Wang Chuqin and the Mystery of China’s Coaching System Neglect

Coaching in table tennis involves way more than shouting “Move your feet!” from the sidelines. It’s the backbone behind every champion. Especially in China, where everything runs like a well-oiled war machine with strategy, resources, you name it. And yet… somehow, Wang Chuqin pulled off the impossible: made history as ranked #1 in the world in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles at the same time, while never having the full coaching support his peers enjoy.

How does that even happen?

To unravel this mystery, we need to take a closer look at how the Chinese National Table Tennis Team operates, why coaching is so crucial, and how Wang Chuqin slipped through the cracks.

(Quick note: Officially, the Chinese National Table Tennis Team is abbreviated as CTTT, but I prefer rolling with CNT, short for Chinese National Team, in my table tennis articles.)

Coaching System of Chinese National Team

(If you’re already familiar with how the CNT runs, feel free to skip this part. For everyone else, buckle up.)

The Role of a Table Tennis Coach

A table tennis coach isn’t just there to refine technique or fire up players with dramatic pep talks. Think of them more as project managers who oversee every aspect of an athlete’s growth, ensuring nothing is left to chance:

• Skill Development – Sharpening technique, movement, and consistency.
• Match Strategy – Analyzing opponents and crafting game plans.
• On-Court Coaching – Providing real-time tactical, emotional guidance, and technical feedback during matches and practices.
• Training Schedules – Structuring daily workouts and selecting sparring partners.
• Advanced Analytics – Using tech to analyze matches and optimize strategy.
• Communication & Coordination: Managing the support team (fitness trainers, sports psychologists, medical experts, etc.), player relationships, sponsors, and tournament logistics.

At the highest level, every player has mastered the basics. Raw talent alone won’t cut it. What separates winners from the runners-up is having access to the right resources.

Look at match preparation. In table tennis, a player’s form constantly changes and is often unpredictable. Top players rely heavily on analyzing their opponents’ recent performances, sometimes studying several matches back, to find patterns and weak spots. In this collaborative effort between coach and player, talent may be the weapon, but coaching is the gunsmith. No coach? You’re showing up to a gunfight with a spoon.

In elite sports like tennis or Formula 1, top athletes have an army of experts¹—tech nerds, analysts, trainers, even mindset gurus—behind them, squeezing out every competitive advantage possible. Table tennis is no different. When everyone’s playing at a crazy high level, even the tiniest advantage can be the difference between gold and “better luck next time.”

And while this is true everywhere, the Chinese National Team takes it to another level.

Why CNT’s Coaching System is Different

Unlike most table tennis associations, the Chinese Table Tennis Association (CTTA) and its national team, the Chinese National Team (CNT), operate like a bureaucratic empire. They’re a key part of China’s state-sponsored sports machine, backed by the government and driven by national honor. It’s essentially an authority within an authority.

The system mirrors China’s broader government structure, where power and resources are centralized. Senior coaches, usually former world champions themselves, call all the shots, from training methods and resource allocation to player selection for major tournaments.

CNT Coaching Hierarchy: Who Holds the Power?

Here’s how the power ladder looks within the CNT:

• Head Coach – Oversees the entire program and makes key resource decisions.
• Head Coach of the Men’s/Women’s Teams – Lead their respective squads, executing training plans, and typically on-court coaches during singles/doubles matches.
• Head Coach of the Mixed Doubles Unit – Manages a squad of mixed doubles players but lacks exclusive players. Provides coaching during all mixed doubles matches.
• Supervising Coaches – These are like squad leaders. Each gets a small group of players, handling the daily grind, strategic prep, and logistics. Players in their group can request them as on-court coaches.

Among these, the mixed doubles unit is particularly interesting. It was introduced in January 2023, after China lost the first-ever mixed doubles gold at the Tokyo Olympics. This was an especially bitter pill to swallow, as the loss was to Japan,² a country with a tumultuous history with China.

CNT scrambled to patch the leak. Wang Chuqin got tossed into that unit, and ever since, he’s been stuck there, never fully plugged into the core structure of the men’s team. I’ll unpack this further later.

CNT Player Hierarchy: The Echelon System

Just like the coaches, CNT players follow a strict pecking order. Promotions don’t happen just because you’re popping off, and everything is controlled, planned, and gatekept. In the men’s team:

• Top 3 = core players – Guaranteed spots at major events like the Olympics.
• 4th and 5th players = main players – Basically the bench mob. Trained to step in when needed, but not the priority.
• If a core player retires or gets injured, one of the mains gets bumped up. Meanwhile, younger prospects are groomed to fill the gaps.

