Recap: 2018 Team World Cup

Photo: 2018 WTTC Halmstad

Team China defended the men's and women's team titles in the new playing system at 2018 Team World Cup. The Japanese men's and women's teams trailed behind at the second place. The English men celebrated a historic third place with their home crowd alongside with the South Koreans while Team DPRK and Team Hong Kong shared third place in the women's team.


I guess it's better late than never, so here you go a very late recap of the 2018 Team World Cup. Before listing the must-watch moments and final standings, I would like to touch on the new playing system and Liu Guoliang's commentary.

No Breaks In Between!

It used to be quite irritating that there were breaks in between the second match and the third match (which is a doubles match) when one of the 4 players in the third set played the previous singles. Not only did it waste time, it confused viewers who did not know the playing system well (like my parents who asked me a bunch of questions when they first watched the team events at 2008 Beijing Olympics). However with the new playing system in play, 1 doubles match followed by a maximum of 4 singles matches in a team match, there are no breaks in between matches meaning no time will be wasted and the competitive atmosphere can be carried on without interruption.

Unpredictable Start With The Decisive Doubles

Although the doubles were important in the past team events (at Team World Cup and the Olympics), teams take the doubles matches more seriously under the new playing system as the doubles match would set the tone for the entire team match.  At 2018 Team World Cup the Chinese, the Japanese women, the Singaporean women have put up their strongest pairs in the competition while, to my surprise Hong Kong men being known for their strong doubles, Wong Chun Ting and Ho Kwan Kit, did not use their strongest pairs in the team competition. 

As for the viewers, results are less predictable in general. Results of doubles tend to be more unpredictable because it is about the collaboration and the strength of 2 players. The uncertainties of the doubles match would make the entire competition more exciting to watch. Yet, the only doubles is still a small part of the team competition considering there are 4 singles following that. Is it possible to have more doubles matches or even mixed doubles being included in a team event? Perhaps it is possible to have both the men's matches and women's matches in a team match, like the figure skating team event at the Olympics where skaters of different discipline can cheer and compete together as one united team? I see the change of the playing system of the team event is a big good step but I feel like there are many variations open for ITTF to explore and make team events more interesting.

Tricky Interviews Between Matches

There are also things that I do not like about the Team World Cup. If I were a player on the court, I would definitely hate the on-court interview in between matches, especially when the host asked some tricky questions and the team competition was not yet ended. Well, you might say professional athletes should be able to keep calm and maintain their composure even something happens in between matches but they are human and they deserve to have taken their time in the match. I think organizers should think in the shoe of athletes and create an enjoyable competition environment for athletes to compete to their best of their abilities rather than extensively pleasing the needs of the audience. I remembered the host asked Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen would they think  Zhu Yuling could beat Kasumi Ishikawa in the women's team finals. As teammates, they had to support Zhu Yuling but it is hard not to be rude to answer the question and more importantly, Kasumi Ishikawa can understand Chinese perfectly! I would prefer having some upbeat music and probably an audience wave in between matches to heat up the crowd rather than a few questions that may or may not raise the interest of the viewers but risking interrupting the mental game of the players.

Commentator Is Crucial

As I have mentioned in the last Throwback Thursday, Liu Guoliang commentated the men's team semifinals and the finals of women's team and men's team. His commentary deconstructed the entire match into details, revealed the inner-thoughts and habits of the athletes and how they adjusted their tactics when leading and trailing behind. I would say it is a mind-opening and rewarding experience listening to his commentary. He has shown viewers table tennis of another level and makes table tennis interesting to watch for people who do not know much about table tennis (like my friends who I forced them to follow the match together with me). The only thing is that he never got nervous even when the Chinese players were trailing behind. This made viewers entered a calm state of mind while watching the competition and I am not sure whether it is pros or cons?

I did not take down every word that Liu Guoliang said on the 2 days but there are a few quotes that I remember. He said Ma Long is enjoyable to watch because he has many tactics and skills in his arsenal and the way Ma Long wins points are so diverse and unpredictable. On the other hand, Liu thought Fan Zhendong is the opposite of Ma Long because Fan Zhendong always wins points with the same tactic, backhand flick and then all sorts of powerful strokes from both sides. It can be devastating for Fan Zhendong's opponents because they lost in the same way but there is no way out. Finally, when the host asked Xu Xin's thoughts for being the best doubles player Liu said Xu Xin pretended to be humble but the 'inner-Xu Xin' should be over the moon as he is a happy guy in daily training. Liu Guoliang also highlighted a detail that even Yu Ziyang and Lin Gaoyuan are non-participating players at the 2018 Team World Cup, the team has the young ones standing in the middle of the team so that no one is left behind or less important on Team China which, as always, united as one and the same happens on the women's team. This detail has explained why Team China has been so strong over the years and is one of the details that has struck me the most. 

