Singapore Smash/Youth Smash 2026...

[AJ Scott]

The big event, with more than $1.5 million in prize money, starts
tonight at around 10 pm and goes on for 11 days until March 1st:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Matches&innerselectedTab=Scheduled&eventId=3234
[tonight & tomorrow's schedule].  There are 3 tables in play (Tables
2-4) and all the action will be livestreamed at the usual place,
https://www.youtube.com/@wttglobal/streams.  When looking at the
schedule, please remember that Singapore is 13 hrs. ahead of us.  To
hype the event, they released this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRyfoUg8MOw

Player list:
https://www.worldtabletennis.com/eventInfo?selectedTab=Player%20List&eventId=3234&innerselectedTab=Scheduled.
Thanks to the high prize purse, most of the top-150 players will show. 
The top 10 men's seeds are Wang Chuqin, Hugo Calderano (now ranked 2nd
in the world--the highest ever for a Brazilian), Lin Shidong, Harimoto
Tomokazu, Truls Moregardh, Felix Lebrun, Matsushima Sora, Lin Yun-ju,
Xiang Peng, and Benedikt Duda, followed by his longtime doubles partner,
Dang Qiu, at 11.  The top 10 women's seeds are Sun Yingsha, Wang Manyu,
Chen Xingtong, Zhu Yuling (has upset both Wang Manyu & Chen Xingtong
recently), Kuai Man, Harimoto Miwa, Wang Yidi, Chen Yi, Itoh Mima,
Hayata Hina followed by Hashimoto Honoka (upset Chen Yi recently) at 11.

Penholders...  On the men's side, it'll be Felix Lebrun, Dang Qiu, and
Wong Chun Ting (all modern).  As for the women, it'll be Yu Fu and Shan
Xiaona (both traditional).

Pips-out/anti-spin players...  As for the men, it'll be Chen Junsong of
China (short pips/bh--sometmes chopblocks), Luka Mladenovic of
Luxembourg (anti-spin/bh), Ylane Batix of Cameroon (by way of
France--long pips/bh), Mattias Falck (short pips/bh--used to be top-10,
now out of the top-100), and Amirreza Abbasi of Malta (by way of
Iran--long pips/bh).  On the women's side, it's many more, as per usual:
Itoh Mima (short pip/bh), Hashimoto Honoka (chopper), Sabine Winter
(anti-spin/bh), Han Ying (chopper), Yang Xiaoxin (long
pips/bh--sometimes coached by Damien Provost), Kihara Miyuu (short
pips/bh), Yuan Jianan (short pips/fh), Liu Yangzi (short pips/bh), He
Zhuojia (long pips/bh--chopblocks only occasionally), Sreeja Akula (long
pips/bh), Manika Batra (long pips/bh--playing better lately), Jee
Min-hyung of AUS (by way of South Korea--medium pips/bh?), Linda
Bergstrom (chopper), Zhang Mo (short pips/fh), Yu Fu (short
pips/bh?--rarely uses them), Shan Xiaona (short pips/both sides?--only
hits with the fh), Tan Zhao Yun of Singapore (chopper), Yuan Wan (short
pips/fh), Ayhika Mukherjee (anti-spin/bh, short pips/fh--upset Berni
Szocs last time they played), Jessica Reyes-Lai (short pips/bh), YD
Ghorpade (long pips/bh), Giulia Takahashi (short pips/bh--Bruna's
younger sister), Tatiana Kukullova (short pips/bh?), Ivana Malobabic
(chopper--plays Ayhika Mukherjee at around 7 am tomorrow morning on
table 3), Zauresh Akasheva (short pips/bh), Audrey Zarif (short
pips/fh), Sutirtha Mukherjee (short pips/fh), Zeng Zhiying (chopper--2nd
oldest player in the Game after Ni Xialian), and Lilou Massart of
Belgium (short pips/fh).

Americans...  From Team USA, it'll be Kanak Jha, Ma Jinbao, The Naresh
bros. and then Lily Zhang, Sally Moyland, and Jessica Reyes-Lai.  From
Team PR, it'll be Angel Naranjo, Adriana Diaz and Brianna Burgos.  Ma
has to play Sid Naresh on table 4 at 3:35 am tomorrow morning.  And
then, right after that, Jessica has to play Neda Shahsavari of Iran on
the same table at 4:10 am.  I don't pay any attention to the Iranian
women, but I'm under the impression that that should be an easy win for
Jessica--especially if Coach Gao is in her corner.

What I find most interesting about this event is its effect on the
ranking points race due to the large amount of points on offer.  If
Kanak can somehow get to the quarterfinals, he might earn enough points
to make the top-20 again.  If Anders Lind can make the semifinals, he
might earn enough points to make the top-10 for the 1st time in his
career.  I think that would also be 1st time a Dane were to make the
top-10 since Michael Maze back in 2010.

If Sabine Winter could somehow make the semifinals, she might earn
enough points to make the top-10 for the 1st time in her career and what
an accomplishment that would be!  She changes to anti-spin on the bh and
1.5 years, she makes the top-10.  It'll be interesting to see if some
other players out there will follow her example and make the radical
shift in equipment and playing style that she has made.  Oh, speaking of
playing style, I think she would be better if she were to adopt Timo
Boll's forehand.  I think she should study some video of him or, better
yet, go talk to him to get some advice.

Players to look out for...  I'll be looking out for the
pips-out/anti-spin players as I usually do.  I'll also be looking out
for some of the promising juniors out there, like, Benyamin Faraji, who
has beaten both Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong; Matsushima Sora, who I
predict will pass Harimoto Tomokazu in the rankings to become the
Japanese no. 1.  I think he's already no. 1 within Japan.  Another
junior I'm looking at is Emanuel Otalvaro of Columbia.  He has oodles of
talent and will without a doubt be a top PanAm'er in the near future.  A
lot of the junior playing in the Smash will also play in the Youth Smash
starting next Wednesday night for us here.

I'll be also looking out for Anna Hursey, the Welsh Dragon. Watching
her, you just have the sense that good times are ahead and she's going
to put Team GB back on the TT map.  I'm also watching Zhu Yuling,
formerly of China, now of Macao.  I think she's the most intelligent
player out there right now, so I'm wondering--can she get back to no. 1
again?  And I have more or less the same question for Hugo
Calderano--does he have what it takes to get to no. 1?  We'll find out,
I guess, in a little bit...

And of course, I'll be watching the Americans.  I forgot to mention
above that, if a miracle happens and Lily were to get to the final, win
or lose, she would make the top-20 for the 1st time in her career.  So,
everybody, put your hands together and let's all pray for a miracle!!