March 12, 2010
A Changing of the Guard, New Generation Makes Presence Felt
 Zhang Jike booked his place in the Chinese Men's Team for Moscow by winning in Haerbin |
Courtesy of ITTF Xu Xin and Zhang Jike have booked their places in the Men’s Team, while Guo Yue and Liu Shiwen have reserved berths in the Women’s Team. |
Add all four ages together and 80 is the grand total! So far the average is 20 years old!
Second Selection Tournament Success
In January Xu Xin and Guo Yue won the respective Men’s and Women’s Singles events at the First Selection Tournament; on Friday March 12th, Zhang Jike succeeded the Second Men’s Selection Tournament held in Haerbin and Liu Shiwen prevailed in the counterpart female competition staged in Tianjin.
To date, of the players who were on duty for China at the Evergrande Real Estate World Championships in Guangzhou in 2008, only Guo Yue has assured herself of selection.
Ages
Furthermore, she is very much the senior citizen of the quartet, even though only 21 years old!
Guo Yue is seven months older the Zhang Jike; Xu Xin celebrated his 20th birthday in January and Liu Shiwen is a mere fledgling at 18 years old.
Beat the Best
All four players have shown outstanding form on the ITTF Pro Tour in 2010, with only Zhang Jike being bereft of a singles title; however, in Haerbin in a tournament to which eight players were invited and was organized on a knock-out basis, he faced the best and he beat the best.
He recorded a straight games quarter-final victory over three times Men’s Singles World champion, Wang Liqin; before defeating the current holder of the title, Wang Hao, with the loss of only one game, to book his place in the final.
Faced Ma Long
Matches played over five games, as they will be in the Liebherr World Team Championships in Moscow, Zhang Jike faced world no.1, Ma Long, in the final; the latter having defeated Hao Shuai in five games and Chen Qi in one game less.
It was a pressure cooker contest; in the deciding fifth game, Zhang Jike held three match points at 10-7; Ma long responded to win the next four points and at 11-10, held match point himself.
A chance but it went begging. Zhang Jike was decisive, he was positive; he won the next three points to claim victory and a ticket to Moscow.
Different System
Meanwhile, for the women, the system was somewhat different; a total of 16 players were invited with the initial stage being in two groups, eight players in each group with the top two from each group progressing to the knock-out stage.
Chang Chenchen and Guo Yan claimed the top two places in Group A with Liu Shiwen and Ding Ning in first and second position in Group B.
Semi-Finals
At the semi-final stage Ding Ning beat Chang Chenchen in six games (matches being best of seven games) while in a full distance seven games duel Liu Shiwen overcame Guo Yan by 4:3.
Therefore, two teenagers contested the final; Ding Ning is only 19 years old.
Brave Young Lady
Ding Ning made the better start, she won the first two games and led by three games to one but, as in the final of the Women’s Singles event at the Salwa Cup Kuwait Open in February, Liu Shiwen showed great resilience, she proved herself a player of character.
She recovered to win nail-biting sixth and seventh games to join Guo Yue in the Chinese Women’s Team for Moscow and thus in the Russian capital city she will make her debut in the World Team Championships.
A first appearance; it promises to be the first of many.
Women’s Selection Tournament
Group A
Guo Yan, Cao Zhen, Feng Yalan, Peng Luyang, Wen Jia, Chang Chenchen, Wang Xuan, Fan Ying
Group B
Liu Shiwen, Ding Ning, Li Xiaodan, Yao Yan, Mu Zi, Wu Yang, Yang Yang, Rao Jingwen
Semi-Final
Ding Ning bt Chang Chenchen 4-2
Liu Shiwen beat Guo Yan 4-3
Final
Liu Shiwen bt Ding Ning 7-11, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10, 11-9
Men’s Selection Tournament
Quarter-Finals
Ma Long bt Hao Shuai 12-10,11-13,11-5,5-11,11-5 (3-2)
Chen Qi bt Ma Lin 11-2,14-16,11-9,7-11,11-5 (3-2)
Zhang Jike bt Wang Liqin 11-4, 13-11, 11-6 (3-0)
Wang Hao bt Lei Zhenhua 11-6, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9 (3-1)
Semi-Final
Ma Long bt Chen Qi 11-6,9-11,12-10,11-7 (3-1)
Zhang Jike bt Wang Hao 11-2,8-11,11-4,11-9 (3-1)
Final
Zhang Jike bt Ma Long 12-10,4-11,11-6, 9-11, 13-11 (3-2)
| Download the latest Flash Player to view content. |