Although Wang Hao's three consecutive runner-up results are disappointing, it has to be said that he is really well received by his superiors.

Just because he has qualified for the Olympics three times, his popularity is evident.

Perhaps some people want to use the "Prince Theory" to make random guesses, but in fact, the reason why Wang Hao is so favored by the leadership is that he has superior strength in the final analysis.

As a great player who spanned the era of two kings and one horse and the era of Kelon, Wang Hao's skills, tactics and state have always maintained a relatively strong level. As an athlete, ups and downs are inevitable. This is the case from Marin Wang Liqin in the past to Kelon in the back.

But Wang Hao is an exception. Except for fluctuations in the year or so after losing to Ryu Seung-min, Wang Hao basically has no major ups and downs. He even defeated Xu Xin at his peak in one year before retiring at the end of his career. .

His long-term stability and superb technical and tactical skills are the reasons why he is favored.

Of course, it is a pity that Ma Lin, who had a restrained playing style in the early stage of her career, and Zhang Jike who was of higher quality in the later stage of her career, prevented Wang Hao from winning the Olympic men's singles gold medal. However, judging from Wang Hao's achievements, as a "guinea pig" he is already a miracle in the table tennis world.

At the same time, he is also the pioneer of table tennis technology. This achievement cannot be matched by other kings and horses.

The first is a full horizontal backhand.

Pen-hand shooting and horizontal shooting are not new. They were used in Liu Guoliang's era, and Ma Lin also used them. But they are only used occasionally, and they mainly shoot pen-and-shoot. Only Wang Hao, who used horizontal strikes as a conventional offensive weapon, was the first to give up pushing and block, stood in the middle of the table, relied on backhand horizontal strikes to pick up the ball, and gained the initiative in a stalemate.

This pioneering pen-hand-grip player's sports life has been delayed. In the era of big balls, inorganic glue and even plastic balls, pen-hold grip technology can have a place in the table tennis world without becoming extinct.

The second technique is in-bench twisting.

This was a technology originally invented by European players, and Wang Hao was the one who carried it forward. This technology allows the person playing the ball inside the tee to take much less initiative.

In the past, everyone used to gain the initiative by serving without turning or half-turning the ball. The unblocked serve made it difficult for the opponent to attack the ball, and if the opponent misread the spin, it would be easy to return the ball and risk the height.

When it comes to Wang Hao, he can directly attack with a backhand twist without coming out to serve, which eliminates the first-mover advantage of serving.

Everyone thinks that Zhang Jike’s backhand is invincible, but they don’t know that this technique was first used by Wang Hao in national table tennis, and Jike is the one who promoted it. In the era of plastic balls, the advantages of this technology have been fully utilized. Horizontal players cannot twist and pull out the ball with their backhand and are embarrassed to say hello to others.

Throughout Wang Hao's career, he has experienced a series of major changes in rules and equipment, such as changing from small balls to big balls, 21 points to 11 points, and organic to inorganic. However, he has always maintained a very high level of competition. level and competitive status, constantly polishing and innovating their own technology, leading the trend and bringing extremely rich technical wealth to the younger generations. These achievements are amazing.

You all say that Ma Lin is only one World Table Tennis Championship away from a Grand Slam, but Wang Hao is also a man who has just missed a Grand Slam. He can even achieve a Grand Slam by winning an Olympic championship. Moreover, he once ranked first in the world for 27 consecutive months. This record was not broken by Malone until much later.

In fact, to be fair, Wang Hao should not just be labeled as the tragic label of three consecutive Olympic runners-up. He is a respectable master in the history of table tennis and a legend worth remembering.