 Game Play, Life Play! đ Just chill vibes for Wang Chuqin and his table tennis journeyâthrilling matches and moments on and off the table.Â
Bing sucks! Just happened to search for Wangâs info on Bing (I barely even use it), and the top result on the first page was a straight-up hoax! Donât suggest you search or click on it! Malicious, completely fake, and honestly just ridiculous.
Super frustrating. I reported it to Microsoft Support and left feedback on the search result page requesting its removal. But who knows if theyâll actually do anything about it!
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Coaching in table tennis goes far beyond perfecting strokes or yelling, âMove your feet!â from the sidelines. Itâs the backbone of champions, especially in Chinaâs tightly controlled system, where resources and strategy shape everything. And somehow, Wang Chuqin has made history by becoming the first player ever to hold the world No. 1 ranking in menâs singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the same time, yet he has never had the full coaching support his peers enjoy.
How does that even happen?
To unravel this mystery, we need to break down how the Chinese national table tennis team operates, why coaching is so crucial, and how Wang Chuqin slipped through the cracks.
â An Exclusive Interview with Wang Chuqin by Table Tennis World (Special Issue, Feb 2025)
On New Yearâs Day 2025, Wang Chuqin secured victory in the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL) finals. The 2024 season finale was unique, stretching across the new year, making this win both the last of 2024 and the first of 2025. After a brief pause in celebration, Wang threw his head back and roared.
âThat moment brought back so many memories,â Wang said. Those âmemoriesâ encompassed a whirlwind of experiences and emotions from 2024. After the outburst, Wangâs thoughts returned to the match.â After his outburst, Wangâs thoughts shifted back to the game. âI was overwhelmed. I had been longing for this victory for so long. I donât think my reaction was over the top. It was just a release of everything Iâd been holding in. Iâm really glad I could let it out, and I hope this release, this mindset, and my current competitive form carry into 2025.â
The year 2024 was anything but ordinary, marked most notably by the Paris Olympics. Wang went through âcouldnât be more detailedâ closed training, relentless early-morning drills that were âalways centered around mixed doubles,â the matches that âkept getting harder,â fought through exhausting battles and won matches âpurely on grit.â Over the year, he tasted glory, experienced helplessness, pulled himself out of slumps, and made adjustments. Reflecting on it all, he felt that âcompared to my former self, Iâve grown significantly in every aspectâ as he entered 2025.
What changed? Wang answered firmly: âAcceptance. Accepting criticism and unfavorable comments. Even with my flaws and shortcomings, I will still step onto the court and fight as my best self.â
When asked to recall his best, worst, and most memorable moments of 2024, Wang Chuqin, known for his vivid storytelling, replied: âThe worst was when Coach Xiao showed me my paddle had completely broken after someone stepped on it. I felt helpless and completely devastated. The best moment was the WTT Finals in Fukuoka. Ever since the Olympics, Coach Wang Hao had been reassuring me, believing in me, but I kept losing matches. Finally, in the Fukuoka finals, I stood my ground. It felt like I could finally repay all the trust he had in me.â
(more…)In a recent interview with the Chinese Olympic Channel, Wang Chuqin opens up about his post-Paris Olympic struggles (again!), his goals for LA 2028, the emotions table tennis brings, and a heartfelt letter from his mother that still inspires him today. Watch the full interview with English subtitles and the transcript here.
(more…)Huge congrats to our One True King for taking the WTT Finals title in Fukuoka! (Yeah, I know itâs been two months.) After a post-Olympic rough patch and a six-month singles title drought since the Saudi Smash in May, Wang Chuqin is finally back on top. Itâs been a while, itâs been a ride.
Jayden and I have talked a lot about Wangâs struggle phase. Coming from other sports backgrounds like swimming and track, we initially underestimated just how brutal the table tennis schedule was and assumed that a slump lasting six months to a year was pretty standard. Honestly, I expected his comeback to happen sometime in mid-2025, maybe at the US Smash (totally unbiased, of course, cuz Iâll be there! đ). But here we are, way ahead of schedule. He fell, he fought, and he bounced back.
Why âbounce?â Wangâs been bouncing between nonstop tournaments for four months straight. But itâs not just the travelâhis game thrives on a rhythm of rapid reflexes and split-second adjustments, like a ping-pong ball ricocheting between rackets. Even when his touch wasnât at its best, that rhythm kept him in the fight.
Table tennis is often called âchess at light speedâ because itâs all about reading the game and making instant strategic shifts. Last October, I raved about Wangâs adaptability when he dealt with those weird seamless balls at the Asian Championships. This time in Fukuoka, he took it up a notch.
It was clear from the first match that Wang Chuqin wasnât in peak form. His footwork looked a little shaky; his forehand receive wasnât landing right, and his shots lacked their usual precision. But he still found ways to win. Take his Round of 16 match against Patrick Franziska, for example. The second game was a bit of a mess, with both players trading awkward errors and the scoreline swinging back and forth. Even so, Wang stayed proactive, trying with different serves until he nailed the short sidespin serve that flipped a 6-7 deficit into a 7-7 tie. That threw Franziska off, leaving him stuck between flipping, fast pushing, and counter-looping. Then came the nail-biting final rallies at 10-10 and 11-10, where Wang showed both patience and killer instinct to close it out. His game wasnât flawless, but his tactical discipline saved the day.
