With ML era ending, who are the top Chinese upcoming players?

[TensorBackhand]

ML is retiring sometime soon it seems. FZD and WCQ seem like a lock for the #1 and #2 CNT positions for the foreseeable future.

Who are the most likely contenders for the CNT #3?

A lot of people say Lin Shidong is promising, I'm not totally sure. I find his style a bit uninspiring, but of course he has time on his side. Sun Yang is interesting player, but not sure how far he can go.

 

[TampaBayTableTennis]

seems like Xiang Peng has always been touted as a future superstar, Wen Ruibo is crazy good too

Wen Ruibo vs Eduard Ionescu | U19 BS-SF | ITTF World Youth Championships 2023​

-

 

[mikeytt]

I like Sun Yang, he's a chopper who was supposedly mentored by Ma Long

 

[kingkimchi]

ML is retiring sometime soon it seems. FZD and WCQ seem like a lock for the #1 and #2 CNT positions for the foreseeable future.

Who are the most likely contenders for the CNT #3?

A lot of people say Lin Shidong is promising, I'm not totally sure. I find his style a bit uninspiring, but of course he has time on his side. Sun Yang is interesting player, but not sure how far he can go.

Very unpopular opinion, but someone like xu haidong would be a solid player if he copes with that top level presssure. Another one could be xiang peng, lin gaoyuan, lin shidong...

 

[blahness]

Imo it's clearly Lin Shidong. Guy has the speed and explosiveness to match, just needs more experience.

Xiang Peng is not up to Lin Shidong standards as his BH game (extremely crucial for the modern game) is simply inferior to Lin Shidong and even worse than many of the Japanese pros. I think Xiang Peng is just gonna be Fang Bo version 2, may come up with surprises here and there but not gonna be a consistent top 3.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Imo it's clearly Lin Shidong. Guy has the speed and explosiveness to match, just needs more experience.

Xiang Peng is not up to Lin Shidong standards as his BH game (extremely crucial for the modern game) is simply inferior to Lin Shidong and even worse than many of the Japanese pros. I think Xiang Peng is just gonna be Fang Bo version 2, may come up with surprises here and there but not gonna be a consistent top 3.

Lin Shidong: video, ranking

Just checking here, I guess you are right. You can't argue with wins over FZD, LJK, LYJ, Qiu Dang, Otcharov.

I just don't like the way he looks. His body language and energy doesn't speak "champion" to me.

 

[blahness]

Lin Shidong: video, ranking

Just checking here, I guess you are right. You can't argue with wins over FZD, LJK, LYJ, Qiu Dang, Otcharov.

I just don't like the way he looks. His body language and energy doesn't speak "champion" to me.

You don't need body language or energy or whatever other stuff to win, you just need to win lol, and Lin Shidong definitely has that special sauce.

Imo a lot of ppl said the same thing about Ma Long (shy, introverted personality), and he ended up surpassing ZJK.

Winning is winning, regardless of body language or energy or personality or mental strength or 1001 other factors.

 

[longle]

Lin Shidong: video, ranking

Just checking here, I guess you are right. You can't argue with wins over FZD, LJK, LYJ, Qiu Dang, Otcharov.

I just don't like the way he looks. His body language and energy doesn't speak "champion" to me.

me too also think that the "champions" all give a strong aura, and they all look good (except Ma Lin haha)

 

[TensorBackhand]

me too also think that the "champions" all give a strong aura, and they all look good (except Ma Lin haha)

Yeah, I agree on Aura, and they have a certain "champion" look and mindset. Ma Lin I would argue had that champion boxer look and mindset, he was an absolute assassin.

Lin Shidong just looks like insecure. Kinda reminds me of Hao Shuai or Liu Guozheng, good players, but not quite that "champion" aura.

To me, Sun Yang has much more the "look" and "aura" and "energy" of a champion.

 

[TensorBackhand]

Inspiring video, pretty cool stuff:

 

[longle]

Yeah, I agree on Aura, and they have a certain "champion" look and mindset. Ma Lin I would argue had that champion boxer look and mindset, he was an absolute assassin.

Lin Shidong just looks like insecure. Kinda reminds me of Hao Shuai or Liu Guozheng, good players, but not quite that "champion" aura.

To me, Sun Yang has much more the "look" and "aura" and "energy" of a champion.

I had high hope for Xue Fei, IMO he looks good and well built but unfortunely he ended up mediocre

 

[blahness]

Yeah, I agree on Aura, and they have a certain "champion" look and mindset. Ma Lin I would argue had that champion boxer look and mindset, he was an absolute assassin.

