Disappointments for defending champions as Wang Manyu and Liang Jingkun, both seeded for respective women's and men's singles events, were knocked out in the singles semifinals. Defenders Hou Yingchao and Ma Te break into mix in the men's singles semifinals.
Wang Manyu experienced a shocking defeat in the quarterfinals as He Zhuojia stunned the defending women's singles national champion 4-2 with her efficient pips-out backhand punches. Yet, He Zhuojia's winning momentum came to a halt when she played against 3-time (2014, 2015, 2016) women's singles national champion Zhu Yuling, who mastered in ball placements and spiny, soft strokes. With Zhu's crafty controls, He Zhuojia had few chances to make her backhand punches and lost 4-1 in the semifinals. Another semifinal match in the women's field was played between Olympic hopefuls Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha. Both players played outstanding points in the match but Sun Yingsha turned out the better one and walked away with a 4-1 victory.
On the men's side, defenders booked half of the men's singles semifinal places. Oftentimes, people believe attackers have the upper hand playing against choppers because their playing style is simply more aggressive but it was not the case for defender Hou Yingchao. His consistent chopping technique along with his spin variations, wild bending forehand loops and sudden turn around forehand smashes gave Liang Jingkun a hard time. He causes upset in the men's singles quarterfinals by defeating 4-1 over defending champion Liang Jingkun. The other defender in the final four is Ma Te who won 4-1 over the first runner-up from last year Fang Bo. Also making to the semifinals are China's rising star Wang Chuqin beating 4-1 over Lin Gaoyuan and Zhou Qihao who fought against all the odds and won 4-3 over Xue Fei in a 7-game nailbiter.
Singles finals set to turn up the heat of day 7, with Zhu Yuling making a run for her fourth women's singles national title and more battles between the attacker and the chopper. Let's follow the Nationals and witness the new singles national champion being crowned tomorrow night!
Catch Up:
Day 6 Morning Session
WS QF: Chen Meng vs Sun Mingyang
WS QF: Zhu Yuling vs Wang Yidi
MS QF: Ma Te vs Fang Bo
MS QF: Wang Chuqin vs Lin Gaoyuan
MS QF: Liang Jingkun vs Hou Yingchao
MS QF: Zhou Qihao vs Xue Fei
Day 6 Evening Session
WS SF: Zhu Yuling vs He Zhuojia
WS SF: Chen Meng vs Sun Yingsha
You may be interested in:
Draws & Results (live scoring)
Mixed Doubles
Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Team
Women's Team
AND The 2019 Chinese Nationals Guide provides an overview of the competition format, schedule, how you can watch and links related to the Chinese Nationals, so you won't have to miss a thing if you can't watch it all.
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