Day 4 of the table tennis event at the 13th Games is incredibly exciting and dramatic. The women's team semifinals took place in the morning. Team Sichuan and Heilongjiang headed to to the finals and will play against each other at 14:00 (GMT+8) on 1 Sep. The underdogs, Team Sichuan surprised us with a 3-1 victory over Team Guangdong which defeated Team Beijing (led by Ma Long) last night. The team will be playing against Shanghai which fought strong and made a comeback against the PLA Team at 19:00 (GMT+8) on 1 Sep. The team finals will be streaming on CCTV 5 so make sure you have your pc ready.
Results of Day 4 (31 August)
After a fierce competition, Wang Manyu led Team Heilongjiang to the finals. It is also the first time for Heilongjaing women's team to compete at the National Games women's team final. The other semifinals was between Beijing and Sichuan. Despite Ding Ning earned 2 points for the team, including a tough match against Zhu Yuling, the team was not good enough to win over the reigning national team champion, Team Sichuan.
For the men's side, Team Sichuan changed their lineup in the semifinals. They replaced their no.3 player, Lai Jiaxin with Yan Sheng, a penholder with pip-out for his forehand. The team had a really great start while Lin Gaoyuan from Team Guangdong was not playing as good as last night's match. At the end, Team Sichuan secured their spot in the finals. Team Sichuan is the only team to have both the women's and men's team competing in the finals.
Team Shanghai played around with their lineup. They swap the order of Xu Xin and Shang Kun. The tactic worked. Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong had a close competition in the first match. I believe it is one of the best match that Xu Xin has played against Fan Zhendong since Rio. The second match is between Shang Kun and Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu once led in the 3rd and 4th games but he did not extend his lead, leaving Shang Kun a chance to take the point for Shanghai. Zhao Zihao from Shanghai had an outstanding performance tonight. He was calm but aggressive while Xu Chenhao rushed up a bit and made many unforced error at the end. Fan Zhendong proved himself a reliable core player of the team and won over Shang Kun 3:0. It came down to the decisive 5th match which Xu Xin played against Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu's backhand was very powerful leaving Xu Xin no chance to earn points. However Xu Xin did not panic while he was trailing 2 games behind. He was more aggressive in his forehand pivot and returned the ball to middle so that Zhou Yu could not smashed the ball with his backhand. At the end, Xu Xin made a dramatic comeback walking away with a 3:2 victory. Team Shanghai was over moon after the competition. The team had a great big team hug to celebrate this uneasy victory.
Women's Team Semifinals
Beijing 2-3 Sichuan [Full Match: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Sheng Dandan 1:3 Zhu Yuling ( 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 4-11)
Ding Ning 3:0 Guo Yan (11-9, 11-7, 11-4)
Li Jiayuan 2:3 Fan Siqi (11-9, 9-11, 11-8, 3-11, 3-11)
Ding Ning 3:2 Zhu Yuling (11-3, 6-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5)
Sheng Dandan 1:3 Guo Yan (6:11, 11:7, 9-11, 9-11)
Heilongjiang 3-2 Hubei [Video: Part 1, 2, 3]
Che Xiaoxi 1:3 Feng Yalan (8-11, 11-9, 7-11, 10-12)
Wang Manyu 3:1 Zhang Rui (11-9, 6-11, 11-3, 11-3)
Wang Xuan 1:3 Sun Yizhen (8-11, 7-11, 11-9, 14-16)
Wang Manyu 3:0 Feng Yalan (11-8, 11-5, 11-8 )
Che Xiaoxi 3:0 Zhang Rui (11-7, 11-4, 11-9)
Men's Team Semifinals
Shanghai 3-2 PLA [Full Match: Part 1, 2, 3]
Xu Xin 2:3 Fan Zhendong (13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-13, 8-11)
Shang Kun 3:1 Zhou Yu (13-11, 10-12, 11-8, 11-8)
Zhao Zihao 3:2 Xu Chenhao (11-9, 3-11, 3-11, 11-4, 11-6 )
Shang Kun 0:3 Fan Zhendong (5-11, 9-11, 7-11)
Xu Xin 3:2 Zhou Yu (8-11, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3)
Sichaun 3:1 Guangdong
Xu Ruifeng 3:2 Lin Gaoyuan (11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-2) [Video]
Zhu Linfeng 2:3 Zhou Qihao (7-11, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9, 12-14)
Yan Sheng 3:1 Zhang Chao (11-3, 12-10, 9-11, 11-8)
Zhu Linfeng 3:1 Lin Gaoyuan (8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-7) [Video: Part 1, 2]
Matches of Day 5 (1 September) (GMT8+)
Tomorrow will be the day for the team finals. I am not going to make any predictions as the teams have come so far, each team has the ability to take the title. Apart from the overall strength of the team, it's more about the mental game. National Games means a lot to the provincial teams and athletes as it is held once every 4 years and is the highest national-level competition in China. I hope the teams will have a good day tomorrow and go all out for the titles.
Day 5: September 1
09:30-12:30 Women's / Men's Team Bronze Medal Match (09:30 CCTV5)
-Men's: PLA (led by Fan Zhendong) Vs Guangdong (led by Lin Gaoyuan)
14:00-16:30 Women's Team Final (14:00 CCTV5)
-Sichaun (led by Zhu Yuling) Vs Heilongjiang (led by Wang Manyu)
19:00-21:30 Men's Team Final (19:00 CCTV5)
- Shanghai (led by Xu Xin) Vs Sichuan (led by Zhu Linfeng)
You may also want to read...
CNG introduction
Women's Team preview
Men's Team preview
Singels & Team (Knockout stage) preview
Their Goals
Thanks for reading. Follow the blog as we will have more updates coming up.
Hi Table tennis fan
ReplyDeleteDo you know if the bronze medal matches are important to the teams - like at the Olympics?
Or will they rather rest their top players before the individual events?
Hello! It really depends on the athlete's condition and the goal of the provincial teams. Ding Ning was not on the lineup for the Bronze medal match but Team Beijing managed to win the match and earn a bronze medal. Team PLA has Fan Zhendong, Zhou Yu and Zhou Kai in the lineup of the bronze medal match. They have gone all out and won the bronze.
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