This structured pipeline, known as “echelon-based team development” (梯队建设), ensures a smooth generational transition.

There’s also a tradition baked into the system called “the old leading the new” (以老带新). It’s like mentor mode: one or two veteran Olympians team up with younger players every Olympic cycle to pass down their experience and grind mindset. Deeply rooted in Chinese culture, this strategy has been a cornerstone of CNT’s long-term dominance.

Supervising Coach and Player: Who Gets Their Personal Team?

As mentioned earlier, unlike sports where athletes build their personal teams, CNT players aren’t allowed private coaches or independent teams. Instead, each core player is assigned a supervising coach who becomes their go-to for training, matches, and everything. It’s a one-on-one system.

• Every core player is paired with a supervising coach specializing in their development.
• Each supervising coach runs a small training group, typically consisting of one core player (the “No. 1” in the group) and two to four second-tier players, who double as sparring partners.
• Group setups depend on CNT’s internal competition, training style, and player-coach compatibility.
• Resources go first to the top dog in the group, but the rest still benefit from the structure. Everyone trains, everyone levels up.

In practice, it puts CNT’s echelon-based strategy into action, turning the theory of resource concentration into a daily training reality. Core players receive max support, and the next generation gets groomed in the process.

Every core player in CNT is supposed to have their own supervising coach.

Except Wang Chuqin.

National Interest and Resource Allocation

In China, table tennis isn’t just a sport. It’s a matter of national pride. For some Chinese, “the medal tables are real-time trackers of national prowess and, by extension, of national dignity”⁴ in major international events like the Olympics. With that in mind, the system is not designed to nurture individual players or to “create a national sporting culture that organically produces elite athletes,”⁵ but to uphold China’s collective dominance. Period.

In theory, the best players should get the most resources, right? But in reality, resources aren’t handed out purely based on who’s crushing it. They’re doled out by top coaches and administrators, who determine which players to prioritize based on internal logic rather than purely on merit.

What that actually means:

• Yes, the CNT wants gold medals, but not every top talent gets a fair shot.
• Instead of rewarding pure performance, the system selectively invests in “safe bets,” those that already align with the CNT’s strategy and long-term vision.
• Systemic favoritism exists not just due to individual bias but also because the structure itself allows for selective prioritization (eg, choosing between lefties or righties based on what the team needs).

Bottom line: Team honor equals national honor. But inside the CNT machine, not every talent gets plugged in the same way.

🪫 Systemic Favoritism and the Left-Handed Chance

In table tennis (and in sports like baseball and cricket), left-handed players have a natural edge when time pressures are particularly severe⁶ and the opponents stand at the shortest distance. Lefties mess with angles, create weird spin, and throw opponents off because people just don’t train against them as often. It hits even harder in doubles. A lefty-righty pair allows for seamless court coverage and squeezes out every bit of advantage.

However, the sport itself is built around right-handed players, from coaching methods and spin mechanics to footwork drills and even equipment design. This means that the natural advantages left-handers have don’t always translate into opportunities, especially within the CNT.

Historically, nearly all world singles champions from CNT have been right-handed, except Xu Xin, who won once in 2013. This has shaped training methods, coaching experiences, talent selection, etc. Given that most coaches and decision-makers are also right-handed, it reinforces a cycle where right-handed players get early access to better training, more trust, and bigger chances, further strengthening this bias.

So, where do CNT lefties fit in? Instead of the system adapting to them, they’re forced to adapt to the system. Instead of being developed as complete players, they’re molded into ideal doubles partners for right-handers, emphasizing teamwork drills, doubles tactics, and complementary footwork. It’s efficient, low-cost, benefits the team and the collective system, and minimizes risk, but at the expense of individual growth.

Even Xu Xin, one of the most creative left-handed players of his generation, was rarely given the chance to shine fully in singles. Only one of his 19 world championship titles, the 2013 World Cup, was in singles. Throughout his career with the CNT, he was consistently steered toward doubles. This clearly illustrates how the system uses left-handed players as strategic tools, not as solo stars.

Given this systemic favoritism, Wang Chuqin’s challenges as a lefty become clearer and even more extraordinary. (I’ll explore this left-handed bias further in future articles.) And yet somehow, he broke through it.

