On March 4, Beijing time, the table tennis WTT Star Challenge Goa entered the penultimate matchday of competition, and in the mixed doubles final that has ended, the South Korean pair Zhang Yuzhen/Tian Zhixi defeated Japan's Hayasuke Togami/Zhang Motomi 3-1 to win the mixed doubles championship.
Before this star challenge, the national table tennis team suffered from injuries, including a number of national table tennis main players withdrew, the men's team has Ma Long and Wang Chuqin, the women's team is the world's top three Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng and Wang Manyu all withdrew, so far the national table tennis coaching staff gave up the doubles project, perhaps because the national table tennis team members did not sign up for doubles, so in the mixed doubles finals there was a scene of the Korean combination and the Japanese combination competing for the championship.
The national table tennis coaching staff finally sent the men's team 7 people and the women's team 4 people to participate in the singles competition, the overall performance is mixed, the current singles top 4 has been released, the national table tennis women's team only Wang Yidi alone advanced to the final four, the semi-final opponent will be Japan's 15-year-old Zhang Ben Mikazu, this match is also highly anticipated by the outside world.
Among the other 3 players of the national table tennis women's team, Quang Man lost to Wang Yidi 1-3 in the women's singles 1/8 final; Liu Weishan also lost in the women's singles 1/8 final, losing 2-3 to Monaco Chinese veteran Yang Xiaoxin; Qian Tianyi was blocked by Japan's Zhang Benmeihe from the final four, and lost 1-3, which was enough for the national table tennis women's team to pay attention to Zhang Benmei and this player. And next in the women's singles semifinals, see if Wang Yidi can perfectly block Zhang Benmeihe.
Two of the national table tennis men's team advanced to the final four, namely Liang Jingkun and Lin Shidong, of which the 17-year-old Lin Shidong brought a big surprise to the outside world! Winning three consecutive games to advance to the semifinals, beating Kazakhstan's Glasmenko 3-1 in the first match; Then in the men's singles 1/8 final, 3-2 defeated South Korea's 20-year-old Zhao Dacheng, you know that it was this Korean player who eliminated Fan Zhendong 3-2 in the men's singles 1/16 final, breaking out a big upset, Lin Shidong is also a successful "revenge" for his eldest brother Fan Zhendong!
In the men's singles 1/4 final, Lin Shidong defeated the No. 5 seed and Chinese Taipei's Lin Yunru 3-1 to advance to the men's singles semifinals. It is worth mentioning that Lin Shidong's opponent in the semifinals is France's 16-year-old Felix, you must know that this player has won 6 consecutive games since the start of the qualifying round, including the elimination of South Korean players Lee Sang-so and Zhang Yuzhen, and even the third seed in the men's singles of the tournament, Sweden's Moregaard, I have to say that the 16-year-old French teenager is full of dark horses, Lin Shidong can not be taken lightly.
The other men's singles semi-final was a much-anticipated match between national table tennis player Liang Jingkun and our archrival Tomokazu Chang of Japan, the second seed of the tournament, and the details of the match below.
In the first game, Zhang Benzhihe took a 3-1 lead, and Liang Jingkun was not to be outdone, and chased the score 5-4 in a row to reverse the score. After the two sides drew 7-7, Liang Jingkun scored two consecutive points, Zhang Benzhihe was in hot pursuit, but Liang Jingkun still seized the opportunity and took the lead 11-9.
In the second game, Zhang Benzhihe's mentality fluctuated greatly, Liang Jingkun took a very strong 10-3 lead, and then Zhang Benzhihe scored 3 consecutive points, but due to the disparity in points, Liang Jingkun won the second game 11-6, and took a 2-0 lead.
In the third game, Liang Jingkun took a 3-1 lead, and Zhang Benzhihe requested a timeout. Coming back from a timeout, Zhang Benzhihe scored five consecutive points to pull the score away 6-3. At the end of the game, Zhang Benzhihe led 9-6, Liang Jingkun scored two consecutive points to chase the score to 8-9, and then Zhang Benzhihe scored two consecutive points to win the third game 11-8 to chase the big score to 1-2.
In the fourth game, Liang Jingkun took a 3-1 lead, Zhang Benzhihe recovered 1 point, Liang Jingkun scored 4 consecutive points, 7-2 to open the score, Liang Jingkun was also strong at the end of the game, 10-4 to get 6 match point opportunities. After Zhang Benzhihe scored 1 point, Liang Jingkun Insurance requested a timeout, knowing that in the Budapest Championship men's singles final last July, Zhang Benzhihe saved 6 match points and finally reversed Lin Gaoyuan.
After a timeout, Liang Jingkun decisively won this point, won the fourth game 11-5, and defeated Zhang Benzhihe 3-1 to advance to the men's singles final first! Liang Jingkun played the morale of the national table tennis and defended the glory of the national table tennis!