Must-Watch Moments

1. The Finals China Vs Japan

There is always a reason for watching the finals (both men's team and women's team) as it is a contest between the best 2 teams of the tournament. The score may seem to be somehow one-sided and dominated by Team China as expected but they deserve your time to catch up because those are simply world-class table tennis and are fantastic even they lack suspense in terms of the results. 

Men's Team Final -- China Vs Japan

The Chinese men's team put up Ma Long, Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong but not the other 2 players in the entire tournament. To be honest, I think the Chinese gave away the chances (in the group stage) to put their young players to the test but I believe the national coaches knew their job and the results proved that the 3 players are the best combination for team China to secure gold in London. Team Japan held back some of their best players back home but the squad that they sent to London is very competitive. The focal point of the tournament was the performance of the 14-year-old talent Harimoto Tomokazu, the reigning Japanese national champion but I think he could have done better at the Team World Cup.

Let me reiterate, the entire team final match was fun to watch but if I have to choose one single match among the matches, I would recommend the third match between Ma Long and Koki Niwa. It was a library of table tennis tricks. There were all kinds of skills played in the match. I won't spend words on this part as Liu Guoliang did a fantastic job in commentating the match. Here is the Liu Guoliang's commentary version with English subtitles provided by asiandrum.

Women's Team Final -- China Vs Japan

As most might have expected the lineup for the Chinese women team in the finals was Ding Ning, Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling. While the Japanese women's team quite unexpectedly did not use Miu Hirano, who owns a record of defeating 3 top Chinese players at 2017 Asian Championships. Team Japan is a competitive team. They are agile and aggressive but their shortcomings revealed when they came in front of the Chinese. The Chinese are rock solid and it seems that the quality of their shots is a cut above the Japanese. I particularly like the match between Ding Ning and Ito Mima because this match had more incredible rallies and variations. Whereas the other matches in the finals were more of a bing-bang-boom victory which matches ended before the climax.

2. The Asians

Without a doubt, the Japanese men's team is one of the favourites at 2018 Team World Cup but the door was open as Jun Mizutani sat out the tournament. The Japanese team did face some challenges in the quarterfinals and semifinals but their performance was good enough to bring them to the finals. The competition was less brutal on the women's side but Team Hong Kong and Team Singapore had an early encounter in the group stage, possibly one of the worst draws they anticipated.

Men's Team Semifinals -- Japan Vs Korea

The semifinals was a see-saw match. The Koreans put up the 2016 Grand Prix Grand Finals men's doubles champion, Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sang Su, anticipating a good start but it was the Japanese who led 2-0 after 2 matches. The two compensated the deficit in the next 2 matches and it all came down to the decider match between Ueda Jin and Jeong Sangeun. It was a thrilling and dramatic cliffhanger (definitely worth-watching it again). Finally, Ueda Jin miraculously saved 5 game points in the 5th game putting Team Japan into the finals. Kudos to Ueda Jin!

Men's Team Quarterfinals -- Japan Vs Hong Kong

It is the doubles match that makes Team World Cup different from other team competition. So here is a men's doubles match between Lam Siu Hang and Ng Pak Nam from Hong Kong and Koki Niwa and Ueda Jin. Team Hong Kong has been relying on in-coming players for a long time but in the last 5 years or so there is a batch of promising local players coming up and  Lam Siu Hang and Ng Pak Nam are among them. At first, I did not quite get the reason for not having their strongest doubles in the first match. However, it turned out not bad for the young Hong Kong pairs. Although this pair is a right-right combination, it worked well for them with the taller player Lam Siu Hang looping at the back and Ng Pak Nam making some quick shots near the table. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong duo fell short of winning after 5 tough matches but believe it was a good match for them. The Japanese pairs had a better control in the rhythm and tactics in the entire match. The changes and returns of Ueda Jin had created opportunities for Koki Niwa to score points.

