In the past week, we have watched some men's doubles competitions from the past Games. If I have to describe the men's doubles competition in one sentence, I might want to borrow a quote from Forrest Gump. "Men's doubles competition at the Chinese National Games is like a box of chocolate!" You never know who is going to win. It's unpredictable, dramatic, exciting and enjoyable to watch! So let's get into it right away (catch up the CNG intro, XD preview and WD preview here).
Similar to the women's doubles we covered last week, the men's doubles event will consist of a knockout format, starting from the round of 16. Every match is played under a best of 5 games format except the semifinals and finals which will be played under a best of 7 games format.
The Draw
The top 16 pairs of men's doubles at the preliminary round qualify for the main round of the Chinese National Games. The main draw is based on the order of the preliminary round held in late March.
Competition Format
Similar to the women's doubles we covered last week, the men's doubles event will consist of a knockout format, starting from the round of 16. Every match is played under a best of 5 games format except the semifinals and finals which will be played under a best of 7 games format.
The top 16 pairs of men's doubles at the preliminary round qualify for the main round of the Chinese National Games. The main draw is based on the order of the preliminary round held in late March.
The centre of the men's doubles will undoubtedly be the 2011 men's doubles World champion, Xu Xin and Ma Long who is also the 2015 men's doubles national champion. The pairs have had a good 2017 so far. Ma Long defended his men's singles title at 2017 WTTC and Xu Xin won bronze in men's singles and a gold in men's doubles where he teamed up with Fan Zhendong. After the Worlds, Ma Long and Xu Xin won the men's doubles title together at 2017 Japan Open held in June. The pairs have prestigious men's doubles medals printed on their resumes and are expected to be a contender in the competition.
Here they are in the men's doubles finals at 2017 Japan Open.
As we have seen from the past Games, the front-runner may not necessarily end up on the top of the podium. Here are the men's doubles who may not as renowned as the no.1 seed, Xu Xin and Ma Long, but are in the mix of challenging for that title.
The top half of the draw is cramped by many strong doubles. Challenging the no.1 seed in the first round (round of 16) are Wong Chun Ting and Ho Kwan Kit, representing Team Hong Kong who has played doubles together in various competitions since Rio Olympics. It may not be a desirable draw to the Hong Kong duo but they forced Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong to play 7 games in the men's doubles quarterfinals at the 2017 WTTC. The Hong Kong duo may need to make more improvements in order to close down the gap between them and the no.1 seed but who knows it won't be an exciting match to watch?
Other big names expected to compete in the top half of the draw include new mixed-provinces combination, Fang Bo and Shang Kun and the partnership of the promising young stars Liang Jingkun and Wang Chuqin. Another young pair to look out for is the 2016 men's doubles runner-up Xue Fei and Zhao Daming representing Team Hubei.
Here is the 2016 Chinese Nationals men's doubles final where Fan Zhendong and Zhou Yu from Team PLA played against Xue Fei and Zhao Daming.
The bottom half of the draw is less cramped but it does not mean fewer challenges to the no.2 seed of the competition, Fan Zhendong and Zhou Yu who won men's doubles champion in the last Games in 2013 and were the 2015 WTTC runner-up and 2016 national champion of this event.
Liu Jikang and Hao Shuai, the new mixed-province collaboration will be looking to please the (home) crowd with some stellar performances. Hao Shuai paired up with Li Ping, placed second in the men's doubles at the 11th Games (2009), third at the 12th Games (2013). This year he will compete in front of the home crowd with his new partner Liu Jikang from Team Liaoning. Liu Jikang did not play many international competitions and has been training partner of the Chinese women's team at 2012 London Olympics. However, he is quite competitive as he won Ma Long at the first round of 2016 CTTSL. We shall see whether home advantage gives them the edge over their competitors.
New combinations aside, we can also expect to see some exciting matches from Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan (a collaboration of Team Beijing and Team Guangdong) and Fan Shengpeng and Cheng Jingqi representing Team Hebei. Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan have teamed up to play men's doubles at CTTSL since 2013. The pairs are known for their speed and great control on the first three strokes. Whereas the Hebei duo teamed up to play doubles at 2013 and 2016 CTTSL. Despite Fan Shengpeng and Cheng Jingqi have dropped out of the national team, they are capable of winning Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan in all two encounters at 2016 CTTSL. The 2 pairs will play against each other in the first round (round of 16). The Best of 5 format is applied in the Chinese National Games whereas the CTTSL has the best of 3 with a short decisive match in play. Will the difference of the competition format lead to different results? Comment below and let us know your views!
The video below is the doubles in the semifinals of 2016 CTTSL. Fan Shengpeng and Cheng Jingqi won over Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan and earned a crucial match which had helped Bazhou Club to secure its spot in the finals.
Overall speaking, Xu Xin and Ma Long have a really good chance of clinching gold in this event. However, there were times that the men's doubles world champion being sent packing in the first round. At the 2013 Chinese National Games, Chen Qi and Wang Hao, the 2009 men's doubles champion lost in the first round of the competition. Since table tennis event at the Chinese National Games has a jam-packed schedule and Xu Xin and Ma Long are the core of their provincial team, maintaining their energy level and physical fitness will be crucial for them. The other doubles would also have a fair chance of topping the podium and I will let you be the judge.
The detailed competition schedule has announced (check the detailed schedule here). The men's doubles competition is scheduled on 3-5 September and CCTV5 is very likely to broadcast the finals on 5 September. We will keep you updated as soon as the broadcast plan is announced.
Event Schedule (GMT+8)
Day 7: September 3
14:30-15:00 Men's Doubles Round of 16
Day 8: September 4
10:00-11:00 Men's Doubles Quarterfinals
Day 9: September 5
11:30-13:00 Men's Doubles Semifinals
19:30-20:00 Men's Doubles Bronze Medal Match
20:45-22:00 Men's Doubles Finals
For more updates, follow the blog by clicking the button on the right-hand column or check the official website of the Chinese National Games here. Feel free to comment below (anonymous comment is acceptable) and write down your predictions in the comment below! Last but not least, follow the blog for CNG Throwback and more previews!
No comments:
Post a Comment