Youngsters win, world champions shown door at China's table tennis Olympic simulation
0 Comment(s)
Print
E-mail Xinhua, May 30, 2021
World champions Ma Long and Liu Shiwen both suffered shock exits from the singles events at China's table tennis Olympic simulation in Nanyang, central China's Henan province on Saturday, while Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha outclassed Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen to win the mixed doubles title.
In the mixed doubles final between two Tokyo-bound pairs, Wang/Sun came back from 3-1 down to overcome the reigning world champions Xu/Liu 8-11, 11-9, 11-13, 8-11, 14-12, 11-4, 11-9.
The big surprise of the night, however, came in the men's singles quarterfinals as the Grand Slam winner Ma Long lost 11-5, 11-9, 12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-8 to Xu Chenhao, whose previous best result was a last-eight finish in the 2012 national championships.
Ma, 32, a three-time world champion and twice Olympian, opened his encounter against 26-year-old Xu in a lackluster way, losing three sets in a row. The Chinese men's team skipper managed to pull two points back in the following sets, but failed to hold on to turn the table.
"I knew I need to make some changes in tactics, but it's too late when trailing 3-2 in sets and 8-4 in the sixth one," noted Ma, the world No. 3.
It's the second time in just three weeks that Ma was ousted by a younger teammate. He lost to Zhou Qihao, also in the men's singles quarterfinals, at the first stop of China's Olympic simulation in Xinxiang earlier this month.
"Despite the defeat, I think it's a good thing to learn some lessons ahead of the Olympic Games. It reminds me that I should do more to avoid a slow start and to prepare more if it's not avoidable," he said.
Xu Chenhao will next play world No. 2 Xu Xin in Sunday's semifinals after the 31-year-old pen-hold paddler beat Liang Jingkun in four straight sets in the quarters.
Earlier on Saturday, Liu Shiwen came out the first Tokyo-bound star shown the door out as she was beaten 4-0 by 22-year-old He Zhuojia in the women's singles quarterfinals.
The 30-year-old Liu, a record five-time World Cup winner, left the court during the match for five minutes, before returning to lose 11-4, 16-14, 11-6, 11-8.
He, whose playing style is similar to Japanese ace Mima Ito, will next take on world No. 1 Chen Meng, who advanced with a 4-2 victory over former Hong Kong Open champion Wang Yidi.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)