The 2025 WTT Champions Macau has concluded, yet the discussions around it have not subsided, particularly concerning the men’s team. Although the final outcome saw Wang Chuqin claim the title with a dominant performance, the other four rising stars all suffered defeats to foreign opponents—including World No. 1 Lin Shidong, No. 9 Xiang Peng, National Championships men’s singles champion Huang Youzheng, and another hopeful Chen Yuanyu. Many fans sighed: “Must we always pin all our hopes on Wang Chuqin alone?”
Lingering Age Gap in the Men’s Team
As early as the Tokyo Olympic cycle, the Chinese men’s team already showed a clear aging issue at the top. Among the three main players who competed in Japan, both Ma Long and Xu Xin were over 30, setting a record for the oldest lineup. By the Paris Olympics, the average age of the three core men’s players had dropped, yet the fact that 35-year-old Ma Long was still selected only further highlighted the lack of young replacements.
With the Los Angeles Olympic cycle now underway, both Ma Long and Fan Zhendong withdrew from the world rankings last year and stepped away from international competition. Unfortunately, the younger generation’s performances have been far from convincing. The only remaining Olympic core player, Wang Chuqin, has also stumbled, suffering losses at the Asian Championships and the World Cup. As for the newer stars, although they occasionally shine, their frequent defeats to foreign opponents remain a concern.
Lin Shidong’s Struggles
Among the four rising stars, Lin Shidong is the highest-ranked. In the new cycle, he has captured several international titles, yet he consistently lags behind against the three main foreign rivals—Hugo Calderano, Tomokazu Harimoto, and Alexis Lebrun. Recently, he has also suffered defeats to players he used to dominate, such as Truls Moregardh, Qiu Dang, and Kristian Karlsson.
What frustrates fans even more is that since becoming World No. 1 in February, Lin has not won a single men’s singles title. He has lost to teammates like Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun in internal battles and has collapsed repeatedly in foreign matchups. These singles setbacks have even affected his doubles performance—he hasn’t won a men’s doubles title recently. While he and Kuai Man did capture two mixed doubles titles at WTT Grand Smashes, they lost at the Doha World Championships to Japan’s Maharu Yoshimura / Satsuki Odo, failing even to secure a medal.
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Other Rising Stars Falling Short
Compared with Lin, the other three new-generation players have fared even worse. Huang Youzheng, the new National Championships singles champion, has not won an international singles title in nearly a year. He has often missed opportunities due to his low ranking—something rarely seen for past national champions.
To be fair, Huang’s National Championships victory last year had particular circumstances: the event was held at high altitude, causing physical discomfort for many players. Additionally, most of the national team’s top-tier and secondary players skipped the men’s singles event, leaving only Xu Xin with a world title background, who then withdrew after reaching the quarterfinals. Though Huang eventually claimed the title, the gold content of his win was clearly limited.
By contrast, Xiang Peng and Chen Yuanyu have had relatively better moments. Xiang captured the WTT Incheon Champions title earlier this year, propelling him into the world’s top ten. Chen impressed fans by defeating big names en route to the WTT Muscat Contender championship. However, after those highlights, both players began suffering frequent foreign losses, placing them on par with Huang in terms of inconsistency.
Reliance on Wang Chuqin
As mentioned earlier, while Wang Chuqin is formidable, it is unrealistic to expect him to carry the burden every time. He too occasionally slips. Based on recent competitions, whenever Wang fails, the Chinese men’s team almost inevitably suffers a total collapse in singles—even with World No. 1 Lin Shidong on board. No wonder fans and netizens are worried.
Looking Ahead
An undeniable fact is that Wang Chuqin will be 28 by the 2028 Olympics and 32 by the 2032 Olympics. By then, whether he is still active remains uncertain. Even if he continues, his playing style relies heavily on high shot quality and physical explosiveness, meaning his decline with age will likely be faster than Ma Long’s. Who, then, will shoulder the responsibility for the men’s team?
Fortunately, there are still nearly three years until Los Angeles 2028, enough time for a young star to rise. It is hoped that Lin Shidong, Xiang Peng, Chen Yuanyu, and Huang Youzheng can continue to improve, and that more young players will emerge to fill the generational gaps within the Chinese table tennis team.
