Site Products

China’s Olympic “Trials”: Qihao Tops Zhendong in Xingtong

(by Steve Hopkins, photo by ITTFworld)

If this event were a true Olympic Trials, the table tennis world might have just been turned on its collective ears. As each of the Chinese Olympic Team members fell to much lower ranked opponents – and if the winner made the team, a relatively unknown Zhou Qihao would now be leading the Chinese Olympic Team.

This week’s 5-day event has been called an Olympic Trial, but the team has already been chosen (in 2020) so this is more a warm-up designed to simulate Olympic conditions and prepare their team for Tokyo. The event included Fan Zhendong, Xu Win, Ma Long (World No. 1, 2, and 3 respectively) as well as Lin Gaoyuan (World No. 5), and Liang Jingkun (World No. 10), and Wang Chuqin (World No. 14), and Zhao Zihao (World No. 23).  Despite that extremely elite company, the winner was….. World No. 122, Zhou Qihao.

The Final just finished (see the video below).  World No. 1 Fan Zhendong fell to Qihao 4-2.

World No. 2 Xu Xin and World No. 4 Lin Gaoyuan both lost in the group stage and failed to make the Quarterfinals.  Xu Xin fell to Lin Shidong, a 15 year old phenom who will likely be finding his way onto the National Team in the next year.  Lin Gaoyuan fell to savvy veteran Fang Bo.  *Lin Shidong fell 4-2 to Fan Zhendong – playing close for three games, but then fading.

Zhou Qihao’s final two matches?  A win over World No. 1 Fan Zhendong and a win over World No. 3 Ma Long.  Qihao isn’t a rising junior, he’s an elite talent who has been inconsistent through his rise and that has kept him off the top tier of the Chinese Team.  Still, despite peaking at World No. 37, since 2018 Qihao has logged wins against Ovtcharov, Chih-Yuan, Samsonov, Franziska, Duda, Jingkin, and (of course) now Ma Long and Fan Zhendong.

China is 80 days away from competing in Tokyo – perhaps the upsets this week will be a wake-up call that will help prevent similar missteps when it really counts.

 

Latest News

The O’Neill Op-Ed + A Smarter Spin on Club Growth

June 12, 2025
(by: Major League Table Tennis) Thursday, June 12 O’Neil Op-Ed | SPINDEX Challenge Nights | Official MLTT Jersey  INTRODUCING: The O’Neil Op-Ed 📝 … Read More

The USA Junior National Team Trials II – Championship Recap

June 12, 2025
(by Bowmar Sports Team) The excitement was palpable at the 2025 USA Junior National Team Trials II held… Read More

Rachid El Bou Bou Carolina Pong Highlights

June 12, 2025
(by: Bowmar Sports) In this Bowmar Sports Tournament Highlights, Rachid El Bou Bou is in action at the… Read More

Faster Wrist Snap

June 11, 2025
Forehand topspin against backspin that comes half long to Forehand (imagine 2nd ball bounce is slightly behind the… Read More

My First World Championship Experience In Doha – By Sally Moyland

June 10, 2025
(by Sally Moyland) Wow…so many flags. On every post we drove past there was a Qatari and an… Read More

Most Competitive Matches Are Won or Lost on Two Things

June 9, 2025
(By Larry Hodges) Between players of roughly equal levels, matches are almost always won or lost on one… Read More

Contact the Ball Closer to the Net

June 9, 2025
1 Backhand drop shot from short Backhand to short wide Backhand and 1 Forehand drop shot from short… Read More

MLTT Featured Team: Princeton Revolution

June 8, 2025
(by Steve Hopkins) The Princeton Revolution are hoping to fire a shot that will be heard around the… Read More
View All News

Get the latest from Butterfly

Stay “In The Loop” with Butterfly professional table tennis equipment, table tennis news, table tennis technology, tournament results, and We Are Butterfly players, coaches, clubs and more.