On April 19, the semifinals of the 2024 Macau Men's World Cup were born. Wang Chuqin defeated South Korea's Zhang Yuzhen 4-1, Lin Gaoyuan defeated Fan Zhendong 4-2, and Ma Long defeated Japan's Hayasuke Togami 4-2, and the national table tennis trio advanced to the semifinals. The other semi-final spot goes to Japan's Tomokazu Haramoto. In the semifinals, Wang Chuqin played against Ma Long, and Lin Gaoyuan played against Zhang Benzhihe.
The match in the 3/4 zone was played first, with Japan's Tomokazu Haramoto facing Sweden's Anton Carlberg, who eliminated Liang Jingkun. This match is also the only one of the four quarterfinals without the participation of national table tennis players. After six rounds of battle, Tomokazu Zhang defeated Carlberg 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-4, 4-2 and took the lead in the semifinals.
The quarterfinals of the 2/4 zone will be played by Ma Long against Japanese Olympic singles player Hayasuke Togami. Hayabusa Togami won the first game 11-5, Malone won the first game with the same score 11-5, and Hayabusa Togami won the third game 11-7. Ma Long, who adapted to the rhythm of the opponent's game, won three games in a row 11-7, 11-3, 11-3, and defeated Hayasuke Togami 4-2 to advance to the semifinals. After the game, Malone bluntly said that entering the top four this time has exceeded his imagination and will cherish every opportunity. He also said that it is difficult to get into the best condition now, and it is more important to calm down and play every game well and accept who you are now.
The 4/4 zone ushered in a national table tennis civil war, with defending champion Fan Zhendong facing Lin Gaoyuan. Fan Zhendong has previously won the men's World Cup four times and achieved three consecutive titles from 2018 to 2020. This year, he is expected to challenge Liu Shiwen's record of five singles World Cup titles. However, Fan's recent form has been up and down, with a loss to Lim Shi Dong in the WTT Singapore Grand Slam and a loss to Brazil's Hugo in the Incheon Championship, missing out on the final. In this quarter-final, Fan Zhendong seemed to be plagued by injuries and applied for a medical timeout, and finally Lin Gaoyuan defeated Fan Zhendong 11-7, 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-7, 4-2 to break into the semifinals. In the semifinals, Lin Gaoyuan will face Tomokazu Zhangmoto. Looking forward to this Sino-Japanese showdown, Lin Gaoyuan said that he has no baggage, and he will go all out to give full play to his technical and tactical level, hoping to play a wonderful game.
The final quarter-final will be a match between China and South Korea, with the tournament's top seed and men's singles world No. 1 Wang Chuqin facing South Korea's Zhang Yuzhen. In the semifinals of the men's team at the World Table Tennis Championships in Busan, Zhang Yuzhen defeated Wang Chuqin 3-1, and this time they met again, Wang Chuqin quickly entered the game, winning three games in a row 11-6, 11-4, 11-2, and leading 3-0. Zhang Yuzhen, who had no way out, fought actively in the fourth game, recovering a game with 11-9, and in the fifth game, Wang Chuqin won 11-5, defeating Zhang Yuzhen with a big score of 4-1 and advancing to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Wang Chuqin will play against Ma Long for a place in the final.