Preview: Everything Serves the Purpose of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Finally, the details of the 2019 Chinese National Championships are revealed to the public with less than 12 hours before the Championships commence. Despite a few subtle changes here and there, most of which serve the purpose of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this will still be the Nationals that we know, captivating and closely contested.
The most obvious change of the 2019 edition is the scale-down of the Championships from 7 events to 5. With the men's doubles and women's doubles being dropped, the Chinese Nationals is now having the same events as the 2020 Olympics does. Another Olympic feature being replicated here is the team competition format which goes for the new Olympic Playing System. The new system varies from the Swaythling Cup system (best of 5 singles matches) played in the past. It favours teams with strong doubles which can give the team a solid start since team matches will now begin with a doubles match and followed by singles matches played in a best of 5 matches as follow:
New Olympic System
Moving to the singles events, the main round starts at the round of 16 as compared to the round of 64 in the past. This implies the top 8 seeds will have a lucky escape from the cutthroat competition in the qualification round and will go through fewer rounds before topping the podium. Alternatively, the qualification round will be more intense than ever because athletes have to start from the round of 128 and only 8 of them will make to the main round.
The mixed doubles event may look familiar to us since mixed-provinces collaboration is allowed just like the way Chinese National Games worked in 2017 and without any suspense, the pairing of the top Chinese athletes are strategically assigned to prepare athletes for the 2020 Olympics. Singles and mixed doubles matches are played best of 7 games following a singles elimination knockout format (in both qualification and main rounds).
Lastly, some personnel changes are going on this year. Liang Jingkun, Zhu Yuling along with a few other athletes will be representing PLA instead of their original provincial teams because they are transferred to the PLA unit, adding even more depth to an already super-deep squad. Some suggested it's all for the success at the 2019 Military World Games to be held in Wuhan, China this October but Liang Jingkun told the press that he will not be competing at the Military World Games. Anyways, the introduction of athletes will give the PLA team a dominating margin at the 2019 Chinese Nationals.
So this is pretty much about the 2019 Chinese National Championships, the last Nationals before 2020 Olympics. This year's Nationals attempts to mimic the 2020 Olympics offering an opportunity for top athletes to get used to the format, the intensity and perhaps the vibe of the Olympics. It is not likely the results will significantly shuffle the selection of the Olympic roster but it is a perfect ground to check where everyone is up to and do some fine-tuning afterwards with the Olympics just about a year away. Whereas for those who are not in the run of the 2020 Olympics selection, making to the quarterfinals will possibly be their goal as finishing in the top 8 will earn them a spot on the A team of the national team. It might sound unrealistic with all the top athletes in the mix but bear in mind the top ones are exhausted after weeks of competitions and putting up upsets is feasible for those up-and-coming unsung talents.
Who Has Qualified
The top 16 teams from the 2018 Chinese Nationals and the 8 teams qualified through the preliminary stage are eligible to send 5 athletes, with at least 1 penholder (or 1 chopper for the men), to compete in the team, singles and mixed doubles events. Medalists of the 2018 and 2019 World Championships and Team World Cup will not take up the singles and mixed doubles quota places of their team. Most of the big names such as Lin Gaoyuan, Liang Jingkun, Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng, Zhu Yuling, Wang Manyu and Sun Yingsha will be competing in all 3 events (team, singles and mixed doubles) while Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong, Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen will sit out the Nationals.
The draws and results of each event are listed in separate articles. Do check the following from time to time to get the most updated information regarding the 2019 Chinese Nationals.
Draws & Results (live scoring)
Mixed Doubles
Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Team
Women's Team
Daily Match Reports
Day 1 (23 Jul): Mixed Doubles in Action
Day 2 (24 Jul): Big 5 Withdraw, Mixed Doubles & Team Draws Announced
Day 3 (25 Jul): Mixed Doubles Seeds Fall, Early Exit For Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha
Day 4 (26 Jul): Big Drama, Singles Main Draw Places Booked
Day 5 (27 Jul): Hou Yingchao Makes Top 8, Lin and Wang Claimed Mixed Doubles Gold
Day 6 (28 Jul): Defending Champions Dream Crushed, Surprise Semifinalists
Day 7 (29 Jul): Sun Yingsha and Hou Yingchao Crowned Singles National Champions
Day 8 (30 Jul): Unexpected Moments In The Opening Round Of Team Events
Day 9 (31 Jul): Teams Guaranteed Podium Finish
Day 10 (1 Aug): Wang Xiaotong Defeats Zhu Yuling, Shandong Strikes Gold
Day 11 (2 Aug): The Fighter, The Winner, The Hero, PLA Claims Gold
Recap: Hou Yingchao Returns To Career High, Sun Yingsha Shines Bright, Table Turned For Team, And More From Nationals
Seeding Lists
Source: CTTA
Schedule
How To Watch
The 2019 Chinese National Championships will be streaming live on Zhibo TV (1, 2,3 )(membership is not required, but you'll need a mainland Chinese IP to watch it OR you can try these 1, 2, 3). We'll be sourcing videos of the matches (listed in our daily match reports) and making updates on this blog as well. So do follow the blog closely to keep track of the Chinese Nationals. Let us know your podium prediction and anything you want us to know in the comment box below!
The 2019 Chinese National Championships will be streaming live on Zhibo TV (1, 2,3 )(membership is not required, but you'll need a mainland Chinese IP to watch it OR you can try these 1, 2, 3). We'll be sourcing videos of the matches (listed in our daily match reports) and making updates on this blog as well. So do follow the blog closely to keep track of the Chinese Nationals. Let us know your podium prediction and anything you want us to know in the comment box below!
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