Chinese table tennis star Ding Ning defeated up-and-coming Japanese sensation Miu Hirano in the women's singles semifinals at the World Table Tennis Championships on Saturday, booking a place in the final against compatriot Zhu Yuling. 

Ding, the Rio Olympic champion, won four of the five sets in the game in Germany's Dusseldorf. 

Hirano was seen as a hopeful who might shake China's long-domination in table tennis. 

Just a month ago, the 17-year-old Japanese beat three Chinese players, including Ding Ning, to take gold at the Asian Table Tennis Championships.