The last day of the meet always has the most spectacular matches, even in the preliminary round. The men's singles came up with fierce competitions. Celebrations for some and upsets for the others. Most seeded players in the women's singles defended their spots but the process was not easy at all.
In men's singles, Lin Gaoyuan (Guangdong) and Shang Kun (Shanghai) were forced out by the unknown penhold short-pips players, Wang Linkun (Hunan) and Jie Jianwei (Yunnan) respectively, giving away the chance to qualify to the Chinese National Games. (Watch Lin's match here!) There is no hope for Shang Kun to qualify to the Games but Lin Gaoyuan will have a second chance, if he makes his way to the podium in the Worlds this year. After Lin Gaoyuan took the ticket to Worlds, the coaches and the media have high hopes on him. In return, he overworked himself. However great haste is not always good speed. Fortunately this was just the prelims but not the Worlds. We hope he have learned a lesson from this experience.
It was a close match between Zhou Kai (PLA) and Cheng Jingqi (Hebei). How intense was the match? They broke three balls in 7 sets. That explains how hard they played. (Watch this!) The match was good. Both players played some great flick but they also made some mistakes. In the 7th set, Zhou Kai had better returns in the last few balls and won the match by 11-7. If that match is not exciting enough, the match between Zhou Yu (PLA) and Zhang Chao (Guangdong) is an upgrade of that. Again, it is a match between the right-handed and the left-handed, Zhou Yu and Zhang Chao had more varieties in serving and first three contacts. They also played many counter-loop rallies that won the cheers of the audience. (Do not miss the amazing match here !) Zhou Yu won the final set by a 2-point margin, 11-9. After the match, he pat the veteran Zhang Chao to compliment his effort. Indeed it is not easy for 32-year old Zhang Chao to maintain high competitive level after retiring from the national team for 4 years.
In women's singles, Wang Manyu (Heilongjiang) played against chopper Hu Limei (PLA). She started the match pretty well and headed into the 4th set with 3 sets in hand. When we thought Wang Manyu would send Hu Limei packing after the set, Hu Limei made a strong comeback closing the gap to 3-2. Yet Wang Manyu did not give away the chance and ended the match by 4-2. While the chopper Hu Limei was out after being defeated by Chen Ke (Jiangsu) in the additional round, another chopper Liu Fei (Jiangsu) qualify to the final stage after beating the champion of 2017 Hungarian Open, Chen Xingtong (Heilongjiang). There are 2 choppers, Wu Yang and Liu Fei, proceeded to the final stage of the Games.It is great to see different styles stood out in the competition.
7 Events in 7 Days! This is just the preliminary round and it is already exciting to watch! How can you miss the Chinese National Games which will be held from 28 August to 3 September in Tianjin? Comment below and tell me your thoughts on the prelims of the Games. Follow the blog for more meet coverage and features on table tennis.
Check the following results of the men's singles and women's singles!
Men's Singles
Schedule of the Preliminary Round of the Chinese National Games:
7 Events in 7 Days!
Line-up of the Preliminary Round of the Chinese National Games:
The Hardy Hundreds!
Team Draw of the Preliminary Round of the Chinese National Games:
More than the Marvellous 12!
Singles / Doubles Draw
Who Vs Who
Footage of the Preliminary Round of the Chinese National Games:
Day 1 Footage
Day 2 Footage
Day 3 Footage
Day 4 Footage
Day 5 Footage
Day 6 Footage
Day 7 Footage
Results of the Preliminary Round of the Chinese National Games:
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results
Day 5 Results
Day 6 Results
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