Medal Summary
Men's Team
Beijing pranced to a gold medal in the men's team with six 3-0 victories from the group stage to the finals. Starred with Ma Long, Wang Chuqin and Yan An, the team is super well-balanced, pretty unbelievable with only a few challenges encountered in the men's team finals against Guangdong. In the team finals, Ma Long was enjoyable to watch, as always, and veteran Zhang Chao's experience forced rising star Wang Chuqin to play a 5-game thriller. The point of the match, however, may have belonged to Yan An and Lin Gaoyuan who played an incredible rally with every trick in the table tennis world at 8-4 in game 5 in the team finals.
Most attention is directed at the team finals because they are the strongest and most star-studded teams among the field but the clear breakout team of the meet was Sichuan. Sichuan coming in the meet as the underdog, like last time at the 2017 Chinese National Games, once again put up a miraculous victory, this time, winning 3-2 over the 2017 Chinese National Games team champion and 3-time national-champion-winning team Shanghai in the round of 16. Xu Xin struggled in the team competition losing 1-3 to Xu Ruifeng who played Koki-Niwa innovations on the other side of the table. A disappointing loss for the penholder but a surprise from another. Kuang Li born in 2003 might have shown us what would the future of penhold technique be. I'm not an expert but from an audience perspective, his reverse backhand flick was efficient, powerful and simply impressive. Any thoughts? Leave a comment in the comment box below.
Speaking of the penholder, Zheng Peifeng, the 2018 Czech Open men's singles champion, was unbeaten in the team event. He led the team to the semifinals and lost 3-2 to Guangdong due to a lack of depth. Having said that, not losing a match in the team event was quite an achievement for Zheng Peifeng especially at the Chinese Nationals where competition quality is high.
Some may also wonder where were Fan Zhendong and Zhang Jike. A last-minute withdrawal of Fan Zhendong due to, health issues, had hurt Team PLA chances of qualifying, especially in the 'Group of Death' with Shandong Luneng and Hebei. Whereas Zhang Jike decided not to compete at the 2018 Chinese National Championships.
Women's Team
What can be better than winning the women's team national champion? Well, winning the title in front of the home crowd! Liaoning, the home team could not have a better opening than they would have hoped for. Confidently leading 2-0, the third match played between Wen Jia (Liaoning) and Gu Yuting (Shandong) was exceptionally breath-taking. Gu Yuting and Chen Meng saved Shandong's hope for topping the podium, leaving the suspense to the 5th match decider. I doubt the positive impact of the noisy horns and drum beats but Wang Yidi was not affected by the noise, perhaps benefited from the "supportive crowd" and became the home team hero as she sealed the victory with a narrow 3-2 victory.
Hebei settled for third. They were quite a dynamic team at this championships. They had a tough match in the group stage losing 2-3 to Liaoning which later won the 2018 women's team national champion. Then they knocked out the 2017 Chinese National Games team champion Sichuan, which is led by Zhu Yuling, in the quarterfinals. I particularly love watching He Zhuojia's match. Her spins in the return are often a bit wacky (since she plays pips-out on her backhand) but that makes her different from other players.
One of the favourites of the meet, Team Beijing led by Ding Ning had an uneasy round of 16. Ding Ning unexpectedly lost 0-3 to post-00 paddler Zhang Binyue putting Beijing in a 0-2 deficit. Fortunately, The depth and experience of Beijing are way ahead of Jiangsu, they managed to make a comeback and win 3-2. However, facing a much stronger team Shandong, which is led by Chen Meng (won Ding Ning in the team match to seal the victory) and Gu Yuting, Beijing bowed out in the quarterfinals losing 1-3.
We did not quite see the runner-up of the 2017 Chinese National Games, Heilongjiang at this championships. As the team's depth hurt a bit with the retirement of veteran Wang Xuan after the National Games. Even the star of the team Wang Manyu had won every match she played, the past finalists ended their journey in the round of 16 losing 2-3 to Tianjin. It might not be a satisfying result for Heilongjiang but winning all the matches would be quite an achievement for Wang Manyu on its own.
Mixed Doubles
The mixed doubles final was a close battle and history repeated. Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha once again topped the podium and celebrated the champion with their signature face pinch after a 4-3 victory over Lin Gaoyuan / Wang Manyu. Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha had a comfortable 2-0 lead after 2 games but Lin Gaoyuan / Wang Manyu nearly made a comeback levelling the game to 3-3 after 6 games and leading 9-7 in the 7th game decider. It happened that, at the end of the game, Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Manyu opting for risky and aggressive shots but end up a costly point loss.
2018 Japan Open mixed doubles champion Liang Jingkun / Chen Xingtong placed third. Their speed and power were outstanding but was not quite enough to take down the Asian Games champion, losing 2-4 in the semifinals.
A relatively young and inexperienced but worth-noting duo, Niu Guankai / He Zhuojia bowed out in the round of 16 but forcing 2018 Asian Games silver medalists to play 5 intense games was quite something. He Zhuojia's backhand created some problems for Lin Gaoyuan at the beginning of the match but the latter overcome it and took the initiatives to control the ball placements which are essential in doubles as teammates alternate shots during the rally.
