Chinese fans fear for future of men's table tennis after historic doubles defeat
China suffered their worst men's doubles results in 50 years at the ITTF World Table Tennis Championships on Thursday, sending fans into fits of despair and questioning what the country would do if Fan Zhendong did not return to the side.
Lin Shidong and Lin Gaoyuan were humbled 3-1 by Chinese Taipei's Lin Yunju and Kao Chengjui in the quarter-finals in Doha. Lin and Kao, the sixth seeds, had also dispatched Liang Jingkun and Huang Youzheng in the previous round.
Defeat marked the first time since the 1975 championships in Kolkata, India, that a Chinese team had not made the semi-finals of the men's doubles.
Fans took to social media to voice their criticism of the third seeds, with one saying the future was 'hard to predict', asking who the country could count on 'without Ma Long and Fan Zhendong?'
One commentator joked that the men's team's setback would continue, but fans should not worry because 'it will be worse, except for the women's singles, which are slightly stable'.
Lin Gaoyuan (top left) and Lin Shidong (top right) during the men's doubles quarter-final. Photo: Xinhua
Another commentator summed up the general feeling among fans, writing: 'In short, the Chinese men's team is hopeless. Just wait and see. The next Olympics will be a disaster without Ma and Fan.'
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