Jingkun headlines Chinese sweep
When the line-up for the WTT World Table Tennis (WTT) Star Contender Goa was introduced and the legendary Chinese Ma Long, a two-time Olympic champion and arguably the best desk tennis participant ever, headlined it, followers went berserk, dashing to e-book tickets for the occasion.
Then simply days earlier than the occasion, it was introduced that Long and different high Chinese, together with girls’s Olympic champion Chen Meng, had pulled out as a result of Covid-19 and accidents. The Chinese had determined to relaxation their predominant crew forward of the Singapore Smash – the top-tier WTT match — subsequent week and despatched their ‘second string side’ as a substitute.
Only males’s World No. 1 Fan Zhendong was seen because the premier Chinese participant and when he shockingly misplaced within the Rd of 32 to World No. 193 Cho Daeseong of Korea, the Chinese dominance was threatened and Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto turned the favorite.
But China confirmed why they dominate the world of desk tennis, as they managed to clinch the boys’s and girls’s singles right here on Sunday.
What was putting concerning the wins was that each the winners weren’t on the preliminary record of gamers to return to India for the match. It was solely after Long and Meng pulled out, that they had been advised they needed to journey to India.
Ms. Petra Sorling, President, International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF); Cheng I-Ching (Runner-up in Women’s single); Wang Yidi (Winner in girls’s single) and Shri. Anurag Thakur, Hon. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs and Sports
In the ladies’s singles, China’s Wang Yidi swept apart Cheng I-Ching 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4) however the spotlight of the day was the boys’s singles remaining performed between the 2 Chinese paddlers — teenage wonderkid Lin Shidong and 26-year-old Liang Jingkun. The skilled Jingkun prevailed 4-2 (11-6, 9/11, 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 11-9) in a match that utterly lived as much as its high billing.
After profitable the primary sport, Jingkun misplaced the following two and was in dire straits at 1-7 within the fourth. But he fought again, and saved three sport factors at 7-10 earlier than profitable 10-12. Fighting again was one thing he needed to do within the subsequent sport too, being down 10-8. In the sixth, nonetheless, it was the alternative. Leading 8-2, the World No. 7 allowed Shidong to attract degree, earlier than holding his nerve to shut out the match.
Though Shidong misplaced, he handled desk tennis lovers who travelled from throughout India, primarily Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Delhi, to some riveting motion on the first WTT match held on Indian shores.
Cheng I-Ching & Li Yu-Jhun (Runner-ups in Women’s Doubles) and Miyu Nagasaki & Miwa Harimoto (Winners in Women’s Doubles) on the correct and Shunsuke Togamai & Yukiya Uda (Runner-ups in Men’s Doubles) and Cho Seungmin & An Jaehyun (Winners in Men’s Doubles) on the left. (WTT)
One of the principle paddlers of the Chinese nationwide crew, Shidong has numerous hopes driving on him. With his lightning-fast forehand loop and counter-topspin strokes, he’s seen as Long’s successor and that’s some humongous sneakers to fill in. Jingkun even admitted after the ultimate that he treats Shidong as “a main player in the Chinese team in the years to come”.
Paris Games contender
Jingkun himself has been in phenomenal kind and is seen as a medal contender for the 2024 Paris Olympics. He had been in magnificent kind all week main as much as the ultimate, choosing up spectacular wins over the World’s Top 30 gamers Wong Chun Ting and Lin Gaoyuan. His 3-1 semifinal win over Harimoto was an exciting topspin contest.
China dominate the world rating in relation to desk tennis. The top-three males and top-four girls all come from the nation. By far, they’ve been probably the most profitable nation in relation to TT on the Olympics profitable a whopping 60 medals together with 36 gold.
When requested what they do in a different way that makes them such a dominant drive, Jingkun simply laughed. “There’s no secret ingredient. We just train very hard as a team. We train together and constantly motivate each other to become better,” he mentioned.
Then there’s additionally the mentality of by no means giving up, one thing that Jingkun confirmed fairly prominently within the title conflict.
“My mindset was positive. Although he (Shidong) played really well, since I was mentally strong, I could scrape through to a win. Even if you are down, the mindset is to make a comeback. You just have to stay positive,” Jingkun mentioned.
It could also be his first Star Contender title, having gained 4 WTT Series trophies earlier, however Jingkun has no time to rejoice. “I just want to go home and rest before the Singapore event next week,” he mentioned.
He wasn’t seen as a favorite for the Smash, however with this win, there’s no ruling him out.
