GOAT Index

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Wang Hao: the case for the GOAT

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    Wang Hao: the case for the GOAT

    China · Born 15 December 1983, Changchun, Jilin, China · Career 1998–2014

    Chinese penholder who pioneered the reverse penhold backhand, transforming the grip's possibilities and becoming one of the most consistent players of the 2000s.

    Career highlights

    Why Wang Hao could be the GOAT

    Wang Hao changed table tennis by making the reverse penhold backhand a weapon, a technique since adopted by penholders worldwide. He reached three straight Olympic singles finals and won the World Championships, three World Cups and Olympic team gold. Few players have shaped the sport's technique so much.

    What fans say

    Wang Hao is #4 of 18 in the fan ranking, with a 7–2 head-to-head record from 56 Men's table tennis votes. See the full Men's table tennis GOAT ranking

    Wang Hao head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

    One vote per matchup per person. If you see a pairing again in another session your new answer replaces the old one, so nobody can stuff the ballot by repeating a matchup.

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    Photo credits

      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.