Tension mounted on day 10 at the 2019 Chinese Nationals, as teams were vying for the top step of the podium. All women's team matches played on day 10 were stretched the full 5 matches distance, and in the concluding match of the day, the women's team final, Shandong put an exclamation mark to the action-packed day with an epic comeback.
After defeating the defending champion yesterday, Heilongjiang succumbed to a 2-3 loss in the women's team semifinals against a very competitive PLA 1 led by Zhu Yuling, the women's singles first runner-up of this Nationals. Chen Ke / Mu Zi established a strong opening for PLA 1 with a straight games win over Zhang Binyue / Che Xiaoxi. Following that, Zhu Yuling extended the lead with an unexpected straightforward 3-0 win over Wang Manyu. In that match, Zhu Yuling had total control of the game and aggressively played a few punishing turn around forehand which put Wang Manyu through tough times. However, back-to back success for Che Xiaoxi and Wang Manyu against Mu Zi and Chen Ke leveled the game. In the final contest of the match, Zhu Yuling sealed the victory for PLA 1 with another 3-0 victory over Zhang Binyue.
Another women's team semifinals was closely contested between Hebei and Shandong. Since Hebei has a relatively weak third person, the performance of Sun Yingsha and He Zhuojia in the singles match would be decisive for the final outcome. Sun Yingsha kept Hebei's hope alive by surviving a 3-2 thriller against Chen Meng, while He Zhuojia was a bit conservative in the last game against Gu Yuting and lost 3-2 by the narrowest margin. At the end, Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng each won 3-0 and Shandong advanced to the finals with an overall 3-2 win.
Winning the opening match and the third match of the women's final, many had thought high of Team PLA 1, until Zhu Yuling was beaten by post-00s Wang Xiaotong in the fourth match which was also the climax of the final. 5 days ago Zhu Yuling won 4-3 over Wang Xiaotong in the women's singles round of 16, but there was a revenge for Wang Xiaotong. Wang was powerful and consistent in the long rallies, on the other hand, Zhu were not aggressive enough. At the end, Wang Xiaotong chalked up a 3-2 victory and turned the tables. In the break-it-or-make-it match, Chen Meng beat Chen Ke 3-1 to seal the points. Shandong last topped the women's team podium was in 2011.
On the men's field, the defending champion Beijing required a full match distance to win over Sichuan, a team lacking star power, in the semifinals. Yan An / Wang Chuqin launched a solid 3-0 start over Xu Ruifeng / Lai Jiaxin but handed the lead to Sichuan after Liu Yebo losing 2-3 to Zhu Linfeng from a 2-0 advantage and a surprising 3-1 defeat which Wang Chuqin played against Xu Ruifeng gingerly with a suspected aching left shoulder. Fortunately, with an impressive depth, the defending champion was able to make their way to the final with Yan An and Liu Yebo winning 3-1 nad 3-0 over Zhu Linfeng and Lai Jiaxin.
The other men's team semifinals was almost a straight matches victory for PLA. The only point Guangdong earned came from the spectacular third match which Zhou Qihao and Zhou Kai demonstrated many incredible counter-loop far behind the tables, and Zhou Qihao pulled out an epic comeback in the deciding fifth game from trailing behind.
10 days down, 1 more to go. The men's team national champion will be decided tomorrow.
Detailed Results
Draws & Results (live scoring) You may be interested in:
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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