Zhu Yuling of Sichuan team. (Xinhua/Xu Zijian)
World No. 3 in women's table tennis Zhu Yuling steered her Sichuan team to their first-ever gold medal at Chinese National Games here on Friday, but the losing side's Wang Manyu seems poised to be the future dominant player in the sport.
The famous table tennis reporter Gennaro Bozza from Italy questioned why would Wang choose to make a "suicide play" in her match-up with Zhu, referring to her rash hitting of the ball in the last two decisive points in the fourth set.
"If Wang remained calm in the closing moments, she can beat Zhu and Heilongjiang's last set can be won easily in Che Xiaoxi's meet against Guo Yan," said Bozza, who has covered all of the table tennis world championships since 1989 and all of the Chinese national championships since 1997.
Wang and Zhu's five-game showdown went in Wang's favor, as she led throughout the deciding game, until Zhu caught up at 9-9. Zhu served the ball to see the match point, with Wang's return down the net first. Wang chose unwisely to smash in taking on the next serve ball, but found the ball just floating out of court and her Heilongjiang team lost to Sichuan 3-1.
"If Wang can play with a little more patience, she can certainly beat Zhu," said Wang Xuan, Wang Manyu's teammate and a veteran player. "Her backhand is so strong and she is so fast and energetic. Wang lost the decisive match due to lack of experience, and she can become a dominant player with more big games played."
Wang is 18 years old and 1.76 meters high, taller than all of the other female players on the Chinese national team. "I was too hurried, and made mistakes in the key rounds. I lost my patience and I took reckless hits, so I defeated myself," said Wang.
Wang had won all of her six matches in the team's competition prior to her matchup in the final with Zhu. "We reached the final, a first for team Heilongjiang. I feel so proud of my players and I feel no regret at all, although we lost the final," said Heilongjiang coach Sun Jianwei.
"You can't complain about Wang Manyu. She's so young and she's the leader in our team and we have already done so well," added Sun. Wang was the only undefeated women player except for world No. 1 Ding Ning before encountering Zhu in the women's team competitions.
Wang is also the most improved player in the recent rankings released by ITTF, moving to 14th place from 32nd. She also is known as the "little hammer" for her hard-hitting style. In the last clash between Wang and Zhu in the Australia Open in July, Wang blanked Zhu to reach the final, in which she lost to world No. 2 Chen Meng.
Wang's main future rival for No. 1 is 17-year-old Sun Yingsha, who won the singles and doubles titles in June at the Japan Open. "Sun plays with composure and that's important for the young players," commented Wang Xuan. "She can be considered as a candidate for the next No. 1."
Wang and Sun were expected to meet in the team's group match, but Sun was defeated by Wang's teammate Che Xiaoxi and missed the chance to meet Wang.
Wang collected the best result of 12 wins and one loss on January in the round-robin matches between national team players born in 1994 and after, even overshadowing Chen Meng. In face to face clashes between Wang and Sun, they're almost even. Wang beat Sun in the T2 Asia-Pacific league, and Sun overtook Wang in the semifinal of the Japan Open and then outlasted Chen Meng to win the title, which helped her shoot to 10th place in the world rankings.