The Anomaly: Wang Chuqin’s Impossible Rise

By 2023, Wang Chuqin was already balling out. He’d proven himself over and over, showing insane skill and flexibility that went completely against how the CNT’s system is supposed to work. He rose to the top tier, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Fan Zhendong and Ma Long. By early 2024, he made history as the first-ever triple No. 1 player (singles, doubles, mixed doubles) at the same time.⁷

But what makes this insane?

Wang did it without the support system his rivals had.

• No dedicated supervising coach or personal team.
• No specialized training tailored for left-handed players.
• No priority access to resources enjoyed by other core players.

Let that sink in for a second… The best player in the world—who by CNT’s own logic deserved top-tier support—was left largely to fend for himself. Wang Chuqin had to handle match analyses, strategy tweaks, and preparations mostly on his own. Occasionally the men’s team head coaches, Qin Zhijian before 2023 and Wang Hao after, would step in, but only when it was convenient. It wasn’t steady support. That extra workload inevitably drained him and stunted his growth, but at least having them around helped a bit, Wang Chuqin picked up what he could.

How did this happen?

That’s exactly what I wondered. I let my documentary-producer brain take over and started digging. (I don’t plan to discuss Wang’s rise today, maybe later? For now, just focusing on how CNT has treated him throughout his journey.)

What I found was a tangled web of bureaucracy, politics, and sheer neglect.

And that’s where things get really interesting…

Wang Chuqin’s Career Path with Coaches

So, where did the story start?

Wang Chuqin’s journey hasn’t followed the typical “find a mentor, rise to the top” storyline. Instead, he’s had to navigate a complicated maze of favoritism, random coach swaps, and limited resources. In a system where standing still means falling behind, most core CNT players have long benefited from dedicated supervising coaches, Wang didn’t. He spent key years bouncing from one coach to another. Or sometimes, left completely on his own.

2017-2018: Coach Wu Jingping,
The First (and Short-Lived) Stability

Back in 2014, Wang Chuqin earned his spot on CNT’s Second Team after winning both the U15 and U18 singles titles at the China National Junior & Youth Table Tennis Championships. By late 2015, he had clawed his way into Team One through internal selection matches.

But for nearly two years afterward, he trained without a dedicated coach, just another young player trying not to drown in the CNT machine. Back then, the 2016 Rio Olympics was the top priority, with all resources focused there. Then came a wave of internal politics within CNT, which threw training routines and team dynamics into chaos. Things finally changed in April 2017, when Coach Wu Jingping joined the national team.

Wang was placed in Wu’s training group. Not simply because CNT believed in his potential, but because Xu Xin, the lefty core player, needed a left-handed sparring partner to prepare for Tokyo 2020. Wang filled that role.

For the first time, he had a coach watching over his progress. At 18, he racked up several youth singles and mixed doubles titles, including the 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold.

But in the CNT system, stability never lasts long. Coach Wu left the team sometime in 2018 at age 64, with an official announcement following in February 2019. Wang was left in limbo.

2019-2022: Coach Liu Guozheng,
The “Start-Up Father and Son” Duo

A few months later, Coach Liu Guozheng took over Wang’s training and match coaching. The two were playfully dubbed the “start-up father and son,” thanks to their fresh pairing and Liu’s hands-on coaching style.

Things started clicking fast. In April 2019, at just 18 years old, Wang Chuqin won his first major title in men’s doubles with Ma Long at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest. Six months later, he snagged his first singles title at the Swedish Open.

The train was moving. Wang was on his way. But then came the turning point.

In November 2019, after a frustrating loss to a teammate at the Austrian Open, Wang angrily slammed his paddle onto the table. The outburst led to a three-month suspension. Worse still, Coach Liu Guozheng was suspended for a month, caught in the fallout of his player’s actions.⁸

Bouncing back was tough. Wang Chuqin pushed his way into the world’s top 20 while enduring a painful two-year singles title drought. The COVID-19 pandemic only made things worse—tournaments got wiped off the map, rhythm went out the window, and everything stalled.

His comeback moment hit in early 2022, when he won a singles title at WTT Macao Stars of China.⁹ But just as things seemed to be looking up, Coach Liu left the CNT unexpectedly for personal career reasons.

Wang, now a world top-15 player, was left without a coach. Again.

2022: The No-Coach Year, A One-Man Army

Throughout all of 2022, Wang Chuqin was on his own. No supervising coach. No structured training plan. Yet somehow, he still put together one of the most impressive runs of his career.

