Sweeping the medals at major international events, China's table tennis stars continued their dominance last year despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and pressure from overseas competitors.

But setbacks, such as Team China's failure to win the mixed doubles gold against host Japan at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, are sounding alarms bells for the country's young guns, who need to work harder to live up to the high expectations they shoulder.

The Chinese table tennis squad experienced a near-perfect season last year. At the much-anticipated Tokyo Games in August, China pocketed four of the five golds up for grabs.

In the United States in November, the squad again bagged four out of the five golds offered at the World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston, Texas. One week later, Chinese players won both gold medals at the WTT Cup Finals in Singapore.

Team China veteran Ma Long said during a live interview on Sina Weibo: "If I had to choose a word to describe my experience in 2021, it would be 'thankful'. I want to thank all the people who have helped and supported the Chinese table tennis team.

"Apart from the players and coaches, there are many others behind the scenes helping us, including sports technology researchers, the medical team and support staff members. Even though they are not often in the spotlight, they make tremendous efforts.

"We also need to thank the nation. The entire Chinese delegation, not only the table tennis squad, had a great performance at the Tokyo Olympics thanks to comprehensive support at national level. China has also contained the pandemic, so our daily training wasn't affected, whereas many foreign players were unable to train for consecutive days."

In addition to veterans such as Ma, fans are impressed by the quick progress made by the younger generation of Chinese players, including current men's world No. 1 Fan Zhendong and the world's top two women players, Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha.

After winning the men's team gold and singles silver at the Tokyo Olympics, Fan, 22, maintained his fine form at the WTT Championships Finals in Houston and the WTT Cup Finals in Singapore, winning gold in the men's singles at the two events.

"I won the two titles for the first time. Transforming my expectations into great results has been a tremendous experience for me," Fan said after his triumphs. "But what I value more is the experience I have gained from these tournaments, which will benefit me in the future."

Meanwhile, Chen, 27, proved herself at the Tokyo Games, winning the singles and team gold medals.

Sun, 21, despite failing to reach the top podium in Tokyo-winning a singles silver-shone in Houston, winning gold in the mixed doubles and women's doubles, as well as a silver in the singles. She also won the singles gold in the Singapore event.

"It's been a busy schedule and I participated in many high-level international tournaments. I'm more comfortable with my style and also pace myself better during matches now. I used to make many mistakes during competition, but now I have better control of myself," Sun said.

Still shining

Among the top Chinese players, Ma, who won a men's singles and team gold in Tokyo last summer, is one of the brightest stars. His most memorable match last year was the men's singles final with world No. 1 Fan at the Tokyo Olympics, where the veteran proved he still had what it takes to win gold.

Ma, 33, said: "Every time I stood on the top podium, I felt proud and excited. That's the best reward for all my hard work. It's also about the tradition and joint efforts of generations of Chinese players."

Since the 2012 London Olympics, Ma has won five Olympic golds. Together with World Championships and World Cup titles, he has bagged 26 golds at major world tournaments during his career. While each medal is precious to the Team China captain, it's not easy for him to stay on top.

"The Olympic Games take place every four years, but due to the pandemic, there was a five-year gap after the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. So for both veterans and rookie players, I think the pressure was pretty much the same," Ma said.

"Looking back at all the medals I've won, I think each of them is special to me. Each championship title is important to an athlete, as it can motivate and bring confidence. There have been many milestones in my career, such as my first Olympic and first world singles titles."

One of Ma's nicknames is the "Hexagon Fighter", which originated from a Japanese television series that used hexagon-shaped charts to assess the qualities of table tennis players, including speed, skills, defense and experience. As Ma was rated top in each category, his ability chart formed a full hexagon.

"The media gave me this nickname, but I think it's something of an exaggeration. I don't believe anybody can be a Hexagon Fighter. Even though I still think it's too much to give me a full hexagon rating, I keep telling myself that being a full hexagon fighter has always been my goal."

In 2019, knee surgery forced Ma to pause his career, with many people questioning if he could return to peak condition.

"I was never that pessimistic, even during 2019. At the time, I thought 'it's just surgery, and I can keep playing after I recover.' I did not think about it too much-I did not even think a great deal about the next Olympics," Ma said.

"But when my body recovered, the desire for victory returned and I wanted to be back in peak condition as soon as possible. That's when the Tokyo Olympics became pressure for me. Fans consider me a veteran with experience of previous Games. However, for all athletes, the significance of an Olympics is the same.

"I'm glad to see so many young people now taking up sports, especially table tennis. Sports are another type of education for the younger generation and will also make people tougher and able to deal with victory and defeats. They bring valuable experiences to our lives."

Growing challenges

Despite Team China's successful season last year, fast-emerging foreign talent, including Japanese sensations Mima Ito and Tomokazu Harimoto, are posing challenges for the Chinese players.

The best example of this is the defeat of Chinese pair Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin by Jun Mizutani and Ito in the mixed doubles final in Tokyo, which saw Japan claim its first-ever Olympic gold since the sport made its debut at the 1988 Games in Seoul.

Liu Guoliang, president of the Chinese Table Tennis Association, said: "No matter how strong Team China has been, looking back over our history there have been ups and downs. We would have six to eight years of dominance, and then there would be some downturns. This is normal.

"Since 2005, the Chinese men's team has been the dominant force, but more promising talent will increasingly emerge worldwide. We could experience another slump in form, but we are ready to face it.

"It's more important to know how to tackle such a challenge. We need to strengthen our youth training and our talent production system. Team China has many outstanding players, including those who rose to prominence quickly and those who worked and fought hard for their breakthroughs. They are all great examples for the next generation of Chinese players."

Ma, the veteran, also believes it's hard for the Chinese squad to constantly maintain its competitive edge.

"Compared with our foreign rivals, when we reach our peak, we might have some advantages. But when we think too much or face too much pressure, we will lose our advantage. We are lucky to have all the love, support and expectations, but that's because of the responsibilities on our shoulders," Ma said.

"Sometimes, when we have won many events and people have high expectations of us, we face pressure to improve ourselves-and this is a good thing. So we need to have communication with coaches and team leaders to help us adjust our mentality. Through talking with our families, teammates and friends, we find new perspectives.

"Another way to ease the pressure is through tough training. Our coach will intentionally create some difficulties for us, such as playing loud music during training sessions to test our concentration."

Still, the Chinese squad is admired by overseas rivals, including German player Timo Boll, who credits his battles with Chinese opponents for making him the player he is today.

"I wouldn't have become such a good player without the Chinese," the four-time Olympic medalist and former world No. 1, told Xinhua News Agency in a recent interview.

"They improve me so much. I'm always eager to play them. It doesn't matter if I win or lose-afterward I'm always a better player. If I take on Chinese players, I have to be prepared from the first ball, because you have to read the game very carefully," he said.

"You must be extremely sharp and you cannot afford to make simple mistakes. You have to be really on guard during a match."

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