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Goodbye to the Paris Olympics, the world of table tennis will move on to another chapter. Perhaps, the golden age of table tennis has passed, a new era is forming.
Probably very few people here know and remember the Rankings of 2000, which was truly the most prosperous period in the history of men's table tennis. Kong Linghui, Lao Wa Jan-Ove Waldner, Liu Guoliang, three Grand Slam winners "stood on the same stage", taking turns occupying the top 10 positions at that time. In addition to the three “gods” above, we also have Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Vladimir Samsonov, Werner Schlager, Jörgen Persson, Liu Guozheng, Zoran Primorac, Kim Taek-soo, Chiang Peng-lung…THE TOP 10 ARE ALL WORLD CHAMPIONS, LEGENDS, THE BRIGHTEST STARS IN TABLE TENNIS HISTORY, THE MOST ELITE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE FEDERATIONS.
It must be said that just looking at the list, one can see that the competition is too fierce if one wants to win a championship. Since Table Tennis was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1988, every four years or so, history has seen a Grand Slam winner, Jan Ove Waldner in 1992, Liu Guoliang in 1996 and Kong Linghui in 2000. However, a break has occurred, with the next Grand Slam winner coming at the 2012 London Olympics, Zhang Jike, 12 years after Kong Linghui in 2000. During these 12 years, the Chinese team gradually established their absolute dominance. Outside rivals include Timo Boll, one of the European Five Tigers, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who won the 2017 World Cup. The others hardly pose any serious threat to the Chinese team. Also during this 12-year period, the competition between the two kings and one horse (Wang Hao, Wang Liqin and Ma Lin) was so intense that none of the three could overwhelm the others to realize their Grand Slam dream. In 2016, Ma Long completed the Grand Slam feat. In 2021, he completed the doubles Grand Slam, becoming the first person in history to do so. In 2024, Fan Zhendong won the Paris men's singles and the world had another Grand Slam.
Initially, when table tennis was first introduced into the Olympics, the concept of Grand Slam referred to the three major championships: World Cup, WTTC and Olympics. Later, Grand Slam became more and more popular. Zhang Jike became the fastest Grand Slam and was only missing an Olympic gold medal to complete the double. Wang Hao caused the biggest regret when he finished second three times at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, still missing an Olympic singles gold medal to complete his dream.
Why is the period 2000 - 2024 considered the golden age?
Because the number of Grand Slams appearing in this period is the largest and most difficult, the level of the opponents is also very different, their technical styles are also different, so it will be very difficult for every athlete who wants to reach the top. But at the Paris Olympics, most of the athletes from the golden era will gradually retire. The first is Timo Boll, who has officially announced his retirement from the Olympics and the WTT system. He has won two World Cups in his career. Dimitrij Ovtcharov's condition has not improved much and he is probably close to retirement, but German table tennis is not much brighter either, Ovtcharov may still be able to compete but will no longer be a threat at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Ma Long has made it clear that this is the last Olympics and perhaps the GOAT is waiting for the National Games to compete for the team championship one last time. Fan Zhendong is a bit unpredictable, but even in the next cycle, he will be a man of the old golden age, not the one who ushers in the next era.
The last ten years of the golden age (2014-2024) are the battle between Long and Dong, the two of them have won almost all the world championships in these ten years, the two generations (before and after them) were all defeated by Dong - Long without exception. The new super star, Wang Chuqin, has appeared, but let's not talk much about this person, the negative news about his skills, personality, and serve is all over the internet. After Paris 2024, the audience will probably hear a lot of names they have never heard of, the names of the previous golden age will all rest. About 2 Olympic cycles, in 8-10 years, men's table tennis will fall into a more balanced era, because the "great" players will no longer exist, only athletes with fairly equal skills will remain and no one will be superior, there will also be many surprises. The table tennis world will slowly rest and wait until it is ‘rich in nutrients’ for the next stage. It is also time for the Chinese team to return to the position of a “strong table tennis team” rather than an “absolute hegemony” table tennis team.
This is very normal, no one can be strong forever, the whole world is looking forward to more interesting things in table tennis than China holding on to the hegemony forever. There will no longer be super, great players, but instead there will be fiercer competition between equal players. Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong from China, Lin Yun-ju from Chinese Taipei, Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan, Hugo Calderano, Truls Möregårdh, the Le Brun brothers from France, there are quite a few people at this level and more will appear. They are all at the same level, level, and are all top players.
Among them, Truls Möregårdh has a lot of competition experience, Tomokazu Harimoto has almost fixed his forehand, his mentality will become more and more stable, although he has debuted for a long time, but remember, Harimoto is only 20-21 years old, too young and has also won achievements that many other athletes outside of China dream of. The remaining athletes have more or less won the continental championship, and are capable of threatening in world tournaments. In future matches, the battle will certainly become more fierce and everyone will try their best for the dream of the Grand Slam.
If the golden age ends with Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, then in the Next Era, we can see that the performance will be lively and thrilling, table tennis will be bloody, uncompromising battles. It will not lag behind any sport, and we will have more fun and choices.
According to the current table tennis rules, Fan Zhendong is not the best choice in the next era, there may be a taller player with rich changes in the first three balls approaching Ma Long's brain, strength, tight defense and good mobility and speed. Among the current players, there is no one who is too outstanding. Of course, this is based on the current table
tennis rules. Different forms of athletes will appear under different systems of rules.
