The Chinese Table Tennis Team officially announced its squad for the Macau World Cup singles competition:
Men’s Singles: Wang Chuqin, Lin Shidong, Liang Jingkun, Zhou Qihao, Wen Ruibo
Women’s Singles: Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu, Kuai Man, Chen Xingtong, Wang Yidi, Qin Yuxuan
Despite being ranked 9th in the world, Xiang Peng was left out, even though he has more points than Liang Jingkun, Zhou Qihao, and Wen Ruibo. Men’s head coach Wang Hao explained that world ranking is not the sole criterion; athletes’ recent form and performance were also key factors.
The selection rules for this World Cup were clear in advance: Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha automatically qualified as 2025 World Championship singles winners; Qin Yuxuan also qualified for winning the 2025 World Junior U19 women’s singles, and these three do not take association quota spots. Additionally, players reaching the semifinals in the five continental cups earn World Cup slots. Due to Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha winning in the Asian Cup, Lin Shidong and Chen Xingtong were selected as replacements, and Kuai Man was included after winning bronze.
Wang Yidi secured her place through world ranking; Liang Jingkun, recently recovering from injury, was selected after coach evaluation; Zhou Qihao and Wen Ruibo earned spots for outstanding recent performances abroad, winning WTT Doha Star Contender and WTT Muscat regular men’s singles titles, respectively.
Women’s head coach Ma Lin expressed full confidence in the team and hopes for strong results in Macau. Last year, the women’s singles dominated with gold while the men’s singles fell short. This year, men’s singles face a tough challenge, while women remain strong, with the goal of claiming both titles.
