What is up for discussion, though, is who exactly will do so: Can new world number one Wang Chuqin be the man instead of Tokyo 2020 singles silver medallist Fan Zhendong?
Fan lost to the legendary Ma Long in the Tokyo final; Wang – the new kid on the block who won Youth Olympic Games gold at Buenos Aires 2018 – would be taking part in his first “adult” Olympics at 24, having been an unused reserve in the team event in Tokyo.
With Fan’s form seemingly hitting an inconsistent patch and Ma not expected to contest the singles event in Paris, Wang seems like a natural choice. After all, he’s someone who became a doubles world champion aged just 19 in 2019, playing alongside Ma.
But speaking recently to Olympics.com and World Table Tennis, Wang says he did not put much stock into being ranked second in the world ahead of his former doubles partner.
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