After surviving Franziska, Wang faced Truls Moregard in a highly anticipated quarterfinal, their first rematch since the Olympics. He dropped the 2nd game, leveling the score at 1-1, then switched gears. He ditched the cautious drop shots, which werenât landing well that day, and went full send on aggressive third-ball attacks, adding more backhand flips and long heavy-spin pushes on receive. In that game alone, Wang served eight times, mainly targeting Moregardâs mid and forehand zones with short shots, and scored seven points just off those serves. Four of them came from immediate third-ball attacksâcounterattacks after the serve (turning 0-2 into 1-2, 3-3 into 4-3, 6-4 into 7-4, 9-5 into 10-5). One was snagged with a quick follow-up after the first return (1-2 to 2-2), and two more points came from Moregardâs struggles on receive (4-3 to 5-3 and 7-4 to 8-4). Moregard kept adjusting his stance, but Wangâs relentless attack-after-service strategy left him no time to recover. Meanwhile, Wangâs counterattacks on Moregardâs nine serves, mostly short serves with flat or side topspin, netted him another four points. In his post-match interview, Wang summed it up simply: âItâs not a revenge⊠I was just focused on giving my all in every single point, trying to find that âin-the-zone’ feeling Iâve had in previous matches.â Mission accomplished.
(more…)Before I wrap up Wang Chuqin and Weiqiao Clubâs CTTSL victory, I had to share Wang’s post-match thoughts on his performance, his journey back to enjoying the sport after wanting to step away, and more. Check out all the interviews on my YouTube channel and the transcript here!
(more…)Ah, Wangâs serve has been stirring up debates for a while, especially since he started collecting titles like they were on sale a couple of years ago. Critics are zooming in, pausing frames, and waving screenshots around like itâs the ultimate âGotcha!â moment. But hereâs the truth: Relying on livestream footage to judge a 70mph, high-spinning ping-pong ball captured from a distance is like reviewing a chefâs cooking based on their Instagram filter. Cameras play tricks on us with lens distortion, parallax effects, and angles that create illusions even the sharpest eyes canât escape.
In this post, Iâll explain why screenshots fail to tell the whole story, how Hawk-Eye tech could bring clarity to the chaos, and why pushing the envelope in sports isnât cheating but strategy. Sports arenât perfect. Theyâre chaotic, emotional, and brilliantly human. So letâs put down the screenshots, enjoy the gameâs magic, and stop pretending weâre all forensic experts with ping-pong degrees.
âOn the court, it’s about the game. Off the court, it’s about being human.â
â Wang Chuqin, WTT Finals Fukuoka, 2024
Surprised but not that surprised, our lionhearted Wang Chuqin made a roaring comeback at the WTT Finals Fukuoka after nearly four months of a mysteriousâyet not so mysteriousâslump. Before discussing his performance, let me share some gems from his tournament interviews. Unlike the typical CNT player interviews that sound more like rehearsed scripts, Wangâs words were raw and straight to the point. No robotic answers, no diplomatic fluff. He opened up about his struggles since the Olympics, what itâs like to hold the world No. 1 ranking, how he views opponents, how he copes with pressure, and even how heâs rediscovering his inner voice. He also expressed gratitude for the unwavering support of his teammates and coaches.
“Being world No.1 isn’t as significant as it seemed.”
âI think fans and I see things differently. Everyone has their own thoughts and perspectives, but I can’t let others’ expectations define me.â
âLosing a match (in the Olympics) doesn’t make it about revenge or anything like that⊠Yes, I lost to him, but Moregardh didn’t win his Olympic silver medal just by beating me, he defeated many outstanding players along the way. So I don’t focus too much on that one match or on him. After all, there are many excellent players out there, not just him⊠For me, today was just another regular match. If I had treated it as something special, I probably wouldn’t have been able to win today.
Itâs not every day you get to hear such an unvarnished, genuine perspective from a player of his caliber, and it was just as remarkable as his performance on the court.
(more…)Wang’s game lately? It’s giving “main character in a burnout arc.” Between back-to-back tournaments, a paddle-breaking drama straight out of a telenovela, the injuries lurking like a nasty plot twist, and China expecting the Olympic gold medals like they’re on Amazon Prime, the man’s under more pressure than a bottle of champagne at a frat party. Letâs give Chuqin a sec to recharge his rizz, đ dodge the drama, and come back swingingâif anyoneâs got the talent and resilience to flip the script, itâs him. Pure âšs-tierâš energy is incoming.
Like seriously, look at this schedule (and this isnât even counting the TBA events!
SOMEONE GET OUR LITTLE LION HEART A VACATION! SOMEONE GET OUR LITTLE LION HEART A VACATION! (One more time for the people in the back! đą)
#SaveWang #TableTennisLife #TooMuchPingPong đ±đ±đ±
The event schedule is based on the latest announcements from ITTF and WTT, but Wang Chuqinâs participation in specific events has not been confirmed. It seems CTTA usually finalizes the player list at the last minute… like right at the deadline hour.
For more schedules and updates, just subscribe to this Google Calendar: WCQ Table Tennis Events Schedule 2025
