Chinese men’s table tennis team continue to struggle after WTT Europe Smash setback

All six players failed to make it past the third round, while Wang Manyu fared better, winning the women’s singles title in Sweden

Alarm bells were ringing once again for the Chinese men’s team after they returned home empty-handed from the World Table Tennis (WTT) Europe Smash in Sweden on Sunday.

All six of the men’s singles players failed to make it past the third round, marking a step back from results last year when Lin Shidong, the then world No 1, lost in the final to Sweden’s Truls Moregard.

The poor showing in Malmo means Chinese men’s players had failed to reach the singles quarter-finals in three consecutive WTT tournaments, which also included the United States Smash and Champions Yokohama.

Furthermore, the men have failed to win a title across five WTT tournaments, with their last victory coming at the Contender event in Taiyuan when Wen Ruibo triumphed in April.

“In the end, I did see some hope that I could catch up, but I was still a little hesitant. Whether it’s attacking or receiving serves, I didn’t do particularly well,” Lin, who is now ranked world No 6, said after his 3-2 loss to Alexis Lebrun in the round of 16.

The men’s and women’s doubles teams also performed badly at the event.