Coming into this year's Chinese Nationals, knowing the 2020 Olympics is just about a year away and the Nationals has replicated the format of the Olympics, many expected this would be a pre-match for the Chinese Olympic hopefuls. The withdrawal of the 'Big 5' was disappointing but it had not reduced the level of excitement of this Nationals. 39-year old chopper Hou Yingchao celebrated his second singles national title, and it was her first for Sun Yingsha. The men's and women's team title went to PLA and Shandong respectively both were stretched to a full distance 5 matches in the finals. Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Manyu improved from their second-place finish and claimed gold in the mixed doubles.
If you happen to miss this enthralling 11-day event, this recap will save your time without having you missing the best part of it!
Medal Summary
Men's Singles: Never Too Old To Win National Title For Hou Yingchao
Seldom do we see a chopper claiming the Chinese men's singles national title, the last time a chopper did it, other than Hou Yingchao in 2000, was Ding Song who was crowned the men's singles national champion in 1995. Never do we have a men's singles national champion aged over 35, but 39-year old chopper Hou Yingchao. He beat Ren Hao in the qualification round, then Liu Dingshuo in the round of 16, Liang Jingkun (champion from 2018 Nationals) in the quarterfinals, Zhou Qihao in the semifinals and finally a clean 4-0 win over Wang Chuqin in the final. Hou Yingchao chopped with tremendous spin variations and his big sudden forehand attacks and heavy side spin forehand loop made other players could not handle his shots.
Watch: MS quarterfinals, semifinals and final
Full Results: Men's Singles
Women's Singles: Sun Yingsha Takes Center Stage
Results for the women's singles was less of a surprise but the semifinals and final were simply top-notch. Sun Yingsha lost only 1 game (to Chen Meng in the semifinals) throughout the entire singles action and won her first singles national title in a dominant fashion beating Zhu Yuling 4-0. Whereas Wang Manyu the title holder from last year bowed out early in the quarterfinals losing 4-2 to He Zhuojia.
Watch: WS semifinals and final
Full Results: Women's Singles
Men's Team: Race For The Men's Team Title Drew To An Exciting Closing
Fits in the air and high fives with his teammates, it was not until Zhou Kai of PLA reached 11 point in the 5th game decider did the final places are decided. If you asked anyone 15 minutes before the match ended, many would tell you Beijing was very likely to defend their title. That tells how wild of a turn around Zhou Kai had pulled off. While other than the thrilling deciding 5th match, other matches of the final were very well played including the seemingly one-sided affair played between Liang Jingkun and Yan An in the fourth was exceptionally spectacular.
Apart from the prominent names, sometimes epic comebacks can be the savior of the team and perhaps the highlights of the day. Zhu Linfeng of Sichuan and Zhou Qihao of Guangdong demonstrated that in the semifinals against Beijing and PLA respectively.
Some may wonder where did the newly crowned national champion end in the team event. Unfortunately, the team Hou Yingchao represented, Shaanxi, was eliminated 3-1 in the round of 32 by Heilongjiang with the only point earned by the national champion.
Watch: MT R32, semifinals 1, semifinals 2 and final
Full Results: Men's Team
Women's Team: Thrilling Turn Around Played In The Race For Women's Team Title
In the midnight right after the women's singles final was played, Zhu Yuling posted a message on Chinese social media, Weibo, thanking her team and fans for supporting her no matter she was at her lows or highs. Her bright performance in the women's singles, placing second, and in the team semifinals, winning 3-0 over Wang Manyu, may suggest she has re-bounced from the disappointing defeats she experienced at the World Tours. Yet, being beaten 3-2 by Shandong's Wang Xiaotong in the final has cost her and the team the national team title may have overturned the progress she has made previously. Her performance at the semifinals and the finals were at a stark contrast, perhaps it's not just about her skills and tactics but her state of mind.
Hebei placed third two years in a row. Starring for Hebei was the newly crowned singles national champion Sun Yingsha who won every match in the team event (including an outstanding 5 games thriller against Chen Meng in the semifinals. However lacking depth, made securing the third point to seal the victory tough. The team did have a chance in the semifinal encounter against Gu Yuting of Shandong where He Zhuojia held 2 game points but she lost by the slenderest margin in the decider game 5.
Watch: WT semifinals 1, semifinals 2 and final
Full Results: Women's Team
Mixed Doubles: Gold For Lin Gaoyuan and Wang Manyu
The early exit of the defending champion Wang Chuqin / Sun Yingsha in the round of 16, being defeated by the 'lucky losers' Xia Yizheng / Che Xiaoxi, made the re-match of last year's final impossible. Lin Gaoyuan / Wang Manyu seized the opportunity, utilizing the advantage of left-right handed collaboration and edged out their opponents in the final, Zhou Qihao / Chen Xingtong. They walked away with the mixed doubles title winning 4-1.
Zhou Qihao / Chen Xingtong despite a new collaboration, had an eye-catching performance at the Nationals. They knocked out medal contender Liang Jingkun / Zhu Yuling in the quarterfinals 4-2 and Zheng Peifeng /Gu Yuting in the semifinals 4-1, which are some of the most exciting mixed doubles matches at the Nationals.
Watch: XD R16, quarterfinals, semifinals 1, semifinals 2 and final
Full Results: Mixed Doubles
Match Reports - more match video links included, so you can re-watch them at any time!
Day 1 (23 Jul): Mixed Doubles in Action
Day 2 (24 Jul): Big 5 Withdraw, Mixed Doubles & Team Draws Announced
Day 3 (25 Jul): Mixed Doubles Seeds Fall, Early Exit For Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha
Day 4 (26 Jul): Big Drama, Singles Main Draw Places Booked
Day 5 (27 Jul): Hou Yingchao Makes Top 8, Lin and Wang Claimed Mixed Doubles Gold
Day 6 (28 Jul): Defending Champions Dream Crushed, Surprise Semifinalists
Day 7 (29 Jul): Sun Yingsha and Hou Yingchao Crowned Singles National Champions
Day 8 (30 Jul): Unexpected Moments In The Opening Round Of Team Events
Day 9 (31 Jul): Teams Guaranteed Podium Finish
Day 10 (1 Aug): Wang Xiaotong Defeats Zhu Yuling, Shandong Strikes Gold
Day 11 (2 Aug): The Fighter, The Winner, The Hero, PLA Claims Gold
Full Results -- discover big wins and shocking defeats that took athletes to the podium
Mixed Doubles
Men's Singles
Women's Singles
Men's Team
Women's Team
The One-Stop Guide -- provides an overview of the competition format, schedule and links related to the Chinese Nationals, so you won't have to miss a thing if you can't watch it all.
2019 Chinese Nationals Guide
That's a wrap. Tell us the 2019 Chinese Nationals moment that strikes you the most and anything you would like us to know in the comment box below. Please do so because this is one of the few ways I know I'm reaching people. Coming up we will follow the 2019 China National Youth Games (U19 category) in Taiyuan and the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.
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