Lin Shidong of China hits a shot in the men's singles match against Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Montpellier in France, October 26, 2024. /CFP
Lin Shidong and Qian Tianyi of China advanced to the men's and the women's singles semifinals respectively at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Montpellier in France, on Saturday.
Top-seeded Lin Shidong came back to knock out No. 8 seed Lin Yun-Ju of Chinese Taipei 6-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-7 in the men's singles quarterfinals.
"I have played Lin Yun-Ju three times this month and it felt different on every occasion," Lin Shidong said. He will face fourth-seeded home paddler Felix Lebrun who defeated his brother Alexis LeBrun 11-6, 7-11, 16-14, 11-9. "I have played both of the brothers before with wins and losses. I will give my best tomorrow," Lin added.
Lin's compatriot, No. 2 Liang Jingkun, was eliminated by Benedikt Duda of Germany 11-9, 11-9, 11-7 in the match earlier on the day. Duda will compete with fifth-seeded Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan for a spot in the final. Harimoto beat German veteran Patrick Franziska 11-2, 11-9, 11-9 in the last eight.
Qian Tianyi of China hits a shot in the women's singles match against Manika Batra of India at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Montpellier in Montpellier, France, October 26, 2024. /CFP
Qian swept Manika Batra of India aside 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 in the women's singles quarterfinals. Her next opponent will be No. 3 seed, Miwa Harimoto of Japan, who walked over fifth-seeded Shin Yu-bin of South Korea 11-6, 11-9, 13-11.
Japanese favorite, No. 4 seed Mima Ito was upset by her compatriot Satsuki Ito 11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 11-6. Odo will continue to challenge another seeded player, No. 6 Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei who survived a four-game battle against Hana Goda of Egypt 5-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-8.