Excitement is building at the World Table Tennis (WTT) Champions Montpellier as two Chinese paddlers have secured their spots in the semifinals. Lin Shidong and Qian Tianyi demonstrated exceptional skill and determination on Saturday, advancing to the men's and women's singles semifinals respectively.
Top-seeded Lin Shidong showcased his prowess by overcoming the No. 8 seed from Chinese Taipei, Lin Yun-Ju, with a scoreline of 6-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-7 in a thrilling quarterfinal match. Reflecting on his performance, Lin shared, \"I have played Lin Yun-Ju three times this month and it felt different on every occasion.\" Lin will now face the fourth-seeded home favorite, Felix Lebrun, who triumphed over his brother Alexis LeBrun in a tightly contested match, finishing 11-6, 7-11, 16-14, 11-9.
Meanwhile, in the women's singles, Qian Tianyi advanced smoothly to the semifinals, adding to China’s impressive performance at the tournament. Earlier in the day, Lin's compatriot, No. 2 Liang Jingkun, was ousted by Germany's Benedikt Duda with scores of 11-9, 11-9, 11-7. Duda will now compete against Japan's fifth-seeded Tomokazu Harimoto, who secured his semifinal spot by defeating Patrick Franziska 11-2, 11-9, 11-9.
The road to the finals promises intense competition as these top athletes continue to showcase their skills on the global stage, inspiring young table tennis enthusiasts and fans around the world.
Reference(s):
Two Chinese paddlers reach semifinals at WTT Champions Montpellier
cgtn.com
