The 2017 Asian Championship will be started in 3-day time. It is also the first international meet for Liu Shiwen since her intentional-play suspension. During the suspension, Liu Shiwen played outstandingly in the national competition, winning the team champion in the 2016 Chinese Super League and making a 11-straight win in the 2017 Chinese Trials (Marvellous 12). Will she keep the momentum going?
I believe she will but I do not predict future, I review history. This week's Throwback Thursday features Liu Shiwen's past Asian Championships.
Liu Shiwen played her first Asian Championship in 2009 where she won gold in women's team and a bronze for women's singles, losing to Ding Ning in the semi-finals. She was up in the semi-finals of the team event which China played against South Korea but was replaced by Ding Ning in the finals. The coaches made such arrangement probably because Liu Shiwen is a better player to play against choppers (the South Korean team has two great choppers) as compare to Ding Ning.
Liu Shiwen won South Korea's chopper, Park Mi Young in the semi-finals. It may seems like a clean sweep just by looking at the score but Liu Shiwen was a bit impatient and made a few mistakes in the second set, lagging 4-8 behind. She regained her composure quickly with the help of a lucky ball hitting the edge of the table and comeback with a 11-8 win. Following that, she won the third set 11-6.
The semi-finals was a match between the attackers and choppers (all games were played between attackers and choppers)!, including a match between Li Xiaoxia and Kim Kyung Ah (Watch the Entire SF here!). 8 years after that match, Li Xiaoxia is retired and Kim Kyung Ah return to competition. Can the new generation Chinese players play against the experienced Kim Kyung Ah? Tell me what do you expect in the coming Asian Championshsip in the comment box below (you do not need to have an account to do so)!
It was a pretty good start for Liu Shiwen's first Asian Championships but her next Asian Championships is not a satisfying experience. Prior to the 2011 (or 2012) Asian Championships, she had lost to non-Chinese players in team events. That includes losing 2 points (to Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei) in 2010 Worlds team finals and losing to Seok Ha Jung in 2010 Asian Games. losing to non-Chinese players is a big no-no for the Chinese player as every match counts especially the London Olympics would be held in less than a year.
The coaches might want to try out Liu Shiwen's ability playing against strong opponents in team finals and arrange her as the third player up in the match. The match between Liu Shiwen and Yu Mengyu was intense. Liu Shiwen's speedy rallies gave her a 2-0 lead after 2 set. Yu Mengyu narrowed the gap with some powerful forehand drive and hitting big angles to Liu's forehand in the backhand rallies. She won the 3rd set with a bit of luck as she played a few net ball during the soft pushes. Liu Shiwen was a bit of conservative in the 4th set and was behind Yu by 5-0. In the last set, Liu Shiwen made a great start and switched side with a 5-3 lead. However after the switch side, Yu was more aggressive in receive and comeback with a 8-5 lead. Liu fought strong but was annoyed by Yu another net ball after the short push and Liu lost. In all, Liu Shiwen's strength is her speed but it did not work in the match against Yu Mengyu. As Yu is a quick and strong player, she followed up the ball with stronger power and made wider angles after Liu's fast return. She also had a bit of luck in the game (not saying she did not deserve winning it, luck is a part of competition). These were her recipe for winning Liu Shiwen.
I believe she will but I do not predict future, I review history. This week's Throwback Thursday features Liu Shiwen's past Asian Championships.
Liu Shiwen played her first Asian Championship in 2009 where she won gold in women's team and a bronze for women's singles, losing to Ding Ning in the semi-finals. She was up in the semi-finals of the team event which China played against South Korea but was replaced by Ding Ning in the finals. The coaches made such arrangement probably because Liu Shiwen is a better player to play against choppers (the South Korean team has two great choppers) as compare to Ding Ning.
Liu Shiwen won South Korea's chopper, Park Mi Young in the semi-finals. It may seems like a clean sweep just by looking at the score but Liu Shiwen was a bit impatient and made a few mistakes in the second set, lagging 4-8 behind. She regained her composure quickly with the help of a lucky ball hitting the edge of the table and comeback with a 11-8 win. Following that, she won the third set 11-6.
The semi-finals was a match between the attackers and choppers (all games were played between attackers and choppers)!, including a match between Li Xiaoxia and Kim Kyung Ah (Watch the Entire SF here!). 8 years after that match, Li Xiaoxia is retired and Kim Kyung Ah return to competition. Can the new generation Chinese players play against the experienced Kim Kyung Ah? Tell me what do you expect in the coming Asian Championshsip in the comment box below (you do not need to have an account to do so)!
It was a pretty good start for Liu Shiwen's first Asian Championships but her next Asian Championships is not a satisfying experience. Prior to the 2011 (or 2012) Asian Championships, she had lost to non-Chinese players in team events. That includes losing 2 points (to Wang Yuegu and Feng Tianwei) in 2010 Worlds team finals and losing to Seok Ha Jung in 2010 Asian Games. losing to non-Chinese players is a big no-no for the Chinese player as every match counts especially the London Olympics would be held in less than a year.
The coaches might want to try out Liu Shiwen's ability playing against strong opponents in team finals and arrange her as the third player up in the match. The match between Liu Shiwen and Yu Mengyu was intense. Liu Shiwen's speedy rallies gave her a 2-0 lead after 2 set. Yu Mengyu narrowed the gap with some powerful forehand drive and hitting big angles to Liu's forehand in the backhand rallies. She won the 3rd set with a bit of luck as she played a few net ball during the soft pushes. Liu Shiwen was a bit of conservative in the 4th set and was behind Yu by 5-0. In the last set, Liu Shiwen made a great start and switched side with a 5-3 lead. However after the switch side, Yu was more aggressive in receive and comeback with a 8-5 lead. Liu fought strong but was annoyed by Yu another net ball after the short push and Liu lost. In all, Liu Shiwen's strength is her speed but it did not work in the match against Yu Mengyu. As Yu is a quick and strong player, she followed up the ball with stronger power and made wider angles after Liu's fast return. She also had a bit of luck in the game (not saying she did not deserve winning it, luck is a part of competition). These were her recipe for winning Liu Shiwen.
Liu Shiwen Vs. Yu Mengyu -- 2011 Asian Championships Women's Team Final
The event was rescheduled in 2012 in Macau because the original host, Beirut, Lebanon was claimed unsafe.
Liu Shiwen did not lose in team events in the later Asian Championships. She won 3 golds, women's team, women's singles and women's doubles at 2013 Asian Championship and another women's team title in 2015. In 2015, she and Ding Ning withdrew from the women's doubles competition, while in women's singles, she was defeated by Feng Tianwei in the quarterfinals by 2-4. We hope Liu Shiwen will make a strong start in 2017 Asian Championships and lead the team to victory in the Tokyo quadrennium!
P.S. I have a tough time choosing which match to review. I started the Throwback Thursday series because I would like to introduce some hidden gems, especially the domestic competitions that youtube does not include. Frankly speaking, I planned to write about Liu Shiwen making the Chinese Trials for 9 consecutive times. But Chinese trials was played a month ago while the Asian Championship is around the corner, that's why I chose Asian Championship instead. Tell me whether you like this week's Throwback Thursday by commenting down below (you can do it anonymously!) and follow the blog for the weekly Throwback Thursday!
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