National Table Tennis Olympic warm-up match ended in mixed doubles competition, “Xin Wen Lianbo” wins the championship
Source: China Sports News
Author: Li Xueying/Photo courtesy of China Table Tennis Association
Font: Big Middle Small
On June 21, the national table tennis preparations for the Tokyo Olympics warm-up match continued in Weihai, Shandong. After two days of competition, the mixed doubles competition ended all the competition. Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen won the round robin championship with 4 rounds of victories. Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui, Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu ranked second and third.
In the two games on the morning of the 21st, Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen and Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu both won. However, compared with Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu’s 4-0 victory over Zhou Qihao/Gu Yuting, the process of Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen’s victory over Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui with a special combination of backhand raw rubber is not easy. At the opening stage, Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui entered the state faster, took advantage of speed to quickly gain a 2-0 lead, and once led Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen 9-8 in the third game. However, Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen adjusted the tactics in a timely manner to reverse the unfavorable situation and won the game 11-9. Then the two sides fell into a fight again after a big draw, but Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen was more decisive in the handling of the key points. In the fifth and sixth innings, they held the victory with a slight advantage, and finally went 4-2. A big score to win.
In the afternoon match, the “Xin Wen Lianbo” combination had a bye. Under the leadership of coach Ma Lin and Chen Qi, they prepared for the evening game against China Hong Kong combination Huang Zhenting/Du Kaixuan.
The process of the two duels in the afternoon was calm. Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu defeated Huang Zhenting/Du Kaiyan 4-0, and Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui defeated Zhou Qihao/Gu Yuting 4-1. After the 3 rounds, Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu and Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui are both 2 wins and 1 loss, and they will directly decide their rankings in the evening showdown.
In the evening game, Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen, who had won three consecutive victories before, ushered in the last opponent Huang Zhenting/Du Kaixian in the round robin. At the beginning of the game, Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen changed their previous slow-heating state and took the lead in winning the first game. In the second game, Huang Zhenting/Du Kaiyan re-launched and pulled back tenaciously. After that, Xu Xin/Liu Shiwen strengthened their grasp of the key points, winning three consecutive cities, defeating Huang Zhenting/Du Kaixian with a big score of 4-1, and ending the Olympic warm-up match with a record of 4 wins.
Another match for second and third place was full of twists and turns. Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu took a 2-0 lead at the start, and then Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui did not give up. After a tenacious draw back 13-11 in the third game, they won two consecutive games to overtake the score. In the crucial sixth game, Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu resisted the pressure and dragged the game into a decisive game. In the decisive game, Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui took the lead of 8-4, Wang Chuqin/Wang Manyu once again chased the score to 7-9. At the critical moment, Lin Gaoyuan/Zhang Rui withstood the pressure and finally sealed the victory by 11-9 and won the game. After seven games, he won the second place in the mixed doubles competition of the Olympic warm-up match. (Reposted from the 01 edition of China Sports Daily on June 22)