by Henry Chen

A total of 14 players on duty, Wang Manyu lost just one match; the player to dent an otherwise perfect record being Liu Fei.

“The strength of my opponents in the squad trials was basically close to my level; I needed to fight more”, Wang Manyu

Notably, the result is a continuance of the good form displayed in the 2016 Chinese Super League; she finished in seventh place in the averages beating such redoubtable names as Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen, as well as Miu Hirano the winner of the Seamaster 2016 Women’s World Cup title.

Consistency is the hallmark of Wang Manyu, she does not have the power of the likes of Li Xiaoxia; she is more in character with Zhu Yuling. She displays little emotion and follows the policy of putting one ball on the table than her opponent; no doubt, Kong Linghui, the head coach of the Chinese Women’s Team must have been impressed.

“This squad trial is the first test for this year’s 2017 World Championships selection process. After Li Xiaoxia and other main players are gradually fading out, the team needs to start the replacement for the Tokyo Olympic Games three years from now”, Kong Linghui

Notably, owing to injuries, Ding Ning and Zhu Yuling did not participate; meanwhile the international curfew of Liu Shiwen has not been lifted.

Final order: 1. Wang Manyu (12:1) 2. Gu Yuting (11:2) 3. Chen Meng (10:3) 4. Li Jiayi (8:5) Chen Ke (8:5) 6. Yuan Xuejiao (7:6) 7. Che Xiaoxi (7:6) 8. Chen Xingtong (6:7) 9. Zhang Qiang (6:7) 10. Liu Gaoyang (5:8) 11. Liu Fei (4:9) 12. Gu Ruochen (3:10) 13. Wang Yidi (2:11) 14. Hu Limei (2:11)