Table tennis qualifiers for 15th National Games of China wrap up

The table tennis qualifiers for the 15th National Games of China came to an end on Wednesday in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Sun Wen of Jiangsu swept past Zhou Yu of Hebei in straight games for his spot in the men's singles event at the National Games. Sun took control of the contest from the start with some superior serving. He clinched the first game 11-8 and then the second 11-3, before claiming the third and fourth by scores of 11-6.

In other action, Beijing's Huang Youzheng beat Shanghai's Zhao Zihao. Huang was in the better form throughout and built up an early 3-0 lead by clinching the first three games 11-9, 11-8 and 11-3. Though Zhao avoided being swept by taking the fourth 11-9, Huang sealed the deal 11-9 in the fifth to secure his place.

Huang's teammate Xu Chenhao also qualified after surviving a seven-game battle with Heilongjiang's Wei Shihao. Xu led 3-1 after four games, but Wei mounted a comeback and got level at three-games each. Xu trailed 6-2 in the decider, but managed to turn the tide for an 11-9 victory.

On the women's side, Jiangsu's Shi Xunyao beat Heilongjiang's Che Xiaoxi. Shi's advantage was obvious from the beginning and she swept past Che 11-8, 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 to seal her spot.

Hebei's He Zhuojia also secured an easy victory over Guangdong's Yang Shilu in straight games to be sure of her place at November's national games.

Meanwhile, He's teammate Wang Tianyi needed seven-games to battle past Tianjin's Liu Weishan. Wang trailed 2-1 after the first three games, but clinched the following two to lead 3-2. Liu tied the match at 3-3 by taking the next game 11-5. But In the end, Wang outplayed Liu 11-5 in the decider for the overall win and her place at the National Games.

Moreover, all 24 pairs for the mixed doubles event have been confirmed with Hebei and Tianjin sealing the final two places. Hebei's Liang Yanning and He Zhuojia beat Su Yujie and Xiao Yujie of Fujian. Liang and He were stronger at the key points, and they managed to win it 12-10, 11-8 and 13-11 in straight games. Tianjin's Hao Shuai and Liu Weishan got past Chongqing's Yin Mengze and He Xiaoyu. Hao and Liu were not troubled much throughout and went on to win 11-6, 11-5, 11-3 in straight games.