At the recently concluded WTT European Grand Smash in Sweden, the Chinese Table Tennis Team suffered a major blow in men’s singles: out of six participants, only Lin Shidong reached the round of 16. He eventually made it all the way to the final but lost 3-4 to Sweden’s Olympic silver medalist Truls Moregard, finishing runner-up.
Notably, since his triple-gold triumph at the WTT Singapore Smash in February and his rise to World No.1, Lin Shidong has gone six months without a singles title, falling short in seven straight international tournaments—against both foreign rivals and teammates. This has sparked debate among fans: what exactly is happening to him?
Lin Shidong’s Recent Singles Results
Feb – Asian Cup (Shenzhen): Semifinal, lost 3-4 to teammate Liang Jingkun
Mar – WTT Chongqing Champions: Final, lost 1-4 to Wang Chuqin
Apr – World Cup (Macau): Final, lost 1-4 to Hugo Calderano (Brazil)
May – World Championships (Doha): Quarterfinal, lost 3-4 to Liang Jingkun
Jul – WTT Grand Smash USA: Semifinal, lost 3-4 to Tomokazu Harimoto (Japan)
Aug – WTT Yokohama Champions: Round of 16, lost 2-3 to Qiu Dang (Germany)
Aug – WTT European Grand Smash (Sweden): Final, lost 3-4 to Truls Moregard
On paper, his results are not disastrous—three finals, five semifinals, and four losses that went to deciding sets. But fans expect more from the World No.1 and the leading figure of China’s new generation, and his inability to consistently win titles raises concern.
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Key Issues Behind His Slump
Technical Weaknesses
Struggles to hold ground near the table, often retreating and becoming passive.
Over-reliance on backhand play; opening attacks lack sufficient pressure.
Needs targeted training to improve proactive shot-making.
Tactical Execution
Hesitant in handling short–long ball variations.
Becomes conservative under pressure—poor short play, indecisive banana flicks, lower-quality rallies.
Fails to consistently bring out his strength of two-winged looping attacks.
Mental Game
Strong against weaker opponents, but dips when facing top rivals.
Excels in “easy” matches but struggles in high-intensity battles.
Still prone to fluctuations typical of young players, but in today’s fast-rising, younger, and tougher field, the margin for error is small.
Lin Shidong is still only 20, and many of these issues can be improved with experience and maturity. But with global table tennis becoming ever more competitive—and opportunities for dominance becoming rarer—he cannot afford to rely on youth as an excuse. The question is: can he find his breakthrough before the window closes?