In October 2022, Wang helped CNT win gold at the World Table Tennis Team Championships in Chengdu. It was his first time sharing the stage with Ma Long and Fan Zhendong in such a major competition, a clear sign that he had cemented his place as the third core player in CNT. He followed up with back-to-back singles titles at WTT Champions Macao and the WTT Cup Finals in Xinxiang, skyrocketing to World No. 3.

Then came the Asian Cup in Bangkok in November. Wang was spotted alone at the airport, slurping instant noodles, while teammates were likely surrounded by their coaches. Before his quarterfinal, he needed a left-handed sparring partner to prepare. With no left-handed teammates available for him, Lin Lin Yun-Ju from TPE, a friend and fellow lefty, stepped in to help. Then, Wang had to temporarily borrow a teammate’s coach during his match. Unsurprisingly, CNT exited early.

It was one of the most telling moments of the year. Frustrating to watch, and even more infuriating to realize it wasn’t an accident. This was CNT’s system at work.

2023–Present: Coach Xiao Zhan,
The Mixed Doubles Dilemma

By January 2023, Wang Chuqin was locked in as World No. 3 and a core CNT player. That’s when CNT launched their new project: a mixed doubles unit. Coach Xiao Zhan was put in charge, and Wang was placed under his supervision.

On paper, it looked like progress. But in reality? It was just another workaround.

Wang was never officially assigned a dedicated supervising coach like his peers. Calling Xiao his coach was more like a strategic compromise. Since Wang was the top male seed in mixed doubles, it made sense to group him with the new unit. But Xiao’s attention was split between him and the other mixed doubles players. It was far from the exclusive coaching setups Wang deserved and clearly revealed how systemic neglect undermined CNT’s own echelon-based development model.

Wang Chuqin and Coach Xiao Zhan

When it comes to Coach Xiao Zhan, my feelings are… complicated.

On one hand, Wang Chuqin finally had a coach he could communicate directly with, and they seemed to get along well. On the other, Xiao’s well-known high-intensity training style might’ve leveled up Wang’s game, but it also came with physical strain, injuries, and what I can only imagine as soul-crushing mental stress.

The real issue, though, was Wang and Xiao had completely different priorities. Despite Xiao’s reputation, he turned out to be an unreliable support system when Wang needed him most.

Xiao’s Background: From Grand Slam Glory to a Career Reboot

Xiao Zhan had a long path to this moment. He played for CNT in the 1980s and spent the 1990s coaching in Qatar and Taiwan before returning to China in the early 2000s. His claim to fame was coaching Zhang Jike to the fastest Grand Slam in history, collecting all singles titles in the Olympics, World Championship, and World Cup in just 445 days between 2011 and 2012.¹⁰

But after Zhang retired due to injuries (which, spoiler alert, were probably related to Xiao’s brutal training style), Xiao struggled to find his place in CNT. So when the opportunity arose to lead a new mixed doubles unit, he jumped at it. It was a fresh career move, not just for him, but also for CNT. A new coaching setup with promising but untested results.

Wang Chuqin, meanwhile, was exactly the kind of player Xiao needed. Fast, aggressive, rising fast, and most importantly—unclaimed. No supervising coach, no deep-rooted place in the coaching hierarchy. Oh, and conveniently, Wang and Sun Yingsha were already an unstoppable mixed doubles duo. Even without the Wang-Sun pairing, Wang had maintained an incredible win rate in mixed doubles with other female partners. It was a clear win for Xiao’s new unit.

CNT had its eyes on redemption in mixed doubles. Xiao locked onto Wang as the centerpiece. Wang, in return, finally had someone in his corner. For once, he wasn’t totally alone. Having a coach with real experience, having someone he could call “my own people, my own mentor,” was something he had long desired. 😢

At the very least, Xiao seemed like he could offer a new chapter in Wang’s career. If only Wang had known that the “new chapter” would turn into another dead-end, a painful experience…

♾️ Mixed Doubles First, Everything Else Later

Coach Xiao’s official job title, “head of the mixed doubles unit,” sounds impressive, maybe even on par with the men’s and women’s team head coaches. But in reality, the unit operates outside the traditional CNT structure, relying on players from the men’s and women’s teams whenever schedules allow, making it a floating squad at best.

