Yuan Licen narrowly defeated the world No. 139 player and staged a super reversal
The WTT Doha Stars Challenge 2023 enters its second matchday with the qualifying rounds still being played. National table tennis player Yuan Licen ushered in his second opponent Yang Ziyi.
In the first round of qualifying, Yuan Licen swept Belgium's Adrian 3-0. The scores in the three games were 11:4, 11:4, 11:5. Chinese Taipei's Yang Ziyi defeated Hong Kong's Yao Juntao 3-1 in the first round of qualifying.
Yuan is 23 years old and ranked 49th in the world. Yuan Licen partnered with Xiang Peng and participated in the men's doubles match of the WTT men's finals as a substitute. Yuan Licen/Xiang Peng defeated Japan's Hayasuke Togami/Yuya Uda 3-2, the French Lebrun brothers 3-2, and teammates Lin Shidong/Lin Gaoyuan 3-0 to win the men's doubles championship. Yuan Licen's strength has been recognized by the majority of fans.
Yang Ziyi is now 27 years old and ranked 139th in the world. Yang Ziyi is an older player, but she didn't make much of an impression, after all, the world ranking is relatively low.
originally thought that Yuan Licen could easily defeat Yang Ziyi. Unexpectedly, the two played five rounds. Yuan Licen won three games in a row after losing two games first, and then narrowly defeated Yang Ziyi 3-2.
In the first game, Yuan Licen was completely out of shape. Yang Ziyi scored 7:0. Yuan Licen had a feel and scored 2 points in a row to narrow the difference. Yang Ziyi scored 3 points in a row and won the game point. Yuan Licen woke up like a dream and scored 4 points in a row to narrow the difference. Yang Ziyi scored in a straight line and won the first game 11-7.
In the second game, Yang Ziyi made a 2:0 start. Yuan Licen scored 2 points in a row to tie the score. The two sides are at a stalemate. Yang Ziyi scored 2 points in a row to take the lead again. Yuan Licen scored a point, and the score came to 9:8. Yang Ziyi held on to each other through multiple boards, scored 2 points in a row, and won another game 11:8.
Yang Ziyi took a 2-0 lead. Yang Ziyi's holding ball played very well and was very tenacious.
In the third game, Yuan Licen began to exert his strength and made a 4:0 start. Yuan Licen, who fell into passivity, opened it instead. Yang Ziyi scored 2 points in a row to narrow the difference. After each side scored 1 point, Yuan Licen scored 6 points in a row and pulled back a game at 11:3.
In the fourth game, at 2 draws, Yang Ziyi scored 3 points in a row to gain a large advantage. Yuan Licen then scored 5 points in a row and overtook the score. Yuan Licen opened. Yang Ziyi once again scored through multiple boards, and the score came to 7:6. Yuan Licen continued to exert his strength and scored 3 points in a row to get the game point. Yang Ziyi was unwilling to lose the game, launched a fierce attack, and scored 2 points in a row to narrow the difference. Yang Ziyi made a mistake, and Yuan Licen scored and pulled back another game at 11:8.
In the fifth game, Yuan Licen took a 7:1 lead. Yuan Licen made mistakes one after another. Yang Ziyi took the opportunity to score 6 points in a row to tie the score. Yang Ziyi has a bit of strength. Yuan Licen scored 2 points in a row and stopped losing points. Yuan Licen maintained a two-point advantage and won the fifth game 11-9.
In the end, Yuan Licen won three games in a row and defeated Yang Ziyi 3-2, staged a super reversal, and avoided a big upset.
It was not easy for Yuan Licen to win, and he almost lost. I hope Yuan Licen will have a better performance in the following games. This time he played a bit stiff and slow.