In the international table tennis world, the Japanese team is one of the biggest opponents of the national table tennis team and the team with the closest exchanges with the national table tennis team. When the Chinese team was unable to return to China overseas due to the epidemic, the Japanese Table Tennis Association also extended a helping hand as soon as possible and was willing to accept the national table tennis team to go to Japan for training.
However, as the new crown epidemic further spreads in Japan, the Japan Table Tennis Association revealed to Japanese media on February 29 that the plan to "receive about 50 Chinese team members who have left overseas due to the epidemic" can only be temporarily shelved.
In fact, going to Japan to train is only one of the alternatives for the Chinese table tennis team. Since participating in the German Open in mid-January, the Chinese national table tennis team has been training overseas for more than a month. With less than half a year left before the Tokyo Olympics, how long will it take for the Chinese Table Tennis Association Chairman Liu Guoliang to lead the Chinese Table Tennis Table Tennis Association to wander overseas? Apart from Japan, where else can the "wandering national table tennis team" go?
National Table Tennis Qatar Training Scene Weibo @ITTFWorld Picture
Japanese Table Tennis Association gave up receiving the national table Tennis
In late February this year, Japanese media reported that the Japanese Table Tennis Association agreed to accept about 50 Chinese table tennis team members who were unable to return to China due to the new crown epidemic and provided them with training at a training base in Kanto, Tokyo.
"After the World Team Table Tennis Championships in March, the Japanese Table Tennis Association will provide a training base for the Chinese team. The Chinese table tennis team will leave Japan until June, and then return to Tokyo to participate in the Tokyo Olympics from July 24 to August 9."
Unexpectedly, the new crown pneumonia epidemic spread to the world. At 10:30 am local time on March 1, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Japan has reached 947, including 705 confirmed cases on the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
Under the epidemic, the Japanese government has clarified many times that the preparations for the Olympics are normal, but its domestic sports events have been more or less affected. The Japanese government has recently asked the nationwide to cancel, narrow or postpone large-scale cultural and sports activities. For example, the Tokyo Marathon held on March 1 reduced from the original plan to about 38,000 participants to about 210 elite runners participating that day.
other events held in Japan were also affected. According to a reporter from The Paper, many table tennis events have been suspended in Japan. The Zhang Bentoto and the sister Zhang Benmika, who had won the Swedish youth competition, have also suspended all participation plans.
Zhe Tomoka, Kazumomiha Weibo @ITTFWorld Picture
As the epidemic further expands, the Japanese Table Tennis Association finally decided to give up its plan to receive the national table tennis team. Relevant people from the Japan Table Tennis Association revealed that in the situation where the government requires control of the scale of activities and the suspension of classes in primary and secondary schools, it is a last resort to not accepting the national table tennis team. "And many people want to see the Chinese team training, and this gathering situation will also be worrying." After all, "If the epidemic in Japan further expands, this is a situation that no one wants to see."
68 people withdrew from the competition. How to train in the national table tennis team Doha ?
The Chinese Table Tennis Association has previously responded to the olive branch that Japan has put out - "Japan is currently only one of the options for the Olympic training site of the national table tennis team. The national table tennis team is still inspecting and contacting other countries and regions for training venues."
After the German Open, the national table tennis team went to Qatar for training. Weibo @Table Tennis World TTW Picture
In fact, after participating in the German Open in early February, the national table tennis team has been training in Doha, Qatar, preparing for the Qatar Open that started on March 3 and the team World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, South Korea.
Unexpectedly, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has affected these two events to varying degrees.
National Table Tennis Qatar training camp has held a "gender war". Weibo @Table Tennis World TTW Video screenshot
htmlOn February 25, the ITTF decided to postpone the 2020 World Table Tennis Team Championship, originally scheduled to be from March 22 to 29, and is tentatively postponed to June 21 to 28.As an ITTF's platinum event, as many as 68 people have withdrawn from the Qatar Open. Among them, the South Korean team, which was severely affected by the epidemic, was directly restricted from entering the country, and star players such as Boer , Ocharov, and Lin Yunru also withdrew from the competition one after another.
