Bazhou stun Weiqiao to meet Bayi
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E-mail Xinhua, December 30, 2016
After finishing a clean sweep over Shanghai Zhongxing on Friday, Bayi will meet Bazhou Hairun, who stunned regular season leaders Shandong Weiqiao 3-1, in men's final of the China Table Tennis Super League (CTTSL).
The 20-year-old Zhou Kai played a crucial role in Bayi's 3-0 win over Shanghai as he fended off Xu Xin's attacks to win at 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 4-11, 8-6 in the opening match of the semifinal.
"Bayi deserved the win. After I lost the opening match, our opponents were much motivated," said Xu about his loss to Zhou.
Bayi's Fan Zhendong, regular season's best personal record holder, added another point beating South Korean Jeoung Youngsik 3-0. Zhou Yu and Xu Chenhao overcame Zhao Zihao and Shang Kun 2-0 in the doubles to secure Bayi's final spot.
"My teammates played pretty well today, and they made me feel much relieved," said World Cup champion Fan.
Liang Jingkun had a heroic performance in Bazhou's surprise victory over Weiqiao as he won two singles, first against Yan An and then Olympic gold medallist Ma Long.
In the opening match, world No. 1 Ma Long came back from a game down to win 7-11, 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 against 16-year-old Wang Chuqin, before Liang tied the overall score 1-1 beating Yan An through a five-game thriller.
Cheng Jingqi and Fan Shengpeng gave Bazhou a 2-1 lead as they beat Lin Gaoyuan and Yan An 2-0 in the doubles. Liang continued the momentum in a fierce matchup against Ma with his aggressive style of play, and sealed the win for Bazhou after surprising Ma 3-1.
"They played much more aggressively than us, and deserved the win. We squandered several chances," said Ma.
CTTSL women's final on Saturday will feature Shandong Luneng and Wuhan Anxin.
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