As the Olympics quickly approach, a controversy is brewing around the table tennis team that China selected to compete in Paris. Fans of Wang Manyu are furious and are threatening to protest.
She was left off of the roster in what people are calling a bias decision.
Wang is currently ranked No. 2 in the world. The 25-year-old most recently won the women’s singles titles at the World Championships, Asian Games and Asian Championships.
Despite her recent success, China is sending world No. 1 Sun Yingsha and defending Olympic champion Chen Meng to Paris for the women’s singles competition at the Olympics instead. For Sun to be selected makes perfect sense, considering that she is the top-ranked player in the sport right now. Chen was more of a surprise.
Chinese athletes are picked for the Olympics based on points earned at major competitions and their record against other foreign players, among other undisclosed criteria. It’s pretty subjective.
Chen technically earned more points than Wang during the qualifying period, which was the primary basis for her selection. But she won just two tournaments. Most of her points were accumulated at the Saudi Smash with wins over Sun and three highly-ranked Japanese players.
Meanwhile, Wang won eight championship titles during the Olympic qualifying window. She also beat Chen as recently as March!
China still selected Chen Meng for the Olympics.
Head coach Ma Lin and the Chinese Table Tennis Association chose to award Chen the spot over Wang despite the latter’s more dominant run. They pointed first to points, then to experience.
In response to the decision, a large group of Wang supporters are planning a protest. They plan to wave banners on the television broadcast, as well as distribute flyers that highlight what they believe was an unjust decision by the CTTA. This comes as the government reportedly continues to censor any backlash toward the decision on social media platforms like Weibo.
Women’s singles at the Olympics will get underway on July 27 with the preliminary round. The Round of 64 will begin on that same day, with the Round of 32 on July 29, Round of 16 on July 31, Quarterfinals on August 1, Semifinals on August 2 and Final on August 3.
It is expected that either Chen or Sun bring home the gold medal. China hopes that they will finish with gold and silver.
The surprising omission of Wang Manyu would send shockwaves across the country if she doesn’t perform up to expectations. To leave the World No. 2 off of the roster was a big deal. It would be an even bigger deal if her replacement cannot get the job done.