In the recently concluded 2025 World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, Lin Shizhong, the mainstay of the Chinese table tennis team, suffered a crushing defeat. As the world’s number one male player, he was eliminated in the quarter-finals in all three events he participated in, thus failing to win a single medal.
Notably, since officially ranking world number one on 11 February this year, Lin Shidong has failed to win a title in six consecutive international tournaments across four events, including four singles defeats and two doubles exits before the semi-finals. This has left many fans puzzled: what has happened to him? Why has his performance declined so sharply after reaching the top of the world rankings?
Born in 2005, Lin Shidong is a legendary figure in the world of table tennis. At less than 20 years old, he reached the top of the rankings, surpassing his predecessor Kong Linghui to become the youngest male table tennis player in history to hold the world number one ranking.
As is well known, while world rankings do not fully reflect the comparative strength of athletes, they at least provide a comprehensive assessment of their performance in international competitions over the past year. Only those who consistently achieve excellent results over the long term can reach the top of the rankings. This clearly demonstrates that Lin Shidong’s abilities have reached the pinnacle of the sport. However, it now appears that the title of ‘world number one’ has become a burden weighing heavily on him.
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Lin Shidong’s last international championship victory was at the WTT Singapore Grand Slam in February, where he won three titles in a row in mixed doubles (partnering Kuai Man), men’s doubles (partnering Wang Chuqin), and men’s singles. This was also the final tournament that propelled him to the top of the rankings. After the WTT Singapore Grand Slam, Lin Shidong participated in three consecutive tournaments featuring only singles events, but failed to win any of them, including:
Shenzhen Asian Cup: Lost 3-4 to teammate Liang Jingkun in the semi-finals;
WTT Chongqing Championship: Lost 1-4 to teammate Wang Chuqin in the final;
Macau World Cup: Lost 1-4 to Brazilian player Hugo in the final.
After the Macau World Cup, Lin Shidong was selected for the Chinese team’s men’s singles, men’s doubles (partnered with Lin Gaoyuan), and mixed doubles (partnered with Kuai Man) lineups for the World Table Tennis Championships in Doha, becoming the only player on the Chinese table tennis team to compete in all three events. Just as many people were hoping that Lin Shidong would repeat his “triple crown” glory at the WTT Singapore Grand Slam, the results he sent back from Doha were far from ideal:
Men’s singles: Lost 3-4 to teammate Liang Jingkun in the quarterfinals;
Men’s doubles: Lost 1-3 to the Chinese Taipei pair Lin Yunru/Gao Chengrui in the quarterfinals;
Mixed doubles: Lost 1-3 to the Japanese pair Yoshimura Maharu/Ohtani Sayaka in the quarterfinals.
After missing out on the championship three times in a row, Lin Shidong suffered another blow, ending his second World Table Tennis Championships with zero medals, a result even worse than the previous edition (he participated in two events, winning a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Kuai Man, and reaching the quarterfinals in men’s doubles with Lin Gaoyuan, but without losing to foreign opponents). This result was indeed unexpected by many.
Fans have different opinions on the reasons why Lin Shidong failed to win the championship again. Many of them believe that he lost the medal because he was distracted by competing in three events at the World Table Tennis Championships.
However, opponents argue that Lin Shidong also competed in three events at the WTT Singapore Grand Slam, so why was he able to win the championship? Lin Shidong did not compete in three events in Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Macau, so why did he not win the championship? As for the World Table Tennis Championships, the tasks in the early stages were not very heavy, and in the latter half, Lin Shidong also lost three events due to defeat, but he still failed to win the gold medal, so it can be seen that competing in three events should not be the main reason for his defeat.
Personally, I think that Lin Shidong’s defeat was mainly influenced by three factors:
First, when Lin Shidong was less well-known, he was the one challenging others. Now that he is the world number one, his mindset may have become more conservative;
Second, in the past, Lin Shidong may have studied his opponents (especially top players) more than they studied him. Now that he is the world number one, he naturally becomes a focus of study for others, so the dynamics of attack and defense have changed;
Finally, although Lin Shidong has won numerous international championships and achieved outstanding results, most of these were in commercial events. He lacks experience in major competitions involving national honor, and this area still requires more participation and refinement.
As an athlete who has just turned 20, Lin Shidong is still very young, and we should not hold him to unrealistic standards. After all, many top players have gone through similar developmental phases and eventually overcame challenges, became leaders of the Chinese table tennis team step by step. Today, Lin Shidong already has world-class skills in terms of “hardware” such as technique. We look forward to him making breakthroughs in terms of “software” such as psychology, striving to win individual championships in major competitions as soon as possible, and shouldering the burden of the Chinese men’s table tennis team.