A large number of players withdraw from the competition are not good news for the national table tennis team who intends to train.The current epidemic situation is unknown. It is still unknown whether the subsequent important events such as the China Open and Japan Open will be held as scheduled. The Qatar Open may be the only Open in the first half of the year. The World Table Tennis Championships, which were postponed to June, are team competitions, and the competition system is different from individual events, and they still lack the first mixed doubles competition set up in this year's Olympics. Therefore, for the Chinese Table Tennis, there are only a few practical opportunities to inspect the players and understand the opponent before the Olympics.
After all, the national table tennis team is not impeccable: in the previous German Open, Fan Zhendong lost to Ocharov, and the 37-game winning streak ended; the new World Table Tennis Championship champion Liu Shiwen and Olympic champion Ding Ning were also injured...
According to the rules, candidates from the Tokyo Olympics of the National Table Tennis Association will be reported to the ITTF before May 15. Therefore, whether it is veterans such as Ma Long and Ding Ning, or rising stars such as Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin , the Qatar Open will be one of the few opportunities to investigate.
Fortunately, the competition between China and Japan table tennis will not be interrupted due to the epidemic. According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese Association contacted the Japanese Embassy in Qatar on February 28, and the latter responded that Japanese players can participate in this competition.
continues to "wander" overseas? It’s better to go back to China to train
For the national table tennis team, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic has repeatedly disrupted their plans at the critical moment of the Olympic year.
The national table tennis team members who are in the closed training camp in Qatar have closely monitored the performance of their main opponents in the Hungarian Open. Weibo @Table Tennis World TTW Picture
Originally after the Qatar Open, the national table tennis team planned to go to South Korea to train with the South Korean team and prepare for the World Table Tennis Championships. Due to the severe epidemic in South Korea, this international competition has been postponed to late June, and the joint training has also become a silence.
CCTV Table Tennis Special Reporter Li Wujun once said with concern that the postponed World Table Tennis Championships is only one month away from the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, which undoubtedly puts forward new preparation requirements for the national table tennis team. So, where can the national table tennis team go to prepare for the battle?
Although the Chinese Table Tennis Association stated that Japan is only one of the alternatives, they also emphasized the advantages of training in Japan: "The conditions of Tokyo training venues, the Japanese Open after the World Table Tennis Championships, and the holding of the Tokyo Olympics are all advantages of Japan's training camps."
Although the Japanese Table Tennis Association suspended the plans to receive the national table tennis team due to the epidemic, they are still willing to maintain cooperation with the national table tennis team and continue to discuss matters such as material assistance between the two sides. "They are our friends. If difficulties arise, we will definitely lend a helping hand."
has just entered March. If the epidemic in Japan is controlled next, it is not impossible for the Japanese Table Tennis Association to reconsider receiving the national table tennis team.
Of course, the Chinese national table tennis team may also continue to stay in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Because just when the Chinese table tennis team was unable to return home after participating in the German Championship, it was the Qatar Table Tennis Association that provided the greatest help - contact the training venue, the Xiata Hotel, team support, etc. within 24 hours.
China Table Tennis Association Through the ITTF, the 600,000 medical masks purchased overseas were packaged at overseas shipments and sent to Wuhan and other front-line epidemic prevention and control areas. Weibo @Table Tennis World TTW Picture
In August last year, Liu Guoliang led the national table tennis team to the United States for a closed-door and practiced with the American team. Therefore, going to the United States again at this stage is also an option, but when the Olympics approach, this method is obviously a bit far away.
In addition, the Austrian Table Tennis Association has also extended an olive branch to the Chinese Table Tennis Association and invited the national table tennis team to go to training. However, judging from the current spread of the epidemic to the world, China, which is gradually under control, has become a relatively safe place.
Although the national table tennis team members have been competing overseas all year round and have long been accustomed to wandering outside, if they choose to train in China, they will undoubtedly be more comfortable physically and mentally. Even Liu Guoliang had previously admitted that he was indeed a little insufficient in training abroad.
For the Chinese national table tennis team that has been "wandering", perhaps going home is also a good choice.
