The semifinals of the 2024 ITTF Singles World Cup ended with 2 matches. Lin Gaoyuan of national table tennis swept Japanese star Tomokazu Zhang 4-0 in the revenge match to advance to the men's singles final, and the captain Ma Long will meet in the final. With the promotion of the two Chinese players, the men's singles gold medal was also won in the national table tennis bag in advance.
Before the start of this game, Zhang Benzhihe was full of confidence, because he did not have the upper hand in the face of Lin Gaoyuan. In the first game, Lin Gaoyuan was superior in grasping the key points, winning 11-9; in the second and third games, Lin Gaoyuan firmly prevailed, and after Zhang Benzhihe couldn't attack for a long time, the mistakes increased, Lin Gaoyuan seized the opportunity to pull the big score to 3-0 with two 11-6; in the fourth game, Lin Gaoyuan was even more imposing and blasted out a huge score difference of 11-1.
In this battle, Lin Gaoyuan made full preparations and made targeted arrangements for Zhang Benzhihe's habitual scoring line and playing style. Lin Gaoyuan's tactical score can be seen in the first game of the serve and the subsequent landing point connection, through a large number of forehand large-angle table balls combined with the bottom line and sideline half of the billiards, effectively control Zhang Benzhihe's habitual twisting and pulling play, and Zhang Benzhihe's twisting and pulling scoring rate is almost zero percent in the fourth game. On his own side, Lin Gaoyuan maintained the strength and stability of his backhand in the stalemate stage.
The local Cantonese commentary commented on Lin Gaoyuan's perfect play without hesitation, "Lin Gaoyuan is a lot more experienced in this game, his skills and control are much more powerful, and he controls this ball very well." Fans like to watch the middle and far platform pulls, in fact, these top 100 players can do it, but these unwieldy controls are what we insiders like to watch. Some balls don't look like much, but you haven't reacted when you lose. ”
Lin Gaoyuan's strong performance not only impressed the Cantonese commentary, but also directly convinced the Japanese fans. Japanese fans commented on the game at the Japanese Open, and they all praised Lin Gaoyuan, thinking that he was strong and handsome. "There's no way around it, Lin Gaoyuan is too strong!" "Lin Gaoyuan won and entered the finals, I want to go to Macau immediately!" "Lin Gaoyuan's attack in the middle is too tough. "Zhang Benzhihe is already trembling at Lin Gaoyuan!"
When Wang Chuqin, Fan Zhendong and Liang Jingkun were all out of the game one after another, it turned out to be Lin Gaoyuan, a "soft-footed shrimp" who was ridiculed by fans, and Ma Long, who was in love. Lin Gaoyuan has played in the master national table tennis for 15 years, and has not won a singles world championship so far, he may not be the first choice of national table tennis singles, but as he said, "do what you should do, and accept that it backfires!"
This World Table Tennis Championships is the first time he has reached the singles final, and it may be the only time he is only one step away from the singles gold medal. Whatever the outcome, it's all good.