For Xiao, mixed doubles was absolutely the number one priority. In multiple interviews, it was revealed Wang Chuqin had to spend over 90% of his training time on mixed doubles.¹¹ Even his early morning training sessions were dedicated entirely to mixed doubles—footwork adjustments, attacking angles, rhythm shifts, and swing speed. Everything revolved around mixed doubles instead of balancing training for all three events.

I can’t say for sure how this affected his singles career, but let’s be realistic: Mixed doubles isn’t the main focus for other top CNT male players. And if 90% of your training and preparation are focused on doubles strategy, how much time is left for the singles performance?

There were whispers that Xiao Zhan bet his entire career on winning mixed doubles gold at the Paris Olympics. And he didn’t even try to hide it. In an interview, he bluntly admitted, “Since I’m in charge of Wang Chuqin’s training, I can help with his singles and men’s doubles prep, but if he doesn’t play well in mixed doubles, I’ll drop him. Winning the Olympic mixed doubles gold is my one and only mission.”¹²

Excuse me? That sounds less like coaching and more like an ultimatum.

As a top triple-event player, Wang was stuck in mixed doubles and effectively sidelined in training priority. But was it just Coach Xiao’s decision, or was the entire CNT administration behind this weird priority shift? A quiet, top-down decision to put mixed doubles above everything, even if it came at the cost of Wang’s health, performance, and future?

A Coach Who Can’t Get Things Done❗️

Coach Xiao Zhan had a legacy. He had a history. But in his current role, he had no real pull. Nowhere near the authority of heavyweights like Wang Hao and Ma Lin, the heads of the men’s and women’s teams. Even Xiao admitted it was hard to get Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha released from their respective teams for mixed doubles training, and sometimes needed CTTA President Liu Guoliang’s intervention.

The Tournament Scheduling Disaster

Xiao’s real incompetence, though, showed in communicating and advocating for Wang when it mattered most, especially with tournament scheduling. For years, Wang has been forced to play back-to-back matches like a marathon runner, while Coach Xiao did nothing about it.

Here’s how it usually went in major tournaments,

• As the tournament advanced, XD (mixed doubles) matches were typically scheduled earlier in the day, followed by MD (men’s doubles) and singles in later sessions. This meant Wang had to peak for XD first, aligning with Coach Xiao and CNT’s priority.
• By the time Wang reached the later rounds of singles, he was already physically and mentally drained. While his opponents, who weren’t juggling three events, were fresher and ready.
• Meanwhile, Wang’s opponents, teammates, and even his doubles partners had more time to rest and reset. And guess what? They all had dedicated supervising coaches around.

At WTT Star Contender Doha 2024, Wang Chuqin endured an insane five matches in just 11 hours and won them all 3-0, ultimately earning the singles and mixed doubles titles. Insane.

Seven months earlier, at the 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in Durban, Wang Chuqin was on court for a record-breaking 10 hours and 16 minutes, playing 72 games. He won both mixed and men’s doubles titles, but lost in the singles final to teammate Fan Zhendong 2-4. Afterward, Wang admitted he could barely stare at the ball by the end.

Throughout the eight-day of this WTTC, Wang was constantly running from one match to another, playing three matches a day in three days. After winning the XD final, he had less than two hours before his singles quarterfinal. Cameras caught him face-down on a table in the training hall, trying to sneak in a nap with his freshly won gold medal beside him. 😞

And what did Coach Xiao do about it? Nothing.

When many questioned whether Coach Xiao would challenge these unreasonable schedules, he reportedly said he couldn’t do anything.

But somehow, CNT allegedly negotiated to reschedule Wang Chuqin and Fan Zhendong’s men’s doubles R32 match because it was too close to Fan’s singles match. That round got bumped to the night session, but just 1hr 20mins after Wang’s mixed doubles match.

Moreover, night matches were routinely delayed, and that day was no exception. Wang finished XD around 9:10 pm, then had to rush to the next table for MD at 9:30 pm. Barely enough time to wipe his face, let alone recover.

Of course, remember CNT’s resource allocation favoritism? As CNT’s strongest right-handed player and singles gold medal favorite, Fan got the breathing room and the more reasonable schedule he needed. And Wang, the workhorse who played the most matches and carried the most weight, was treated like a fire extinguisher—only grabbed when things went up in flames.

💣 Bang! Olympic Horror Story

Then came the Paris Olympics. Everything that could go wrong, did.

