In a week of thrilling table tennis action under the neon lights of Las Vegas, paddlers from the Chinese mainland stamped their authority at the World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash.
The first title came in mixed doubles, where Lin Shidong and Kuai Man powered past the Republic of Korea’s Lim Jong-hoon and Shin Yu-bin in straight games, edging out a 13-11, 16-14, 11-6 victory on Friday.
On Saturday, Kuai Man paired with Wang Yidi to clinch the women’s doubles gold. They battled second-seeded compatriots Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu in a gripping five-game duel (14-16, 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 9-11) to lift their second trophy of the tournament.
The men’s doubles title went to the ROK duo Lim Jong-hoon and An Jae-hyun, who recovered from a first-game loss to defeat France’s Alexis and Felix Lebrun 4-11, 13-11, 11-5, 11-6.
In women’s singles, dark horse Chen Yi of the Chinese mainland stunned fifth seed Kuai Man over seven games (6-11, 11-3, 3-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-1, 11-9) and will face China’s Macao contender Zhu Yuling—fresh from defeating Japan’s Mima Ito— in Sunday’s final.
China’s mainland second seed Wang Chuqin also advanced to the men’s singles final, edging Felix Lebrun 11-9, 5-11, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-9 in a nail-biter.
As the WTT US Smash wraps up in Vegas, Sunday’s finals promise to cap off a week of high-octane table tennis with more drama and potential new champions.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
