Chinese paddlers pocket men's and women's doubles trophy

BEIJING - China's Wang Chuqin and Liang Jingkun rallied to a five-set victory against teammates Lin Shidong and Lin Gaoyuan, claiming the men's doubles title at the World Table Tennis (WTT) China Smash on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Chen Xingtong and Qian Tianyi overcame Sun Yingsha and Wang Yidi in four sets in an all-Chinese women's doubles final.

The fourth-seeded pair Wang/Liang fought back to secure the win with scores of 8-11, 4-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9. "We waited a long time for the doubles title and didn't give up after being two sets down," Liang commented.

"This is my first doubles trophy pairing up with Liang at the WTT events. We kept concentrating on the skills and tactics to turn the tide," noted the 24-year-old Wang after the match.

In the women's doubles final, Chen/Qian defeated Sun/Wang 12-10, 12-10, 3-11, 11-7 to seal their victory.

The singles semifinals were played in a best-of-seven format, and China has already secured both the men's and women's singles titles.

China's most decorated Olympian Ma Long overcame third seed Liang with scores of 11-8, 11-7, 11-8, 12-10, setting up a final against 19-year-old Lin Shidong in the men's singles.

"My performance was beyond my expectations before the event. After reaching the last eight, I just felt relaxed and wanted to enjoy playing on the court. With a great mindset, I found some inspirations during the games and made some beautiful returns," said the 35-year-old Ma.

The women's singles final will be a showdown between the top two seeds - Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu, who defeated compatriots Fan Siqi and Chen Xingtong in their respective semifinals.

The 11-day WTT China Smash, the third and final WTT Grand Smash event of 2024, will conclude on Sunday with the singles finals. The event features a prize pool of $2 million, with champions in each of the five events earning 2,000 ITTF world ranking points.