As the one and only triple-event player, Wang Chuqin had been battling a persistent shoulder injury for months that had severely affected his forehand. Rumor had it that CNT requested to push Wang’s singles R16 match after the XD final. It was likely to ensure China secured XD gold first in case Wang’s physical condition worsened.

We all know what happened next.

Right after the emotional high of winning Olympic XD gold, Wang found that his paddle broke in the coaching area. And less than 10 hours, including sleep, he had to play his R16 match in a “physical and mental state that seemed to be at a breaking point.” He crashed out early.

Afterward, he admitted things might’ve turned out differently if his R16 match had been pushed back that day. Yet Coach Xiao and CNT didn’t even try to renegotiate the schedule, not even after one of the most infamous incidents in Olympic table tennis history.

I still remember that heartbreaking moment. 💔 Wang was visibly overwhelmed when saw his broken paddle. In frustration, he asked Coach Xiao, “Complain them! Why can’t we complain?”

Xiao’s response? “It’s useless.”

Not “I’ll talk to the officials.” Not “Let’s figure this out.” Just a flat-out dismissal.

At a time when Wang needed someone to fight for him, to stand up for fairness, to at least try, he got nothing.

It’s one thing to avoid conflict. It’s another thing to not even try to push back against the system. And when a coach chooses silence over standing up for his player, that’s not just incompetence.

It’s negligence.

💊 Negligence, Injury & The Cost of Brutality

Another piece of the puzzle fell into place not long ago.

In the months leading up to the Olympics, Wang Chuqin quietly struggled with a mysterious shoulder injury. He tried physical therapy, strength training, acupuncture, cortisone shots, and countless painkillers, but nothing worked. Instead of pushing for proper medical intervention, Coach Xiao Zhan brushed it off as “normal” and told Wang to just push through.

Sound familiar?

Coach Xiao’s training philosophy is known for its intensity: relentless drills, insane workload, and extreme discipline. It may have helped players build short-term gains, but it also led to severe injuries. Zhang Jike is a prime example. One of the most successful table tennis players, but retired early due to chronic back and hip injuries.¹³ Wang Manyu also suffered severe knee pain under Xiao’s watch around 2022.

And with Wang Chuqin, nothing changed.

Wang has long been known as the hardest-working player in CNT. For two years before the Olympics, he lived on a 6 am to 10 pm training routine. First to arrive, last to leave. And under Xiao’s guidance, the workload only intensified. (Some training clips honestly looked excessive. Is this really necessary?)

While Wang kept pushing through the pain, his shoulder injury lingered for months, reaching its worst point at the Olympics. Even after winning XD gold and suffering an unexpected singles exit, Xiao never escalated the issue. It wasn’t until a senior doctor happened to step in that Wang finally got a proper diagnosis.

Ironically, it was the exact same injury Zhang Jike suffered at the London Olympics in 2012, under Coach Xiao’s watch.

You’d think a coach or the CNT would have learned.

Neither negligence nor “doesn’t care” indifference thoroughly explains it. It was a pattern. A brutal one. And I still can’t wrap my head around it. Awful.

This Disregard didn’t just hurt Wang or damage his first Olympics; it exposed a critical contradiction within CNT’s approach: prioritizing short-term gains and immediate results over player health and long-term sustainable dominance.

Thankfully, in a recent interview at the 2025 Asian Cup in Shenzhen, where Wang Chuqin stood holding the champion trophy, he revealed that after discussions with Coach Wang Hao and Xiao Zhan, he’s no longer training with the same extreme intensity as before or draining himself completely in daily practice.

After years of burning himself out, he’s finally taking some control.

Attitude Problem: A Coach Who Checked Out

Coach Xiao’s lack of involvement doesn’t stop at scheduling or injury management, it extends to match-day coaching.

An on-court coach isn’t just there to bark orders. They’re a tactical support, an emotional anchor, and a mental reset button. Usually, the heads of men’s and women’s teams take charge of singles and doubles. However, players can choose their supervising coach for singles matches. Top players like Liang Jingkun and Sun Yingsha always have their supervising coaches by their sides.

When Xiao became Wang’s coach, Wang chose him to sit courtside for major singles matches, including the 2023 WTTC. He said, “Coach Xiao always cheers for me with passion, always gives me confidence, and we both value the communication we build up day by day. As we look toward long-term collaboration, we need to understand each other better through matches.” He also added, “I’m grateful to the team for giving the athletes such autonomy and respecting our opinions.”

