#头条首发大赛#
With the conclusion of the WTT Bangkok Stars Challenge, there has been a noticeable change in the points and rankings of the men's and women's teams. The Bangkok Star Challenge was the last WTT event before the start of the Olympic Games, and this time the men's team Lin Gaoyuan and Tomokazu Zhang won the championship and second place respectively, and the points were able to rise. Lin Gaoyuan earned 330 valid points, and the world ranking rose from eighth to seventh, surpassing Lin Yunru.
Tomokazu Zhang won the men's singles championship at the Bangkok Star Challenge, earning 425 valid points and moving up one place in the world rankings. Zhang Benzhihe has achieved a triple crown in two consecutive races, and his overall strength has indeed risen a lot. In the final between him and Lin Gaoyuan, his forehand offensive ability was significantly enhanced, and at this time when the Olympic Games were about to start, Tomokazu Zhang became the main rival of national table tennis.
Among the world's top 10 rankings, the biggest change is still Fan Zhendong. This time, Fan Zhendong cleared the points from last year's Ljubljana and dropped two places to fourth in the world, with a total of 3,662 points, 75 points more than Lebrun, who ranked fifth.
Ma Long and Liang Jingkun have both risen one place in points, and Ma Long ranks second in the world with a total of 4,025 points. Liang Jingkun ranks third in the world with 3,985 points, and Ma Long and Liang Jingkun have more than 300 points more than Fan Zhendong. However, since Fan Zhendong will compete in the Olympics at the end of the month, as long as he can win the singles championship at this year's Olympic Games, the world ranking will return to second place.
The difference between Lebrun and Brazil's Hugo and Fan Zhendong is very small, and if Lebrun and Hugo perform well in the singles competition at this year's Olympics, the world ranking is also expected to rise to second place. From Ma Long, who is ranked second in the world, to Hugo, who is ranked sixth in the world, the difference is only 480 points.
This means that after the Olympics, the points and rankings of foreign players are expected to reach the top three in the world. From this point, it can also be seen that the competitiveness of foreign players is increasing, and the pressure of foreign war faced by the men's team is very prominent. This year's Olympics will be extremely competitive, and it will be very suspenseful who will win the championship.
The ranking of the players confirms the competitiveness of the players, which is also directly related to the number of times the players participate. Fan Zhendong is the second seed at the Olympics, while Ma Long and Liang Jingkun will not compete in singles at this year's Olympics. For Fan Zhendong, winning the championship is the only option, and many times there is pressure and motivation.
The women's team's world ranking has changed significantly, and Japanese chipper Hashimoto Honoka Hashimoto, who reached the women's singles final at the Bangkok Star Challenge, has risen 98 places from 159 to 41st in the world rankings. Hashimoto Honoka eliminated second seed Miwa Haramoto in the Bangkok Star Challenge, becoming the biggest dark horse of the women's team in this tournament.
National table tennis player Kuaiman has dropped seven places in the world ranking due to the expiration of his points in Ljubljana last year, and is currently ranked 39th. After the Olympics, he will participate in WTT feeder events, so that the ranking will rise little by little. Another Japanese chipper, Hitomi Sato, has moved up 20 places in the world rankings to No. 88.
Many Japanese female table tennis players have not participated in international competitions for a long time, and although they are very strong, their ranking is not high. Chipper Seo Hyo-won rose 12 spots to No. 27 by reaching the semi-finals of the Bangkok Star Challenge. Therefore, this time, the ranking of female table tennis players has risen the most, and Mimato Ito, who won the women's singles championship at the Bangkok Star Challenge, has moved to ninth place, only rising one place.
The points and rankings of the other players have also changed, but not by a large margin. Miyu Kihara dropped out of the top 20 in the world due to her poor performance at the Bangkok Star Challenge. National table tennis player Sun Yingsha cleared 100 valid points due to the expiration of the points in the Ljubljana Star Challenge last year.
Sun Yingsha currently has a total of 8,100 points, and Wang Manyu ranks second in the world with 6,315 points, and there is no increase or decrease in points. Wang Yidi ranks third in the world with 5,410 points, and Chen Meng is still ranked fourth in the world, but 70 valid points have been cleared, and the total score is 5,290 points. The score difference between Chen Meng and Wang Yidi is 120 points, and the score difference between Wang Manyu and Wang Manyu is 1025 points.
Chen Meng and Fan Zhendong, who compete in the singles of the men's and women's teams, are currently ranked fourth in the world, and both players will compete in the singles at the Olympics. Both players can return to the world No. 2 rankings if they play well in the singles competition at the Olympics. Due to the end of the Bangkok Star Challenge, there should not be much change in rankings and points for the next 20 days.
At the same time, the seeding rankings of the Olympics are basically fixed, with Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong being the first and second seeds, so that the two will be in the upper and lower halves. Tomokazu Haramoto is the sixth seed in the men's singles, but his performance at the Bangkok Star Challenge earned him the fourth seed in the team event for the Japanese men's team.
It can be seen that the world ranking of the players is higher, which can make the team also improve the ranking, and in the team competitions such as the Olympic Games and the World Table Tennis Championships, they will have some advantages in the draw group. Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng are the first and second seeds at the Olympics, Hina Hayada is the third seed, and South Korea's Shin Yubin is the fourth seed.
This means that the top four seeds on the women's team will only meet in the semi-finals, so it's no wonder that many of the players will have to compete in WTT events and indeed have an advantage in the Olympic draw.