On May 8, Beijing time, the WTT Saudi Arabia Grand Slam ushered in the fifth match day of the main event. The Saudi Grand Slam is the most important table tennis event before the Paris Olympics, and the national table tennis team also sent a 12-member main team of 6 men and 6 men and 6 women to make the final warm-up for the Paris Olympics. The total prize money for the Saudi Grand Slam is up to $2 million, with $65,000 for the singles champion and $8,500 for the doubles winner, with an additional 2,000 points.
In the previous singles 1/16 finals, the national table tennis also suffered Waterloo, and there were 4 main forces that were upset one after another, namely Wang Manyu, Ma Long, Liang Jingkun, and Lin Gaoyuan, all of whom stopped in the top 32 of singles. Fortunately, in yesterday's game, the Chinese table tennis crowd will withstand the pressure and win all 9 games, sweeping all opponents to advance to the next round.
Today's national table tennis schedule
Singles 1/8 finals: Wang Chuqin VS Yoshimura Maharu (Japan), Lin Shidong VS Alamiyan (Iran), Chen Meng VS Miu Hirano (Japan), Wang Yidi VS Yang Xiaoxin (Monaco), Fan Zhendong VS Francesca (Germany), Qian Tianyi VS Chen Xingtong (National Table Tennis Civil War), Sun Yingsha VS Tian Zhixi (South Korea)
Doubles 1/4 finals: Chen Meng/Wang Manyu VS Wang Yidi/Chen Xingtong (National Table Tennis Civil War), Liang Jingkun/Lin Gaoyuan VS Carlsen/Carlberg (Sweden), Ma Long/Wang Chuqin VS Nuitik (Belgium/Dias (Poland)
Mixed Doubles Semifinals: Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha vs Tomokazu Zhangmoto/Hina Hayada (Japan)
In the previous matches, Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha swept Japan's Tomokazu Zhangmoto/Hina Hayada 3-0 to advance to the mixed doubles final, Chen Meng/Wang Manyu narrowly defeated Wang Yidi/Chen Xingtong 3-2 to advance to the women's doubles semifinals, and Liang Jingkun/Lin Gaoyuan were swept out 0-3 by Sweden's Carlsen/Carlberg. Wang Chuqin and Lin Shidong also fought hard, defeating their opponents one after another to advance to the men's singles quarterfinals.
Wang Chuqin 3-1 Yoshimura Maharu (Japan)
Wang Chuqin, the men's singles seed, has been in excellent form at this Saudi Arabia Grand Slam, sweeping his opponents in the first two rounds to advance. Japan's Maharu Yoshimura, ranked 43rd in the world, defeated Egypt's Assal 3-2 in the 1/16 finals.
In the first game, Wang Chuqin started slowly and soon fell behind 3-7, Wang Chuqin adjusted his state and scored 4 points in a row to equalize the score, but still lost the first game 9-11. In the second game, the two played back and forth at the beginning of the game, after a 3-3 draw, Wang Chuqin began to exert his strength, he scored consecutive points to pull the score apart, Wang Chuqin was the first to get the game point by the opponent to save the game point in a row, but still pulled back a game with 11-8. In the third game, the two still had a tight score at the beginning of the game, playing all the way from 3-3 to 8-8, and Wang Chuqin won the third game 11-9. In the fourth game, the two were still stalemate at the beginning, and after 5-5, Wang Chuqin scored 6 points in a row and won the fourth game 11-5. Wang Chuqin defeated Japan's Yoshimura Maharu 3-1 to advance to the men's singles quarterfinals.
Lin Shidong 3-1 Alamiyan (Iran)
Young player Lin Shidong is the focus of national table tennis training, his technical ability is very strong, currently ranked 15th in the world, he defeated Sweden's Moregard 3-1 in the 1/32 finals, and narrowly defeated the German star chipper Firus 3-2 in the 1/16 finals. Although Iranian veteran Alamiyan is ranked 68th in the world, he eliminated Liang Jingkun 3-2 in the 1/16 finals, and his strength cannot be underestimated.
In the first game, Lin Shidong took the initiative at the beginning, and he continued to use strong attacks to score and win the first game 11-7. In the second game, Alamiyan began to fight back, Lin Shidong's mistakes increased, and Alamiyan pulled back a game 11-8. In the third game, Alamiyan took the lead 3-1 at the beginning, Lin Shidong stubbornly chased the score to a 4-4 draw, and then the two played inseparable, the score was tight, and in the case of Alamyan taking the lead in getting the game point, the two saved each other's game points many times, and Lin Shidong won the third game 15-13 with difficulty. In the fourth game, Lin Shidong led 5-2 at the beginning, but was tied by the opponent with 3 points in a row, and then the two fell into a hard battle, Lin Shidong won the fourth game 11-9, and eliminated Alamiyan 3-1 to advance to the men's singles quarterfinals.