Women's Doubles
Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling came first and Gu Yuting / Mu Zi were second in the women's doubles event. The same two pairs were the finalists of the 2017 Chinese National Games but flip-flopped in their own medal positions. The final was a see-saw match, levelling 2-2 after 4 games, both sides were desperately wanting to win game 5. Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling had a predominant 7-2 lead in game 5 by playing some unreachable wide angles but Gu Yuting / Mu Zi showed the persistence of a National Games champion and closed down the gap. They played an incredible rally at 5-7, forcing Chen and Zhu to call a timeout. The pairs went to deuce and Gu Yuting / Mu Zi almost made a comeback losing 12-14 after saving 5 game points which I think is the climax of the match. Game 6 was a good game as well and Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling sealed the gold with a 2-point margin.
Multiple-World Tour women's doubles champion Chen Xingtong / Sun Yingsha placed third after having a 7-game semifinal against Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling who then won the title of the championships. Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling had a good start winning 11-7 in game 1. Game 2 was a close battle between the pairs. Chen Xingtong / Sun Yingsha saved 2 game points to 10-10 but received a yellow card for delaying the game. Fortunately, they were not affected by it and won 17-15. Both pairs were neck and neck, until game 6 which Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling enjoyed a 7-1 lead but table tennis is always unpredictable until the last point is played. With some efficient follow-up, Chen Xingtong / Sun Yingsha made their way back to deuce but lost 12-14. Chen Meng / Zhu Yuling were the more determined pairs coming into game 7. They started off with a 3-0 and keep the advantage at the end of the match winning 11-7.
Men's Doubles
The men's doubles podium was wide open as some of the favourites, Ma Long, Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong decided to sit out the competition. In the finals, Zhang Chao / Shang Kun made a 4-0 clean sweep over Xu Chenhao / Zhou Kai to clinch gold. Not a surprising win as the former pair were teammates in 2017-2018 CTTSL season and had won quite a number of matches for their club. Despite the one-sided result, an amazing forehand counter loop rally was performed at 7-6 in game 2.
Women's Singles
It was a year of breakthrough for Wang Manyu. Earlier this year, she became team world champion being a member of the 2018 Team World Cup and 2018 Team World Championships squad. She then won women's singles champion at the 2018 Asian Games. Now she is crowned the 2018 women's singles national champion. Ding Ning lost 1-4 in the finals and had to settle for second which is a satisfying result given that she made a last-minute decision to take part in the women's singles competition after the team events. Without further ado, enjoy the big showdown!
3-time women's singles national champion, Zhu Yuling fell short from defending her title this year. However, she should hold her head high even though a bronze medal finishing. As she redeemed from a 1-3 loss in the team quarterfinals and won 4-3 over Sun Yingsha, in the women's singles quarterfinals.
Sadly, one of the biggest threats for the women's singles medal, Liu Shiwen withdrew the women's singles competitions due to an injury.
Men's Singles
None of the men's singles finalists had ever won a men's singles national title. Equally eager to walk away with the national title, Liang Jingkun edged out Fang Bo by 4-1 and became 2018 men's singles national champion. Liang Jingkun had better quality shots overall, while Fang Bo had an upper hand in his serves and varieties. In the end, Liang Jingkun was the one to win most of the rallies and he kissed the table to celebrate his first men's singles national title.
With Ma Long, Xu Xin, Fan Zhendong and Zhang Jike sitting out the men's singles, Lin Gaoyuan came into the men's singles event as the no.1 seeded player and hope to challenge for a men's singles gold in Anshan. However, his ambition was scattered by 2012 men's singles national champion, Zhou Yu in the quarterfinals losing 2-4. It was a close match and they levelled at 2-2 after 4 games. Zhou Yu played quite a lot to the middle of Lin Gaoyuan, forcing his opponent to made errors and limited the chances for Lin Gaoyuan to make quick returns in the later games. This set up Zhou Yu to the semifinals but he lost 0-4 to Liang Jingkun, finishing third.
Full Results & Videos
If you happened to hear about the 2018 Chinese Nationals just now or simply want to revisit the whole meet again, the following links provide you full results and links to re-watch the matches. Enjoy!
Men's & Women's Team
Men's & Women's & Mixed Doubles
Men's & Women's Singles
Let's keep the table tennis extravaganza going! The 2018-2019 CTTSL season will commence in a month or so. We will follow it closely and update you with the latest news but as for now, tell us which 2018 Chinese Nationals moment strikes you the most and anything you would like us to know in the comment box below! Pretty please. It's one of the few ways I know I'm reaching people.
Wow! Increadible wrap-up and effort you've put into this- many thanks for your work :) <3
ReplyDeleteThank you for your support! I enjoy watching the Chinese nationals because there are so many high-level players who don't quite often have the the chance to compete internationally and the shots they've played are simply amazing. How do you find the Chinese Nationals? Also, please let us know what you like or hate about this post or the blog so that we can make improvements!
Delete