The World Table Tennis Championship will open on Tuesday in Houston, Texas, but even before the opening and first batting ceremony, it will not be a particularly big gamble to assume that this competition will stand in the way of the Chinese's clear control.
After three perfect Olympics, China had a "mishap" in recent games in Tokyo, when they won only four of the five gold medals in the industry, and now they are coming to the US with the motivation to regain their hegemony.
The absence of the senior Japanese pair in the mixed competition, Mizutani John and Ito Mima (who will compete in the women's competition), from Houston, will make it easier for the Chinese to meet the task in question, at the first world championships held outside Asia or Europe.
Homemaking is not expected to help the Americans, whose senior player, Kanak Jaha, ranks only 13th in the world rankings, far behind the top three Chinese: Pan Jandong (the No. 1 batsman in the world), Ma Long and Xu Xin.
In practice, Pan's path to winning the world title is paved and free of obstacles that can surprise.
Ito.
Big Challenge, Photo: Getty Images
The big European threat, in the form of German national team star Dmitry Obcherov, has been removed due to a leg injury, and phenomenal fights against his teammates Ma and Shaw will not be in Houston to decide the identity of the next world champion, as the two did not reach the Great Freedom at all because of what was defined by The Chinese as "fatigue."
From gut and birth
Even in the women's parallel competition, the Chinese are confident of winning the gold.
Their representative Chen Meng will stand for the championship as a clear favorite, alongside her compatriots - Wong Manio and Son Yingxha - and Japanese Ito Mima.
For the latter, a career in table tennis, and the desire to beat the Chinese, have become a life mission.
Ito used to say that her mother had prepared her for this during her pregnancy, when she used to watch games and championships and attached an improvised tube to her abdomen, so that the fetus could hear the words of interpretation well.
From the age of two, every minute of her life was devoted to grueling training, and the results did not disappoint.
The 12-year-old Japanese is ranked third in the world, but the Chinese challenge in the form of Chen Meng still remains very difficult for her to crack.
