The "analysis of the cause of defeat" by the Chinese coach, whose team was defeated by Japan in the Table Tennis Men's Team Final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, has been flooded with retorts on the Chinese internet.

In the final held on the 24th, Japan's Matsushima Sora took a temporary 2-0 lead against world No. 1 Wang Chuqin in the first match, but then lost three games and suffered an upset defeat. In the subsequent second match, ace Harimoto Tomokazu secured a decisive 3-1 victory against China's young player Wen Ruibo, bringing the score back to even.

In the third match, Togami Shunsuke lost 1-3 to Lin Shidong, giving China the lead again, but in the fourth match, Harimoto defeated Wang in straight sets, tying the score once more. Finally, in the fifth match, Matsushima defeated Wen 3-1, and Japan secured its first gold medal in this event in 60 years. China's winning streak stopped at 8.

According to Chinese media outlet The Paper, head coach Wang Hao, who leads the Chinese men's team, said, "First, I want to congratulate the winning team," and praised his team, stating, "All three players who competed today gave their best. Everyone, including those who supported and cheered for the team from outside the court, truly did their best."

He then added that regarding the decision to field 19-year-old Wen as the second player, "the coaching staff considered and decided comprehensively." As for the cause of defeat, he stated, "The men's team is currently in a period of generational change, from old to new. A more important objective was to allow young players to gain experience in international competitions. Without experiencing semifinals and finals, they cannot truly grasp the cruelty of such matches."

Regarding Coach Wang's citing generational change as one of the causes of defeat, Chinese netizens flooded the internet with retorts. Among them, the comment that gathered the most likes (over 4,800) was: "But Japan's players are younger." Another comment, which garnered over 4,200 likes, pointed out that past generational changes had gone smoothly, saying: "Is this the first time there's been a generational change?"

Other comments included: "Was there no generational change in the past 8 tournaments (during their winning streak)?", "It's just that successors haven't been nurtured," "The result of player selection based on connections," "What are they talking about, gaining experience in a major tournament like the Asian Games?", "Gaining experience is sufficient in domestic tournaments," "It's natural for Wen to lose because he's young. But the reason they couldn't win was because Wang lost. Is Wang young?", "Their opponent's ace is 23 years old (Harimoto), and their second player is 19 years old (Matsushima)," and "I miss Fan Zhendong." (Translation/Editing by Kitada)