Despite a gold-laden campaign at the world championships, China's once invincible national table tennis team has left the prestigious tournament in Doha, Qatar, with alarm bells ringing for its Olympic ambitions.
尽管在世乒赛上斩获多枚金牌,但中国乒乓球“梦之队”在卡塔尔多哈举行的这项顶级赛事中为奥运备战敲响警钟,这支曾所向披靡的队伍正面临新的挑战。
Winning four of the five events at the world championships finals, it seemed like business as usual for China's table tennis squad to have proved its mighty prowess again in the Qatari capital. However, the surging challenge from the rest of the world, underlined by the squad's early exit in men's doubles, has triggered a sense of urgency for the celebrated program.
在卡塔尔首都举行的世乒赛决赛中,中国队包揽了五个项目中的四枚金牌,再次彰显了强大实力。然而男子双打项目提前出局的失利,凸显出国际对手的强劲挑战,也为这支荣耀之师拉响了备战警报。
The men's doubles final, the first event on Sunday, proceeded without a Chinese pair for the first time in 50 years, with two Chinese teams eliminated in the quarterfinals. Japan's Hiroto Shinozuka and Shunsuke Togami won the final after beating Chinese Taipei's Kao Cheng-jui and Lin Yun-ju 3-2 in the best-of-five format.
周日的首场男双决赛出现了近五十年来首次无中国组合参赛的局面,此前两对中国选手均止步四分之一决赛。最终日本组合篠塚大登、户上隼辅以3-2战胜中国台北组合高承睿、林昀儒,摘得桂冠。
Women's World No 1 Sun Yingsha and men's World No 2 Wang Chuqin, both from China, then held court at the Lusail Sports Arena, delivering in top form to each claim a singles title, adding to their golden harvest after bagging the mixed doubles title together on Saturday.
随后,世界排名第一的中国女将孙颖莎和男单世界第二的王楚钦在卢赛尔体育馆延续统治级表现。继周六携手斩获混双冠军后,两位国手各自在单打项目中登顶。
"It felt like a huge burden relieved in my heart," Wang said after beating Brazil's reigning World Cup winner Hugo Calderano 4-1 in the best-of-seven final to win his first world championship singles gold medal.
“感觉心里的一块大石头终于落地了。”王楚钦在以4-1战胜巴西现役世界杯冠军雨果·卡尔德拉诺后如此感慨。这是他职业生涯首度加冕世锦赛单打冠军。
"It was a tough battle and I am so happy to pull it off, driven by the pride representing my country and the team," said Wang, who also successfully avenged his semifinal loss to the same opponent at the Macao World Cup last month.
“这场对决异常艰难,我很高兴能够代表祖国和团队站上最高领奖台,这份荣誉感驱使我坚持到最后。”这位国乒新星同时为上个月澳门世界杯半决赛负于同一对手成功复仇。
The recent surge of Calderano, dubbed by fans as the "Thrill from Brazil", saw the world No 3 edge out Chinese players at major events two times in a row after he beat world No 5 Liang Jingkun with a gripping semifinal win on Saturday to set up a clash with Wang. Calderano's meteoric rise has pushed Team China's best to dig harder and stay more cautious in future events.
被球迷誉为“巴西惊雷”的雨果·卡尔德拉诺近期状态爆棚。这位世界排名第三的猛将在本届赛事中连续击败中国选手——继周六半决赛力克世界第五梁靖崑后,他将在决赛舞台与王楚钦正面交锋。这位巴西选手的迅速崛起,迫使国乒主力在未来赛事中必须更加努力,保持更高警惕。
"To face him again, I tried to position myself as a challenger. He's definitely a big threat for us in future tournaments," Wang said after helping China collect its 11th consecutive men's singles title at the worlds.
“再次面对他,我以挑战者姿态全力备战。毫无疑问,他将是未来国际赛场的重大威胁。”助中国队实现世乒赛男单11连冠的王楚钦赛后坦言。
In the women's singles final, Sun retained her crown by outplaying teammate and 2021 singles world champion Wang Manyu 4-3 in a seesaw battle.
在女子单打决赛中,孙颖莎以4-3险胜队友、2021年世乒赛女单冠军王曼昱,成功卫冕。
It was also the 16th consecutive women's singles final at the world championships to feature two Chinese finalists since 1995, serving as testament to the program's dominance in this event.
这也是自1995年以来,世乒赛女单决赛连续16届出现两名中国选手进入女子单打决赛,这一惊人纪录彰显着国乒在该项目的绝对统治力。
After a break during the men's singles final, Wang Manyu suited up again in the women's doubles final with partner Kuai Man and ended her Doha outing with a gold, after the world No 2 Chinese pair routed the Austria-Romania duo of Sofia Polcanova and Bernadette Szocs 3-0 in less than 22 minutes to cap off Team China's campaign in style.
稍作休整后,王曼昱与搭档蒯曼再次出战女子双打决赛。这对世界排名第二的中国组合仅耗时22分钟便以3-0战胜了奥地利—罗马尼亚跨国组合索菲亚·波尔卡诺娃和伯纳黛特·斯佐科斯,为中国队此次多哈征程画上完美句点。这枚金牌也让王曼昱结束了世乒赛之旅。
Team China's apparent decline of dominance on the men's side, measured by its own standards, at the world championships has raised concerns over its prospects for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where the two team events have been replaced by men's and women's doubles on the Games' program.
按照中国自身的标准衡量,中国乒乓球队在世乒赛男子项目统治力的明显下滑,这引发了人们对2028年洛杉矶奥运会前景的担忧,洛杉矶奥运会上将取消男女团体赛,增设男女双打项目。
The adjustment is expected to pose a tougher threat for China's ambition of a clean sweep of all golds at LA 2028, where international contenders are more competitive in doubles than in team events.
这一赛制调整或将对中国队实现洛杉矶奥运会包揽全部金牌的雄心构成更大挑战。相较于团体赛,国际选手在双打项目的竞争力更为强劲。
"We are definitely facing much more pressure now following the change in the Olympic program. The world is ready to go harder at us, and we should be prepared better as well," newly elected Chinese Table Tennis Association president Wang Liqin told Xinhua News Agency after taking office last month.
“奥运赛制的改变无疑使我们面临更大压力。世界乒坛正蓄势发起更猛烈的冲击,我们必须做好更充分的准备。”新任中国乒协主席王励勤上月就职后接受新华社采访时表示。这位前大满贯得主强调,双打项目的偶然性特质将加剧奥运夺金难度。
tournament
/ˈtʊənəmənt/
n. 锦标赛
invincible
/ɪnˈvɪnsəbl/
adj. 无敌的; 不可战胜的
alarm bells
危险信号,警报
squad
/skwɒd/
n.(特殊任务)小组,队
take office
上任;就职
gripping
/ˈɡrɪpɪŋ/
adj. 扣人心弦的; 吸引人的
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