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29 March 2024

China on course to win double in Classic

China's Zhang Jike set up their victory against Austria in the semifinal of the UAE World Team Cup Classic at Al Nasr Club in Dubai on Thursday. (XAVIER WILSON)

Published
By Allaam Ousman
Favourites China were on course for a double in the World Table Tennis Cup Classic after both their men and women swept aside their rivals to book their berth in Friday’s finals.
The Chinese women’s team recovered from a shock loss in their opening match before winning their semifinal duel against South Korea while the men’s team did not even need the services of the world’s top ranked player Ma Long to post an emphatic 3-0 victory over Austria at Al Nasr Club on Thursday afternoon.
Ha Jung Seok provided the shock of the morning when she won a knife-edge game against Xiaoxia Li but the Chinese asserted their authority thereafter to prevent any further upsets.
Zhang Jike making his first appearance in the UAE event reposed the confidence placed on him by coach Liu Guoliang with a match-winning performance. Winner of the men’s singles title at the Asian Cup and fresh from his success at the China Open, Zhang proved that he was the man in form defeating Habesohn 3-1 in the opening singles.
Hao Wang consolidated their position by defeating Austria’s top player Werner Schlager also by a similar margin but it was Zhang pairing with Xu Xin sealed China’s victory in the double with a virtuoso display.
“All five members of the team are of similar level. It really depends on the strategy we use in different match,” said Zhang who is relishing the prospect of spearheading China to victory in the final.
His confidence is also growing as he targets the singles title at the World Championships in Rotterdam next year apart from qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics.
South Korea booked their berth in the men’s final when Joo Se Hyuk sealed a 3-1 victory over Germany by defeating the powerful 22 year-old Steffen Mengel in the reverse single.
He made amends for his loss in the opening match of the duel to the in-form Patrick Baum in the reverse single.
Reigning world champions had to pull out stops before overcoming Japan in a classic women’s semifinal contest where 17 year old Kasumi Ishikawa stole the show.
 
The cool teenager won her opening match against Feng Tianwei and anchored her team to victory in the doubles. But Ai Sukuhara lost both her singles to concede victory to Singapore.
Results
MEN
Semifinals
China beat Austria 3-0
Singles
Zhang Jike beat Daniel Habesohn 3-1 (12-10 11-2 7-11 11-6)
Hao Wang beat Werner Schlager 3-1 (9-11 11-4 11-2 11-6)
Doubles
Xu Xin/Zhang Jike beat Stefan Fegerl 3-1 (11-4 8-11 11-4 11-7)
South Korea beat Germany 3-1
Singles
Joo Se Hyuk lost to Patrick Baum 2-3 (7-11 11-4 8-11 11-5 8-11)
Sang Eun Oh beat Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth 3-1 (8-11 11-7 11-8 11-6)
Doubles
Jung Woo Lee/Sang Eun Oh beat Steffen Mengel/Zoltan Fejer-Konnerth 3-1 (11-6 7-11 11-2 11-8)
Reverse singles
Joo Se Hyuk beat Steffen Mengel 3-0 (11-7 11-8 11-5)
Quarter-finals
China beat Japan 3-1, Austria beat Hong Kong-China 3-1, South Korea beat Brazil 3-0, Germany beat Nigeria 3-1
WOMEN
Semifinals
China beat South Korea 3-1
Singles
Xiaoxia Li lost to Ha Jung Seok 2-3 (11-3 4-11 7-11 11-3 9-11)
Yan Guo beat Mi Young Park 3-1 (11-3 9-11 11-7 11-8)
Doubles
Yan Guo/ Xiaoxia Li beat Ha Eun Yang/ Ha Jung Seok 3-0 (11-5 12-10 11-5)
Singapore beat Japan 3-2
Singles
Feng Tianwei lost to Kasumi Ishikawa 0-3 (13-15 4-11 3-11)
Yuegu Wang beat Ai Fukuhara 3-2 (12-10 7-11 11-5 5-11 13-11)
Doubles
Jiawei Li/ Yuegu Wang lost to Hiroko Fujii/ Kasumi Ishikawa 1-3 (6-11 9-11 11-5 10-12)
Reverse singles
Feng Tianwei beat Hiroko Fujii 3-1 (9-11 11-9 11-3 11-3)
Jiawei Li beat Ai Fukuhara 3-0 (11-5 11-8 11-9)
Quarter-finals
China beat Hong Kong-China 3-0, South Korea beat Congo Brazzaville 3-0, Japan beat Germany 3-1, Singapore beat Hungary 3-1