From what I’ve seen, Coach Xiao is present at the tournaments where Wang Chuqin competes in both singles and mixed doubles, but at singles-only events, his presence has been inconsistent.

The last time Xiao was spotted courtside for Wang’s singles match? His R16 loss in Paris.

After achieving mixed doubles gold in Paris, Wang fell into a slump, struggling through yet another stretch of back-to-back competitions without Xiao’s support. Instead, Xiao was sometimes seen on personal vacations or in the training hall with Wang, but for the most part, he was focused on coaching other XD players.

Updated Feb 27: A rumor said Xiao’s absence was due to a severe shoulder injury that required surgery. Well, a brutal training style that even injured the coach himself? Hopefully, this 57-year-old coach is recovering well.

That said, over the past half-year, the Wang-Xiao partnership has felt grown distant. And once again, Wang is left without a real supervising coach.

Final Thoughts: Wang Deserved Better

Writing this far has left me exhausted. Emotionally drained.

Watching Wang Chuqin’s matches started as pure joy. We discovered him, celebrated his rise. But then came the shock, the confusion, the frustration, and eventually, deep disappointment with the system surrounding him.

Drifting without a harbor, growing without a guide. That was Wang Chuqin’s early years in CNT. As we’ve discussed, he was mostly left to navigate the larger men’s team, rather than enjoying steady coaching and tailored resources. He wasn’t given a clear path, so he carved one himself.

He learned from everyone and everything around him, seeking advice from any available coaches in the training hall, soaking up insights from teammates, grabbing sparring partners among friends, and even picking up English from staff members.

He is like a sponge, absorbing knowledge wherever he can. He is like water, “takes the shape of anything it enters.”¹⁴

Yes, water.

Lately, some have described his playing style as fluid, adaptable, and ever-changing. But being water isn’t just about the cliché “formless” sense. It’s about movement, transformation, and finding a way through any obstacle. Wang didn’t just develop a flexible playing style; he shaped himself through flexibility, and shaped himself in ways the system never accounted for. Being water wasn’t even a choice. It was a matter of survival, the only way forward.

Even now, even after proving himself time and time again, the system still treats him like an afterthought. Just last week at the Asian Cup, Wang won his second continental title (his first was at the 2023 Asian Games, where he became the first player in history to sweep all four events). Yet before the tournament began, he was seen practicing alone with a young training partner, while his teammates were surrounded by head coach Wang Hao, their supervising coaches, and strength trainers—an entire support team.

Wang has shown the world he can succeed without CNT’s full backing, but why should he have to? The best player in the world shouldn’t have to fight for the basic support he deserves.

He deserves a real supervising coach. Someone who prioritizes his entire career, not just men’s doubles or mixed doubles, not just short-term medals. Someone who will travel with him, strategize with him, and provide the level of resources other CNT players take for granted.

He’s fought his way to the top. Now it’s CNT’s turn to step up and support him properly.

And I’ll be watching to see what happens next.

Read Also

Wang Chuqin’s Olympic Injury Story that We All Missed

“Giving my all to be my best self.” Interview by Table Tennis World

Wang Chuqin’s Recent Slump: He’s More Than Just a Non-Stop Ping-pong Machine

Interviews | WTT Finals Fukuoka

References

1. Entourage: The team behind the champion – US Open Tennis ↩︎
2. Chinese Athlete Tearfully Apologizes for Winning Silver in Table Tennis – VICE ↩︎
3. 国家队教练分组揭晓 @乒乓世界TTW – 微博 ↩︎
4. Tokyo Olympics: Chinese nationalists turn on their athletes – BBC ↩︎
5. Is China Gaming the System or Playing the Game? | Council on Foreign Relations ↩︎
6. Left-handedness and time pressure in elite interactive ball games | Biology Letters ↩︎
7. Wang Chuqin Ranking History ↩︎
8. China suspends Wang Chuqin – International Table Tennis Federation ↩︎
9. Wang Chuqin and Wang Manyu Prevail At WTT Macao ↩︎
10. ZHANG Jike – Olympics ↩︎
11. 《绽放巴黎》中国乒乓球队：不止冠军 – YouTube ↩︎
12. Coach Xiao Zhan’s Interview March 2023 ↩︎
13. Zhang Jike changing his heart on retirement – International Table Tennis Federation ↩︎
14. Bruce Lee Quotes (Author of Tao of Jeet Kune Do) ↩︎