China secure titles of mixed, men's doubles at WTT Ljubljana
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E-mail Xinhua, July 8, 2023
China's table tennis players booked all the final spots of mixed doubles and men's doubles on Friday to secure the two titles in advance at WTT Star Contender Ljubljana.
World's top-ranked mixed pair Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha knocked down Doo Hoi Kem and Wong Chun Ting from Hong Kong, China 11-6, 11-4, 9-11, 11-7 in the semifinals, while Liang Jingkun and Qian Tianyi booked the other final spot by outplaying their compatriots Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Yidi 11-4, 11-5, 6-11, 13-11.
"We played very well from the very beginning today and we were into the game very quickly," said 23-year-old Wang Chuqin. "However, we did not respond in time when our opponents turned out to be extremely aggressive in attacking in the third game. We made some mistakes and lost some points, but fortunately, we calmed down a bit and keep patient in the fourth game and sealed the win."
Speaking of the final against the other Chinese pair, Sun told Xinhua that it would be a very challenging match.
"We're happy that we'll meet in the final. It's hard to tell who have more chances to win. We were very close when we trained together. We'll definitely deliver a wonderful game with full strength," said Sun.
In the men's doubles semifinals, Olympic champion Ma Long, paired with Yuan Licen, overwhelmed French talents Alexis Lebrun and Felix Lebrun 11-7, 11-6, 11-3. The Lebrun brothers collected the gold and bronze of the men's singles at European Games last month.
Xiang Peng and Lin Shidong swept South Korean pair Lim Jonghoon and An Jaehyun 18-16, 11-7, 11-9 to book the other final spot.
China's women's pair Wang Yidi and Kuai Man edged South Korean duo Shin Yubin and Jeon Jihee 7-11, 11-4, 11-8, 3-11, 15-13 to face Ni Xialian and Sarah De Nutte in the final. The Luxembourg duo defeated Hana Matelova from the Czech Republic and Barbora Balazova from Slovakia 11-2, 11-1, 6-11, 11-9 in the semifinals.
In the men's singles matches, world No. 24 Zhou Qihao surprisingly shocked his iconic compatriot Ma Long 4-11, 11-6, 2-11, 11-5, 11-8. Winner of the 2023 ITTF World Championships Fan Zhendong and current world No. 1 Wang Chuqin both swept their respective opponents 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Chinese women's singles players Sun Yingsha, Chen Meng, Wang Manyu and Kuai Man also claimed victories to step forward to the quarterfinals.
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