Chinese table tennis stars Ma Long, Chen Meng to miss World Cup but Fan Zhendong may play
Prospects for the trio – who withdrew from world rankings last year – are made clearer after ITTF announces selection rules for Macau event
The legendary Ma Long and reigning Olympic champion Chen Meng will not be playing at the coming Men’s and Women’s World Cup in Macau, based on the International Table Tennis Federation’s selection criteria for the April tournaments.
The sport’s world governing body on Saturday announced the selection methodology for the World Cup, and with the 48 available slots allocated to players from the continental championships and the world rankings, there was no way back for Chen, who won her only title in 2020, and Ma after the Chinese duo withdrew their names from the ranking list last December.
However, four-time champion Fan Zhendong, who also withdrew from the world rankings, could still play, because he is the reigning world champion.
Each of the five Continental Cups this month will see four players qualifying for the World Cup, with 24 more distributed according to the world rankings. Host city Macau can nominate up to two players to take part.
The seven-day event, which runs from April 14 to 20, will be held at the Galaxy Arena. Ma and Sun Yingsha of China, who both won in Macau last year, are the World Cup holders.
Meanwhile, on the opening day of the main draw at the Singapore Smash, Zhou Qihao was the only Chinese player to exit. The 28-year-old lost 3-1 in the men’s singles to Tomislav Pucar of Croatia in the round of 64 at the Singapore Sports Hub.
