What a day at the Asian Table Tennis Team Championships in New Delhi 🇮🇳! The defending champs, the Chinese mainland team, had to dust off early nerves to beat Iran 3-1 and secure a spot in the semis against Japan.
In the opener, world No.2 Lin Shidong faced 15-year-old Benyamin Faraji – the same young prodigy who shocked Wang Chuqin last year. Faraji pulled off another stunner, edging Lin 3-2 to give Iran a surprise 1-0 lead. Talk about teenage power! 💥
But no sweat for the Chinese mainland team: world No.7 Liang Jingkun bounced back, dropping the first game 11-8, then taking the next three in tight fashion (13-11, 11-8, 13-11) to tie things up. Next, world No.1 Wang Chuqin made quick work of Amir Hodeyi with a clean 3-0 sweep, putting the Chinese mainland team ahead.
Lin Shidong returned to crush Noshad Alamian 3-0 in the fourth match, sealing the 3-1 win for the Chinese mainland team. Semis showdown with Japan, here we come! 🏓✨
On the women's side, last year's runners-up, the Chinese mainland women's team rolled past Thailand 3-0. World No.2 Wang Manyu kicked things off with a smooth win over Orawan Paranang. Then world No.1 Sun Yingsha followed up with an 11-7, 11-8, 13-11 victory over Suthasini Sawettabut.
To complete the perfect sweep, world No.4 Kuai Man beat Jinnipa Sawettabut 11-6, 11-7, 11-8. Next up: a semifinal against South Korea on Tuesday. Game on! 🎉
Reference(s):
China beat Iran for semis at Asian Table Tennis Team Championships
cgtn.com
