Shaanxi and Beijing have been crowned in advance as this season's champions of the domestic table tennis China Super League.

In the men's competitions, defending champions Shaanxi whitewashed rivals Beijing 3-0 to win their back-to-back title.

Shaanxi's head coach, Liu Guoquan, attributed the victory to the League's highest-priced player, Ma Lin, who fully displayed his strength.

In other 17th-round matches held overnight, Bayi clean-swept Zhejiang to stand second on the table.

Wuxi beat Sichuan 3-2, Jiangsu won 3-1 over Liaoning, and Shandong lost to Ningbo 3-1.

The bottom teams went head-to-head and they will go on to the last round (18th round) to decide which teams will be relegated.

In the women's front, the Beijing club, led by world-number-one Zhang Yining, defeated Shandong 3-2 after a fierce battle.

The clash between the top two teams had been tagged as the fight between the champions and the runners-up.

Zhang Yining scored two points for Beijing to lay the winning foundation. Young player Ding Ning also played a spectacular game to help bring the capital club a well-deserved victory.

In other matches, Liaoning beat Henan 3-2, Wuxi was 3-1 over Hebei, and Beijing University also had a 3-1 win over Guangdong, while Bayi trounced Sichuan 3-0.

Henan will be relegated to second division next season, while Sichuan still have a chance to stay in the Super League if they can win the decisive clash against the top team from the second division. 

(CRI August 17, 2006)