Men’s Singles
As always, China has the strongest batch of contenders and it‘s always difficult to determine which players get the nod. Fan Zhendong (China) is the double reigning world champion having won silver at the last Olympics. He spent 142 weeks as the number one player in the world only to be usurped by Wang Chuqin (China). The younger left-hander was second at the 2023 World Championships but won the WTT Cup final at the end of 2022. He will be the second man ahead of double reigning Olympic champion Ma Long. Dimitrij Ovtcharov (Germany) took bronze in Tokyo but is seen as being on the decline. He beat Lin Yun-ju (Taiwan) for the bronze medal and in 2023 he won the WTT Champions event in Frankfurt. Hugo Calderano (Brazil) was upset in the first round of the 2023 World Championship but has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, WTT Final and 2023 Singapore Smash. One of the bigger shocks in recent years came as Truls Moregardh (Sweden) won silver at the 2021 World Championships. Tomokazu Harimoto (Japan) is a decorated player winning at the World Tour Grand Final in 2018. He also was runner-up at the 2021 and 2022 World Finals, losing in the 2024 semi-final. Felix Lebrun (France) is the highest-ranked non-Chinese player at only 17 having won the 2023 European Games. He was also a semi-finalist at the 2023 WTT Champions event and the 2024 Singapore Smash. Despite that, it’s his older brother Alexis Lebrun (France) who is a three-time national champion and he also won bronze at the 2023 European Games. It was Marcos Freitas(Portugal), who took silver in between the brothers. Dang Qiu (Germany) was the 2022 European Champion. He has also made the quarter-finals at the last three Singapore Smash tournaments and was a semi-finalist at the 2023 WTT Finals. He beat Darko Jorgic (Slovenia) in the European Championship final, who has won three consecutive Europe Top 16 Cups. Sharath Kamal (India) won the 2022 Commonwealth Games beating Liam Pitchford (Great Britain). Other potential contenders include Anders Lind (Denmark), Jang Woo-jin (South Korea), Kanak Jha (United States), Kristian Karlsson (Sweden), Omar Assar (Egypt), Quadri Aruna (Nigeria), Shunsuke Togami (Japan) and Wong Chun Ting (Hong Kong).
This should come down to the Chinese contestants. Chuqin is the next big thing and despite a big loss last time, Zhendong has the better head to head record. Because of that and his major championship experience, I will edge to him to take gold. The draw is key in sorting out the rest of the medals. Moregardh and Qiu are in the section of Chuqin whilst Freitas and Harimoto are drawn to come up against Zhendong. That means the middle sections contain Calderano, Jorgic, Lebrun and Yun-ju. I think the pressure will be too much for young Lebrun and instead the third place playoff comes down to Calderano and Yun-ju, with the edge going to Yun-ju.
🥇Fan Zhendong 🇨🇳
🥈Wang Chuqin 🇨🇳
🥉Lin Yun-ju 🇹🇼
Men’s Team
China are heavy favourites with arguably the three best players in the competition. They have never lost in the Olympics and have won every world title since 2000. Germany has tended to be a major competitor, finishing second at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2018 and 2022 World Championships. They lost in the 2024 quarter finals though and despite winning the 2023 European Games they lost in the final of the 2023 European Championships to Sweden. They had won silver at the 2023 European Games and bronze in the 2018 World Championship. France lost in the semi-finals of both 2023 European tournaments but they were silver medalists at the 2024 World Championships. South Korea won bronze, as they have at the last three World Championships whilst they lost in the Bronze place playoff in Tokyo. Taiwan was the other bronze medalist in 2024 and also made the Asian Championship final in 2023. Japan were the Olympic bronze medalists in Tokyo and at the 2022 World Championships. Japan beat Portugal in the 2022 quarter-final, a stage which they also made in 2024. They did win bronze at the 2023 European Championship. Brazil is the current Pan-American Games champion and reached the quarter-finals in Tokyo. Having Hugo Calderano tends to keep them in most matches. India won the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The draw has played a major role here as everyone was looking to avoid China. It will be a shock if they get upset and they are strong favourites for a reason. South Korea were a team with a chance who will have to beat China to win a medal. Germany look like their major competition but Sweden have shown that Germany can be beaten and they are in the same quarter. France are probably the other main European danger whilst Japan and Taiwan are similar dangers. I think Taiwan can edge Japan whilst France make their way through in the second quarter. I have to make Germany favourites for second, even at they seem to be on the decline and a number of teams probably have a player who they would favour against anyone in the German squad. At home, it feels really hard to see past France in a third place playoff over Taiwan.
