Busan
China withstood huge pressure from hosts South Korea to triumph in a full-set thriller here on Saturday, moving one win away from achieving its 11th straight men’s title at the ITTF World Team Table Tennis (WTTT) Championships Finals. In the semifinal clash which lasted over three hours, world No. 1 Fan Zhendong picked up two wins and saved China from the brink of defeat, while Wang Chuqin made amends for his opening loss with a straight-game victory in the decisive matchup, as reported to sources.
Amid the loud cheers from the crowd at the full-packed Busan Exhibition and Convention Center, Wang stepped up to the table first, facing off against Jang Woo-jin, the highest-ranked player in South Korea’s squad. Fueled by the home crowd’s support, the 14th-ranked Jang raced ahead by one game at 11-7, but Wang pocketed eight points in a row on his way to an 11-2 victory in the second game to restore parity.
As both players focused on their first three strokes, quite a few rallies were seen for the most part of the match. Down 1-4 in the third game, Wang went neck and neck with his rival for an 11-all tie, before the home paddler scored two straight points to prevail. Facing a 1-4 deficit in the fourth game, Wang called a timeout, while Jang’s two catch-net points thwarted the comeback effort from the world No. 2, who fell 11-6 as it marked the first dropped set for the reigning champions in the Busan event. Fan and Jang put on their duel between the two sides’ No. 1 paddlers. With the defending champions’ hope of forcing the decisive matchup resting on his shoulders, Fan lived up to his task, prevailing 11-6, 11-7, 12-10 with both teams returning to level terms. Wang closed out China’s nail-biting victory with an 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 win against Lim. The final hurdle for China’s title defense on Sunday will be either France or Chinese Taipei, who will cross swords later on Saturday.
