Wang Liqin successfully defended the mixed doubles title and remained on course for another two more on Friday, continuing Chinese domination at the World Table Tennis Championships.
Wang and Guo Yue defeated fellow Chinese Ma Lin and Wang Nan 13-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 9-11, 12-10. Wang was also continued his march through the men's singles and doubles field.
He beat Hou Yingchao of China, 11-9, 11-9, 11-7, 11-6, to reach the semi-finals of the singles and teamed with Wang Hao for a place in the doubles final after beating Chang Yen-Shu and Chang Peng-Lung of Taiwan 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5.
PHOTO: AFP
The pair will meet Olympic champions Ma Lin and Chen Qi of China, who defeated Ko Lai Chak and Li Ching of Hong Kong, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7.
Despite their loss in the mixed doubles final, both Ma and Wang Nan remain in contention for titles in their respective singles and doubles.
The No. 1 seed in men's singles, Ma beat Leung Chu Yan of Hong Kong 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-7 to reach quarter-finals, as did European champion and third-ranked Timo Boll of Germany, who defeated Kalinikos Kreanga of Greece 11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 15-13, 11-4.
Defending her women's singles and doubles titles, top-seeded Zhang Yining advanced into the semi-finals of the singles, ousting Kim Kyung-ah of South Korea 11-3, 11-4, 11-6, 16-14. She will meet compatriot Gou Yue, who overcame Wang Chen of the US, 11-6, 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8.
In the other quarter-finals, second-ranked Wang Nan defeated Chinese countrywoman Li Xiaoxia 11-5, 11-6, 12-10, 14-16, 11-8, to set up a semi-final with third-seeded Guo Yan, who beat Peng Luyang of China, 11-6, 11, 6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8.
The women's singles and the men's doubles were scheduled for yesterday, while the men's singles finals and the women's doubles are set for today.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set