Lin Shidong just looks like insecure. Kinda reminds me of Hao Shuai or Liu Guozheng, good players, but not quite that "champion" aura.

To me, Sun Yang has much more the "look" and "aura" and "energy" of a champion.

Aura doesn't matter if you don't have the skills to win games....and win games Lin Shidong does!

All of the past CNT top players have shown huge promise at a young age, taking down the scalps of many top players though not necessarily winning tournaments. They all also show significant technical superiority at a certain part of the game (for Ma Long it would be his 3rd ball attack and FH, WCQ his serve/receive, ZJK chiquita, FZD BH down the line). Lin Shidong with his never before seen explosive close table BH is well in continuation of this trend.

 

[SFF_lib]

Very unpopular opinion, but someone like xu haidong would be a solid player if he copes with that top level presssure. Another one could be xiang peng, lin gaoyuan, lin shidong...

Xu Haidong is 24 and performs between the first and second division levels. His mental strength is far from #3. As much as I like to see another penhold gold medalist, I am afraid this is the truth.

 

[SFF_lib]

I had high hope for Xue Fei, IMO he looks good and well built but unfortunely he ended up mediocre

Same. . . . Xue won the China youth champ. His case proved that mental strength is just as important as physical strength

 

[blahness]

Same. . . . Xue won the China youth champ. His case proved that mental strength is just as important as physical strength

Nah, it's nothing to do with mental strength, its just that his short game and service skills aren't up there yet. WCQ as a shakehander has way more advanced serve/receive compared to Xue Fei.... who gains almost no easy 3rd balls from his serve/receive and has to work hard for every point. Can't win matches like that....

 

[blahness]

Mental strength matters but only when the skills are good. You can have all the mental strength in the world, but if you don't have the skills, you're still a nobody....

Same with Lin Gaoyuan - a lot of ppl criticise his mentality but really it's his stroke structure that lets him down at critical moments - its way too flat, too focused on speed and too much sidespin to topspin ratio which makes it too error prone which is particularly bad at critical moments (though it makes it harder for his opponents). When ZJK gets nervous, he goes back to sacrificing speed to producing extreme topspin to make sure that his shot lands on the table, and they often do exactly that - land on the table. That's why he seems "mentally strong" but it's just that his stroke structure allows him to dial back the speed to produce even more topspin which makes him land a really high % of shots even when he is not feeling that great.

 

[cybershapedragon]

Mental strength matters but only when the skills are good. You can have all the mental strength in the world, but if you don't have the skills, you're still a nobody....

Same with Lin Gaoyuan - a lot of ppl criticise his mentality but really it's his stroke structure that lets him down at critical moments - its way too flat, too focused on speed and too much sidespin to topspin ratio which makes it too error prone which is particularly bad at critical moments (though it makes it harder for his opponents). When ZJK gets nervous, he goes back to sacrificing speed to producing extreme topspin to make sure that his shot lands on the table, and they often do exactly that - land on the table. That's why he seems "mentally strong" but it's just that his stroke structure allows him to dial back the speed to produce even more topspin which makes him land a really high % of shots even when he is not feeling that great.

It's said Lin Gaoyuan is a false lefty. When he's nervous, his hand and arm may be less natural than born lefty.

 

[d3nium]

Lin Shidong for me. His backhand is insane.

 

[Shine]

I think with Ma Long gone, it's a big chance for a new growth arc for the rest of the guys below his ranking in the CNT top 10. There's actually a good chance for the other guys like LJK and LGY to rise up to possible No 2 in the team. WCQ doesn't have a "domineering" record against them, LSD and ZQH will get frequent chances in the bigger World Tour tournaments too.
I think chances are dim but It's not completely over for the older guys in terms of Olympic prospects. Since top Chinese male players usually retire close to their mid 30s, I think LGY, LJK, ZQH would still be around by LA 28. Who knows maybe FZD and/or WCQ will fall down the pecking order. Nothing is certain.

Wen Ruibo has had interesting, often victorious exploits on the international level, but seeing the stagnation that XYB, XHD, YHY, XF, LDS and others are in after similar histories, I think it's best to lower expectations from him, When he rises up through the brutal internal competition to become a top 5 player in the team, then expectations can rise.

Of course there'll be upsets here and there. An upset in the Olympics may be more costly because China has only 2 entries in singles and one in doubles, but a WTTC/Olympic team consisting of FZD, WCQ, LJK, LGY, LSD/ZQH would easily still be the team to beat for the next 5 years.

 

[riemsesy]

I like Sun Yang, he's a chopper who was supposedly mentored by Ma Long

insane amount of spin they create