 

Women's Team Group -- Hong Kong Vs Singapore 

The competition in the women's side is not as exciting as the men's but here is a good match in the group stage between the Hong Kong pairs and Singaporean pairs. Similar to the men's team, Team Hong Kong try new combination in the doubles match with Lee Ho Ching partnering Minnie Soo, an up-and-coming Hong Kong athletes whereas the Team Singapore had an experienced doubles Feng Tianwei and Yu Mengyu. The match is not a spectacular one but there were some rallies and good footwork (from 4 right-handed players) to enjoy.

3. The Europeans

The Romanian women's team swept the gold medal at 2017 European Championships team event, still in an event so dominated by Asians, it's a long shot to see the European women made to the Team World Cup podium. There is only one European women team, Team Romania, among the top 8 but the minority does not equivalent to uncompetitive. Instead, they have the potential to challenge other traditional strong teams, as shown in the match between Chinese Taipei and Romania. The European men were not bad either. The home team, England, could not be happier ending up top 4. The French men fought strong and almost upset the Koreans in the quarterfinals.

Women's Team Group -- Chinese Taipei Vs Romania

Like many European players, Daniela Dodean does not have intricate soft pushes but I am quite impressed by her backhand punch and her ability to counter the ball back. Her backhand parallel was remarkable and had earned her many points. However, Cheng I-Ching was slightly more consistent and aggressive towards the end of game 5 and helped Chinese Taipei to win this team match in the group stage.

Men's Team Quarterfinals -- Korea Vs France

I have never anticipated that Team Korea would have such a tough match against the French Team without Simon Gauzy. In fact, it was not a bad game, the French team had put up a fantastic match in the quarterfinals. I particularly enjoyed the match between Lee Sangsu and Emmanuel Lebesson. It was a smartly played match. In this match, you would not only find the battle between speed and power but the strategy of ball placement and control. Perhaps the only thing that I do not like about the match is the serve of the two players. To me, their serves were on the verge of foul serves. How do you like about their serves?

The England Men's Team

Finally, it comes to the home team and the end of this section (it has been taking way more time than I have thought of!). Team England made history at its home stadium, ending up top 4 in the Team World Cup. It was made possible through the staggering performance of the team, especially Liam Pitchford and a bit of luck in the draws in the knockout stage. 

Men's Team Group -- England Vs Japan

Liam Pitchford's victory over 14-year-old Harimoto Tomokazu had flooded the headline of table tennis news on that day. Defeating a 14-year-old may sound nothing but considering the talent and the past achievements of Harimoto Tomokazu, it was a massive win for Liam Pitchford. We know both Liam and Harimoto are outstanding when it comes to the backhand and it seems that this match is a battle of fast-forwarded backhand. Liam Pitchford had incredible mental toughness. He fought back and won the first game after 6-10 down. His reverse pendulum serve, speedy backhand and hugely improved forehand loop put him in a lead after 2 games. He seized a 5-0 lead in the third game and maintained the huge advantage to the end of the match.

Men's Team Semifinals -- England Vs China

Liam Pitchford was in the zone and had posed challenges for Fan Zhendong. You know he was really good when the former Chinese national team head coach Liu Guoliang praised his backhand.

Final Standings

Men's Team
Champion: China
1st runner-up: Japan
2nd runner-up: England, Korea

Women's Team
Champion: China
1st runner-up: Japan
2nd runner-up: DPR. Korea, Hong Kong

Detailed results are available on ITTF website.

So that's a wrap for the 2018 Team World Cup recap. Do you like the playing system? Which match do you like the most? What else do you want to tell us?  Let us know in the comments below! If you think the 2018 Team World Cup is amazing, I would tell you it's only a prelude of the crescendo as the 2018 World Team Championships is coming up at a bigger scale with each team sending their strongest squad to Halmstad, Sweden from 29 April to 6 May and you definitely do not want to miss the big table tennis 'party' held once every 2 years. Some may also curious about the 2018 Chinese Trials for WTTC. The women's team will have theirs on 16 & 17 March while the men's team will have theirs separately around the same time as the women's trials (to be confirmed). l will make updates as soon as there is further information about the trials. As for now, you may want to spend time on following 2018 Japan Top 12 Lion Cup scheduled on 3 March in Japan and I hope you enjoy the recap and do follow the blog!