With the depth of the Chinese team, the selection process of the participants of the Worlds and the Olympic Games is no easy decision to make. There was Ma Lin missing the 2000 Olympics despite winning a silver medal in the Worlds in the previous year. There were also stories about Wang Liqin and Yan Sen the defending Olympic champion in the men's doubles losing to their compatriots Ma Lin and Chen Qi, which had cost them the tickets to Athens in 2004. Since 2006, the Chinese national team has started the Chinese trials to select players to the Worlds and has staged numerous exciting games for table tennis lovers. In the past 11 years, many dark horses, like this year's Lin Gaoyuan, has emerged to the national and international scene via the trials, while the legends take no privileges but fight hard to defend their spots. One of the classics is the match between Wang Liqin and Ma Lin at 2010 Chinese Trials.
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| Source: Sohu Sport |
There are 5 stages in 2010 Chinese Trials. In the first stage the top 8 players in the national team played under a knock out system and the winner earned the ticket to the Worlds. The same system was played in stage 2 and stage 3, with the winner of the previous stages skipping the trials, the player ranked no.9 and no.10 join in stage 2 and stage 3 respectively. Surprisingly, Xu Xin, Zhang Jike and Ma Long, three young players at that time won the first three spots, leaving the three Olympians Wang Hao, Ma Lin and Wang Liqin fighting for the remaining 2 spots. As we all know, Wang Hao won the round robin in stage 4 and Wang Liqin and Ma Lin played against each other for the last spot.
Wang Liqin and Ma Lin are too familiar with each other. They played against each other in the matches in 2005 and 2007 Worlds, 2008 Olympic Games men's singles semi-final and the list goes on. In stage 4, Wang Liqin beat Ma Lin with a slight margin (full match). Wang Liqin punched his fist in the air to celebrate the victory but that was not enough for him to go to the Worlds. In stage 5, Wang Liqin had a pretty good opening in set 1 and set 2. His strong forehand drives and large angles put Ma Lin in a hard time. However Ma Lin quickly played more variety and had amazing first three ball contacts which gave him edges to win at critical moments. The third set is a close match but Wang Liqin had a few hesitations at the end of the set costing him the set. In the forth set, Ma Lin was fierceless and we know the result. Ma Lin was in and Wang Liqin missed the spot to the Worlds ever since 1997. Watch the full match here.
Stage 5 of 2010 Chinese Trials -- Ma Lin Vs. Wang Liqin
What a match between the two legends! The trials marked the decline of the great Olympians and the rise of the 'Rio Trio'. History does not repeat itself but it rhymes. The rankings among the national team players often shuffle after the Olympic year and newcomers shine in trials and National Games. Who will be the next 'Trio'? Comment below!
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