Probably very few people here know and remember the Rankings of 2000, which was truly the most prosperous period in the history of men's table tennis. Kong Linghui, Lao Wa Jan-Ove Waldner, Liu Guoliang, three Grand Slam winners "stood on the same stage", taking turns occupying the top 10 positions at that time. In addition to the three “gods” above, we also have Wang Liqin, Ma Lin, Vladimir Samsonov, Werner Schlager, Jörgen Persson, Liu Guozheng, Zoran Primorac, Kim Taek-soo, Chiang Peng-lung…THE TOP 10 ARE ALL WORLD CHAMPIONS, LEGENDS, THE BRIGHTEST STARS IN TABLE TENNIS HISTORY, THE MOST ELITE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE FEDERATIONS.
It must be said that just looking at the list, one can see that the competition is too fierce if one wants to win a championship. Since Table Tennis was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1988, every four years or so, history has seen a Grand Slam winner, Jan Ove Waldner in 1992, Liu Guoliang in 1996 and Kong Linghui in 2000. However, a break has occurred, with the next Grand Slam winner coming at the 2012 London Olympics, Zhang Jike, 12 years after Kong Linghui in 2000. During these 12 years, the Chinese team gradually established their absolute dominance. Outside rivals include Timo Boll, one of the European Five Tigers, and Dimitrij Ovtcharov, who won the 2017 World Cup. The others hardly pose any serious threat to the Chinese team. Also during this 12-year period, the competition between the two kings and one horse (Wang Hao, Wang Liqin and Ma Lin) was so intense that none of the three could overwhelm the others to realize their Grand Slam dream. In 2016, Ma Long completed the Grand Slam feat. In 2021, he completed the doubles Grand Slam, becoming the first person in history to do so. In 2024, Fan Zhendong won the Paris men's singles and the world had another Grand Slam.
Initially, when table tennis was first introduced into the Olympics, the concept of Grand Slam referred to the three major championships: World Cup, WTTC and Olympics. Later, Grand Slam became more and more popular. Zhang Jike became the fastest Grand Slam and was only missing an Olympic gold medal to complete the double. Wang Hao caused the biggest regret when he finished second three times at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics, still missing an Olympic singles gold medal to complete his dream.
Why is the period 2000 - 2024 considered the golden age?
Because the number of Grand Slams appearing in this period is the largest and most difficult, the level of the opponents is also very different, their technical styles are also different, so it will be very difficult for every athlete who wants to reach the top. But at the Paris Olympics, most of the athletes from the golden era will gradually retire. The first is Timo Boll, who has officially announced his retirement from the Olympics and the WTT system. He has won two World Cups in his career. Dimitrij Ovtcharov's condition has not improved much and he is probably close to retirement, but German table tennis is not much brighter either, Ovtcharov may still be able to compete but will no longer be a threat at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Ma Long has made it clear that this is the last Olympics and perhaps the GOAT is waiting for the National Games to compete for the team championship one last time. Fan Zhendong is a bit unpredictable, but even in the next cycle, he will be a man of the old golden age, not the one who ushers in the next era.
The last ten years of the golden age (2014-2024) are the battle between Long and Dong, the two of them have won almost all the world championships in these ten years, the two generations (before and after them) were all defeated by Dong - Long without exception. The new super star, Wang Chuqin, has appeared, but let's not talk much about this person, the negative news about his skills, personality, and serve is all over the internet. After Paris 2024, the audience will probably hear a lot of names they have never heard of, the names of the previous golden age will all rest. About 2 Olympic cycles, in 8-10 years, men's table tennis will fall into a more balanced era, because the "great" players will no longer exist, only athletes with fairly equal skills will remain and no one will be superior, there will also be many surprises. The table tennis world will slowly rest and wait until it is ‘rich in nutrients’ for the next stage. It is also time for the Chinese team to return to the position of a “strong table tennis team” rather than an “absolute hegemony” table tennis team.
This is very normal, no one can be strong forever, the whole world is looking forward to more interesting things in table tennis than China holding on to the hegemony forever. There will no longer be super, great players, but instead there will be fiercer competition between equal players. Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong from China, Lin Yun-ju from Chinese Taipei, Tomokazu Harimoto from Japan, Hugo Calderano, Truls Möregårdh, the Le Brun brothers from France, there are quite a few people at this level and more will appear. They are all at the same level, level, and are all top players.
Among them, Truls Möregårdh has a lot of competition experience, Tomokazu Harimoto has almost fixed his forehand, his mentality will become more and more stable, although he has debuted for a long time, but remember, Harimoto is only 20-21 years old, too young and has also won achievements that many other athletes outside of China dream of. The remaining athletes have more or less won the continental championship, and are capable of threatening in world tournaments. In future matches, the battle will certainly become more fierce and everyone will try their best for the dream of the Grand Slam.
If the golden age ends with Ma Long and Fan Zhendong, then in the Next Era, we can see that the performance will be lively and thrilling, table tennis will be bloody, uncompromising battles. It will not lag behind any sport, and we will have more fun and choices.
According to the current table tennis rules, Fan Zhendong is not the best choice in the next era, there may be a taller player with rich changes in the first three balls approaching Ma Long's brain, strength, tight defense and good mobility and speed. Among the current players, there is no one who is too outstanding. Of course, this is based on the current table
tennis rules. Different forms of athletes will appear under different systems of rules.