🥇China 🇨🇳
🥈Germany 🇩🇪
🥉France 🇫🇷
Women’s Singles
Again, the dominance is arguably more pronounced in the female event. China has the top six ranked players. Only two can compete though. Chen Meng (China) is the reigning champion and twice silver medalist at the World Championships. She will be joined by young Sun Yingsha (China) who she beat in the Olympic final. She returned the honour beating Meng in the 2023 World Championships. Mimi Ito has probably come the closest to stopping Chinese dominance in recent years but will have to watch her teammates try in Paris. Hina Hayata (Japan) who won bronze at the 2023 World Championship will be joined by Miu Hirano (Japan), but the majority of her best performances as a singles competitor were years ago. Cheng I-ching (Taiwan) is also in that position of being better a few years ago. Bernadette Szocs (Romania) is the top-ranked European, having won the 2023 European Games. She beat Xiaoxin Yang (Monaco) in the final, who lost in the Singapore Smash quarter-finals. Sofia Polcanova (Austria) has lost at that stage in the last two seasons. She was also the 2022 European champion and has finished second at the last two Europe Top 16 Cups. In 2024, the winner was Jia Nan Yuan (France).Nina Mittleham (Germany) has found herself on the podiums for the European tournaments numerous times. Adriana Diaz (Puerto Rico) won the 2033 Pan-American Games beating Bruna Takahashi (Brazil). Shin Yu-bin (South Korea) won bronze in the 2023 Asian Games and also made the quarter-final of the 2024 Singapore Smash. Other potential contenders include Doo Hoi Kem (Hong Kong), Elizabeth Samara (Romania), Jeon Ji-hee (South Korea), Prithika Pavade (France), Shao Jieni (Portugal) and Zeng Jian (Singapore).
The Chinese pair feel further ahead of the international opposition than their male compatriots. Based on that, I have to predict Yingsha to win. Her results have been more impressive lately and she has a stronger head-to-head record. Behind them, it feels like a bit of a gulf. I-ching, Polcanova, Szocs and Yang can be ruled out based on the draw. This should come down Hayata and Yu-bin, who I think has the easiest overall quarter.
🥇Sun Yingsha 🇨🇳
🥈Chen Meng 🇨🇳
🥉Hini Hayata 🇯🇵
Women’s Team
China are so dominant here and if you had to guarantee one of these gold medals, it would be this one. They have again won every Olympic title but only every World Championships since 2010. Japan will be second favourites after silvers at the Olympics as well as the previous five World Championships. Hong Kong won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and also at the 2018 and 2024 World Championships. France was the other bronze medalist in 2024 and also won bronze at the 2023 European Championships. It was Germany who took gold there. They also took bronze at the 2022 World Championship after finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics. Romania were second at the 2023 European Championships but did beat Germany at the European Games. The United States are the reigning Pan-American Games winner. Taiwan and South Korea have standout players who could drag them far in this competition. Korea was a silver medalist in the 2023 Asian Championships and won bronze in the 2023 Asian Games. Thailand was the other bronze medalist. Egypt has two of the top 35 in the single rankings.
China are arguably stronger in this competition than the male version and Taiwan have been drawn in that quarter. Japan are the second strongest nation by some way but it would be a surprise if they managed to beat China. Elsewhere, in the second quarter it should come down to Hong Kong and South Korea. In quarter three, it should be Germany against Romania. I can see Romania causing a surprise here and going on to steal a surprise bronze.
🥇China 🇨🇳
🥈Japan 🇯🇵
🥉Romania 🇷🇴
Mixed Doubles
Wang/Sun (China) will enter the tournament as favourites. They are the double reigning World Champions and are arguably the two best players in the world. It was a Japanese pair who prevailed at the previous Olympics and they will be ably represented by Harimoto/Hayata (Japan) who are the reigning double silver medalists at the World Championships. The other team with World Championship medals are Wong/Doo (Hong Kong), winning bronze in 2018 and 2023. The strongest results this season from an alternative team have come from Lim/Shin (South Korea) who made the final in the Singapore Smash tournament and won the Star Contender in Goa. They also made the semi-final of the 2023 Asian Championships, along with Chen/Lin (Taiwan) who also lost in the semi final of the 2024 Singapore Smash tournament. Lebesson/Yuan (France) have managed that previously in 2022. They were also the fourth-place finishers in Tokyo and won the 2022 European Championship. Qiu/Mittelham (Germany) won the European Games in 2023, beating Ecseki/Madarasz (Hungary) in the final. Fonseca/Campos (Cuba) won the Pan-American Games in 2023 by beating Takahashi/Ishiy (Brazil). Robles/Xiao (Spain) is a team in decent form, losing in the quarter-finals of the 2024 Singapore Smash and the final of the Star Contender in Goa. Ionescu/Szocs (Romania) also made the quarter-finals in Singapore and are a threat.
A lot of teams who don’t usually perform well on the circuit will have more of a chance here as the big nations can only enter one team. The top half of the draw is tough. Headlined by the Chinese, France and Taiwan are unlikely to make it any further. The Japanese team arguably has the easiest section and should expect to make the semi finals quite easily. Second and third quarters are tougher with Hong Kong and South Korea the seeded teams. I do think there will be shocks somewhere and maybe it comes from Spain over Hong Kong. Unfortunately, I cannot see them doing it twice and I think Korea take the bronze.
🥇Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha 🇨🇳
🥈Hina Hayata/Tomokazu Harimoto 🇯🇵
🥉Lim Jong-hoon/Shin Yu-bin 🇰🇷
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