Sun Yingsha of Shenzhen University hits a shot against Liu Weishan of Shanghai Longteng in their singles match in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League women's team semifinals in east China's Shanghai Municipality, December 30, 2024. /CFP
Shenzhen University came back to knock out Shanghai Longteng 3-1 in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League women's team semifinals in east China's Shanghai Municipality on Monday, advancing to the final against Shandong Luneng.
Although Shenzhen were considered by many as a top championship contenders, they suffered an immediate blow in the opening doubles match. Liu Weishan and Chen Yi of Shanghai defeated Kuai Man and Qin Yuxuan in four games. Kuai and Qin clinched the first game 11-7, but then conceded three straight games. Liu and Chen grabbed a quick 11-4 win in the second to tie the match at 1-1. Then they overcame a 5-1 deficit to claim the third game 11-8. In the fourth, the pair from Shanghai saved two game points to edge their opponents 12-10, giving their side a 1-0 overall lead.
Shenzhen sent out world champion Sun Yingsha for the second contest against He Zhuojia. Sun lost the first game 12-10, but immediately responded with an 11-5 win to tie things up. She then continued to attack with aggression, claiming the next two games 11-5, 13-11 to take the match 3-1.
Kuai and Chen faced off in the third contest. Kuai's fast offense enabled her to grab the first two games 11-6, 11-9, but Chen took control of the rhythm in the next two games, prevailing 11-6, 11-6 to level the match at 2-2. In the decisive fifth game, Kuai outlasted her opponent 11-8 to give Shenzhen a 2-1 advantage.
Sun returned to the table for the fourth match against Liu, and all three games were decided by two points. In the end, Sun triumphed 11-9, 12-10, 13-11, sending Shenzhen to the final.
Wang Manyu of Shandong Luneng serves against Yao Ruixuan of Huangshi Base in their singles match in the Chinese Table Tennis Super League women's team semifinals in east China's Shanghai Municipality, December 30, 2024. /CFP
In the day's other semifinal showdown, Shandong Luneng swept past Huangshi Base, thanks to dominant performances from Chen Xingtong, Qian Tianyi and Wang Manyu.
Chen and Qian teamed up to walk past Cheng Hsien-Tzu and Miyu Kihara 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 in the first match. World No. 2 Wang didn't take long to defeat 15-year-old Yao Ruixuan 11-5, 11-3, 11-3, increasing Shandong's lead to 2-0.
Chen and Kihara faced off in the third match, and although Kihara began both the first and third games with a 3-0 advantage, Chen outlasted her 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 to seal the deal for Shandong.