SINGAPORE – To transpose Gary Lineker’s famed football adage: Table tennis is a simple game... in the end, the Chinese always win.
The past two editions of the star-studded Singapore Smash at the OCBC Arena are proof of China’s domination of the sport, as the men and women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles events were all won by the Chinese.
But based on recent shock results, China’s air of invincibility seems to be evaporating, despite retaining their crowns at the World Team Table Tennis Championships in February.
Their women’s team beat India 3-2 in the group stage but trailed 1-2 after 138th-ranked Ayhika Mukherjee handed world No. 1 Sun Yingsha her first singles loss at a team event with a 3-1 victory, before 50th-ranked Sreeja Akula swept world No. 4 Wang Yidi.
Similarly, they needed to come from behind to beat Japan 3-2 in the final. In the 2022 edition, China did not lose a single match and dropped just two games.
World No. 2 Chen Meng recalled: “We expected it to be a very tough match. Japan have shown their prowess as a strong team, and we can feel the threat. Their level is almost at where we are right now, and their young players also have some really advanced techniques of play.
“This is the most difficult one for us in so many team world championships.”
At the US$1.5 million (S$2m) Singapore Smash draw ceremony, held at Jewel Changi Airport on March 8 against the stunning backdrop of the Rain Vortex and witnessed by a crowd of 100 and 4.4 million people on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, defending women’s singles champion Sun agreed.
Ahead of the main draw that starts on March 10, the 23-year-old, who will play Yuan Jianan of France, said: “The overall level of the sport has increased over the years and many players are now of a higher standard.
“The important thing for us is to focus on our own training and preparation to bring our best game to the table.”
In-depth as well as advanced techniques and training methods has given the rest of the world hope that they can slay the giants.
For example, Mukherjee plays with anti-spin rubber on her backhand, which allows her to chop-block, cancel out her opponents’ spin and prevent them from taking the initiative.
Puerto Rico’s world No. 9 Adriana Diaz, on the other hand, used an attacking style to stun third-ranked Wang Manyu at the Mixed Team World Cup in December.
Idolising Chinese great Liu Shiwen while she was growing up, the 23-year-old committed to practising six days a week, twice a day, with weights, yoga and running sessions thrown in, to get to where she is today.
Diaz, who now considers Sun a good friend as they chat about music and food in a mix of English and Mandarin, said: “Puerto Rico wasn’t known for table tennis, but it is now. This is the result of hard work, and I’m proud of what we have achieved.”
China’s men’s singles world No. 1 Fan Zhendong appreciates the threat posed by their rivals. At the WTT Champions Macao in April 2023, he lost 3-2 to Frenchman Alexis Lebrun, whose younger brother Felix has since climbed to world No. 6 to become the highest-ranked non-Chinese player.
At the world team championships semi-finals, China also had to fight back from 1-2 down to beat South Korea 3-2 after 12th-ranked Jang Woo-jin and 26th-ranked Lee Sang-su beat world No. 2 and Wang Chuqin and third-ranked Ma Long respectively.
Two-time Singapore Smash men’s singles defending champion Fan, who opens his campaign against Australian Finn Luu, said: “Fierce rivalries make the competition more exciting. Everyone wants to be a winner, but there can only be one, so we are giving it our all during training and in competition to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Singapore’s Izaac Quek is also looking to use home-ground advantage to continue his giant-killing exploits after beating India’s 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Sharath Kamal Achanta and Sweden’s former world championship runner-up Mattias Falck in 2023.
The world No. 55, who will play Egypt’s 22nd-ranked Omar Assar, said: “It just feels different playing at home, as I have friends and fans to support and cheer me on, and I hope to play well again this year.”
