Beijing, June 2 (IANS) World No. 1 Wang Chuqin has been appointed captain of China’s men’s table tennis team, with Liang Jingkun named vice captain.

“We hope that Wang Chuqin can carry forward the responsibilities and mission of the team captain and take over the baton from former captain Ma Long,” said Wang Hao, head coach of the Chinese men’s team.

“This is not only an honour, but also a heavy responsibility and a true testament to commitment,” he added.

The duo helped China win their 12th straight men’s title at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London last month. Wang had a perfect record in all 10 of his matches at the tournament, while Liang pulled off consecutive comeback victories in the semifinals and the final, against Alexis Lebrun of France and Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, respectively.

Wang leads the men’s singles world rankings released on Monday, while Liang sits 26th.

The 26-year-old Wang Chuqin is the reigning Olympic gold medallist in mixed doubles with Sun Yingsha, and in the team event with Ma Long and Fan Zhendong. Wang won the men’s singles title at the WTT Finals in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and at the 2025 ITTF World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Doha, he was the gold medallist in men’s singles and in mixed doubles with Sun Yingsha.

Wang had won four gold medals — in the men’s singles, team competition, doubles, and mixed doubles competition in the 2022 Asian Games at home in Hangzhou. He has won multiple medals in the Team, doubles, and mixed doubles competitions in the World Championships and World Cup, besides the WTT Grand Smash and Asian Championships.

This year, he won the WTT United States Smash Men’s Singles title by defeating Tomokazu Harimoto 4-0 in the final and followed it up by winning the WTT Champions Macao the 3rd time in September and returned to become world no.1 in rankings.

–IANS

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