The 15th China National Games once again proved that the World Ranking in table tennis means nothing and WTT tournaments are massively overrated.
We all know that thanks to the absurd policies of World Table Tennis, the 2-time World champion in the singles event, Fan Zhendong, retired from international table tennis prior to this year, continuing his career only on club level in the Chinese Super League and the German Bundesliga.
The China National Games (CNG) is a very important tournament for the local players. Even the greatest player of all time, Ma Long, once said that it’s his dream to win this tournament. For the rest of the players, CNG is a great opportunity to display their talent and gain some extra attention from the national team coaches. If a player performs well in CNG, he will definitely get some chances outside China.
Fan Zhendong has nothing to prove anymore. Both individually and as a member of Team China, he won every possible tournament out there, and he will hold the position of one of the greatest players in history forever. Still, he has plenty of competitive drive left in him, and despite being out of the international competitions, Fan Zhendong remains the best player in the World. If someone beats two of the leading players in table tennis at the moment, what questions can there be about his current form?
Even more impressive is the fact that Fan Zhendong did not even face much resistance from Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong, confidently getting past both of them on the way to the title. In both the semi-final and the final, the reigning Olympic champion controlled the pace of the game, and his backhand was sensational. He made his opponents look pretty much hopeless.
Of course, this impressive performance raises plenty of discussion among the fans. What if… And this sentence could be continued with all kinds of statements. World Championships, WTT tour – would Fan Zhendong still be the main favorite to win the titles out there? After CNG, there should be no doubts. Of course, training and traveling with Team China, and being in a care-free mode in Germany are two completely different situations. Being back in the international action would take a bigger toll on his physical condition, and the potential injury risk would increase.
However, if you put Fan Zhendong in any specific short-term tournament, he can beat anyone and still win any of the major tournaments out there.
This success once again proves that it’s meaningless to make a big buzz about some WTT Smash or WTT Champions win. Some players might get those high rankings and then simply flop when the Olympic Games or the World Championships are on the horizon. Different levels of responsibility and preparation from the Team China side.
As we have highlighted several times, World Table Tennis has been awful in terms of creating a fair World Ranking system. If you can have three Australians in the Top 50, who cannot get past even the first round of any major tournament, then such a World Ranking is worth no more than a kid’s menu in McDonald’s…
Nevertheless, it was great to see Fan Zhendong battling the World’s best players once again. Who knows, if some injuries happen in Team China or any other bad luck before the next World Championships, maybe we will have a chance to see Fan Zhendong on the international scene once again. The top quality is still there.
FAN ZHENDONG’S ROAD TO GOLD
FINAL
4-1 
vs. Lin Shidong (11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3, 11-4)
1/2 FINAL
4-2 vs. Wang Chuqin (7-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-7)
1/4 FINAL
4-0 vs. Sun Zheng (11-8, 11-3, 11-6, 11-8)
ROUND OF 16
4-1 vs. Xue Fei (11-4, 11-2, 11-5, 10-12, 11-6)
ROUND OF 32
4-0 vs. Zhou Yu (12-10, 11-6, 11-8, 11-6)
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