, Harimoto, Calderano, Mizutani and Fang Bo (and other china players like Yan An etc.) higher for sure.

(( Oh, my god, that post was full of grammar errors .D ))

Every time I see Mizutani's chicken wing FH swing, I cringe a little. The reason I insist Team Japan lacks power is because Team Japan thinks so. Japanese players are fully aware of their lack of power. In their own hexagonal rating system, they rated Niwa a 3 out of 5 in power. Btw, the six categories they look at are service, receive, experience, power, speed, and technique. In their system, they rated Ma Long a perfect 5 in all six categories and FZD was nearly perfect.
 
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