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| Source: 乒乓世界 Table Tennis World |
A Review of the Current Men's A Team
Ma Long and Zhang Jike are the core of the team. Their success is the result of years of hard-work and contributions from the coaching team. Yet, the team should be aware of the up coming challenges and do not get drown in the past glories.
Team Building
There are 26 members in the A team, the eldest member is 29 while the youngest is 17, which is a big range. As the 2 grand-slam players Zhang Jike and Ma Long are getting older, they get more injuries. Dealing with injuries and extending the sports career of the players are the issues that the team is going to address. Xu Xin is at an embarrass position. There are great players ahead of him as well as young players coming up. He will either make it or break it in the coming years. Fan Zhendong is an outstanding young player but there are no other young players who can compete against him. Lacking competition among young players does not favor the development of the team, so training more young players will be the main task of this quad.
Team Management
The team has reached its height winning all gold medals in the past 3 Olympics and gaining huge support from the crowd. It is the best of time in terms of its popularity and influence. But it also produces difficulties on team management. When the team is surrounded by fans and accomplishments, every move of the player and every decision made will be in the spotlight. It will be challenging to make sure the team focus on training and not distracted by other factors.
Analysis of the Opponents
The main opponents of the Chinese team are from Asia and Europe. With their young players coming up, Qin sees the paradigm is shifting. The Japanese team with Jun Mizutani, Koki Niwa, Yuya Oshima and Tomokazu Harimoto, will be the toughest opponents against China. It is expected the Japanese team will be playing against the Chinese in the finals of the Worlds and Olympics, especially in 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where the Japanese will enjoy the home crowd advantage.
The Germans have been China's long-time opponent. Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the European champion, has been more experience after 3 Olympics and has replaced Timo Boll becoming China's no.1 opponent but Timo Boll is not easy to beat to.
Team Korea has made their transition. Their young players, Lee Sang Su and Jung Young Sik are gaining experiences from international meets. One to mention, Jung Young Sik gave Ma Long and Zhang Jike lots of problems in the Rio Olympic Games. The Korean Table Tennis Association is taking table tennis seriously. The Chinese will list them as one of our major competitor.
Overall speaking, the Japanese and Korean teams are having good team building, especially team Japan has poured lots of resources after bidding for hosting 2020 Olympics. They will be our major opponents.
Qin's Principles of Leading the Team
Binding the new team
The team has recruited some new coaches. Qin Zhijian believes coaches need time to know each other. Team spirit is always the key to success. He emphasized the importance of being united as a team and leaving personal interest aside. Apart from that, he will trust national team coaches and give them a high degree of freedom to manage their own players. The team will have a clear division of labor to ensure it can run smoothly as soon as possible.
Table tennis is an individual event while it needs a big team to support.The Chinese team needs to combine the technique, physical fitness, research, medical support and logistic team to form an integrated supporting team and develop a scientific training method to improve its results.
Training
In order to train athletes with all-rounded techniques and outstanding strengths, training will stress on the following domains.
1. Increase the ratio of physical fitness training specially designed for the sport
2. Developed balance forehand and backhand technique and top-spin rallies
3. Stress the importance of mental toughness
The team will maintain a fair competition system, making sure athletes will have chances to move up. Every table tennis player competes for entering national B team, promoting to A team, becoming potential players and key players. Competition system is the key to the sport, it keeps the mobility of players at different levels and ensure smooth transitions in every Olympic cycle.
The National A Team
Ma Long peaks in Rio Olympics. It is the reward of 10 years of effort but he has the potential in improving his technique. He also needs to deal with injuries and physical fitness issues as he grows older. He must compete against young players if he wants to make the Tokyo Olympics. Zhang Jike became an influential person after Rio but he needs to strike a balance between personal issues and the team. The team sees his passion and determination of competing. Liu Guoliang has formed a medical support team to deal with his injuries and recovery. Xu Xin will be facing threats in the next quad. He needs to make breakthrough in order to make the Olympics. Fan Zhendong won the champion in World Cup Finals. He will make the Olympics if he has great achievements in Worlds. Fang Bo, Yan An and Zhou Yu are experienced players. They will determine the depth of the team. The team will develop their potential and give them hope to become key players of the team. Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Xue Fei and Wang Chuqin are potential young players. The team will provide fair competition opportunities for them and prepare them to challenge the top players. Lin Gaoyuan, who earned his spot to the Worlds in the Marvellous 12, has give a good start for young players.
Ma Long and Zhang Jike are grand-slam players, also the role model of other team members. They are at the top of the paradigm and might not be hearing any criticisms. This may not be a good thing. The team will always remind players the hardship and challenges ahead. Qin Zhijian thinks professional athletes should train earnestly and cooperate with coaches, staff and every team member. This is the correct way to prepare for 2020 Olympics.
Other than improving results, the team will response to the call for "Sharing Chinese Table Tennis to the World" , the team will participate in developmental and promotional activities under the pretext of maintaining good results (winning gold medals).
Source: 乒乓世界 Table Tennis World
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