Table Tennis: Super Grand Slam

Chapter 185: Li Yingsheng and Kong Fengge defend their men's singles titles, and Li Ying wins his second consecutive title at the Table Tennis Asian Championships
2月27日，下午进行的第20届亚洲乒乓球锦标赛男双次轮中，2号种子、夏国选手蒙里/徐归年以0-3负于印度选手，止步32强。

There were two pairs of men's doubles players from the Xiaguo team, ranked first and second respectively. They both received byes in the first round and advanced directly to the top 32. In the second round, the top seeds Kong Fengge/Liang Long won 3-0 and entered the third round.

to this end.

During the game.

The men's team head coach Dong Yaobang specially convened a small meeting of the national table tennis team.

"I didn't watch your doubles match live, but I understand some of the situations. It must be that you guys didn't play well. You didn't pay enough attention to your preparations at the beginning. I heard that Monli made a lot of mistakes at the beginning, which is not normal."

"The opponent also has certain strength. Don't think that they are not good enough just because they are Indian players. In fact, they are also very strong in singles. In addition, we did not pay enough attention. We were loose at the beginning and tight at the end. We lost mainly because of these aspects."

"Don't let your guard down when facing any opponent. Never underestimate the enemy. Otherwise, you are not Li Ying, so why do you think your opponent can't defeat you?"

Hearing this, Li Ying felt very helpless.

but.

Whether it was Mengli or Xu Guinian, they could only bear it.

Because the men's team head coaches Dong Yaobang and Li Ying are both great players whom they cannot afford to offend.

"In the men's singles, our five Xia Guo tigers all swept through the first round and advanced. In the second round, Li Ying, Kong Fengge, and Liang Long all advanced with a perfect 4-0 victory, while Xu Guinian won 4-1. Meng Li advanced to the third round without a fight because his opponent was injured!"

"But don't be careless."

Li Ying only participated in men's singles and mixed doubles.

In the mixed doubles competition of the 20th Asian Table Tennis Championships, there were two pairs of players from the Xia country participating in the mixed doubles competition. As the top two seeds, they both had a bye in the first round.

No. 2 seeds Xu Guinian/Xu Mingyue defeated the mixed doubles combination of Singapore 3-0 and entered the semi-finals.

2 month 28 day.

The mixed doubles semi-finals of the Asian Championships are over.

徐归年/许明月在6-11先失一局的情况下，以11-4、11-9、11-7、11-8连扳四局，4-1战胜了对手。

In the final, they will compete with Li Ying/Wang Xianlan for the championship.

After the semi-finals.

Li Ying looked at Wang Xianlan.

There was a hint of fatigue on her extremely beautiful face.

"Xianlan, didn't you get enough rest last night?" Li Ying asked with concern.

Wang Xianlan laughed and said, "We got up too early. The Olympic year is very important to everyone. Not only in the competition, but also in daily life, including eating, we are very strict. At night we spent a very long time gluing the boards, and we had to make sure the boards were passable before we could go to bed, so we went to bed late at night. We got up early this morning, and the gym was cold, so it was actually not very good to play."

"In that case, the mixed doubles final will start tonight." Li Ying said with a smile.

"It will be a little better at night. Generally, players in big competitions will be more excited during the evening competitions. So I'll go back and take a nap."

Wang Xianlan nodded heavily.

In fact.

She has paired up with Li Ying many times to participate in mixed doubles competitions.

Like last year's Asian Games, Li Ying and Wang Xianlan did not participate in the mixed doubles of the World Table Tennis Championships.

That’s because the Chinese national table tennis team has always awarded the mixed doubles championship to other members who have worked diligently to help the main players of the national table tennis team in training.

and so.

In this situation.

As the leader of the men's team, Li Ying, and the leader of the women's team, Wang Xianlan, it is impossible for them to pair up to participate in the mixed doubles.

"Our opponents, this is the third time that Xu Mingyue and Xu Guinian have paired up to participate in a mixed doubles competition, the previous ones were the 2007 Zagreb World Table Tennis Championships and the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games!" Li Ying said with a smile.

"Xu Guinian and I have indeed played together many times, and we are relatively familiar with each other. He knows the characteristics of my playing style, and I basically understand his strengths and weaknesses, so we are quite comfortable playing against each other." Li Ying said with a smile.

At noon, following Li Ying's arrangement, Wang Xianlan went to take a nap.

During the evening competition, Wang Xianlan was full of energy and spirit.

In this case.

Xu Guinian/Xu Mingyue, doesn't have any chance at all.

because.

It would be difficult for them to handle Li Ying alone.

Not to mention.

Now Wang Xianlan is also performing at her peak level.

Close-to-table quick attack, the only martial arts in the world that cannot be defeated is speed, which is Wang Xianlan’s main skill and means of scoring.

In this case.

Asian Championships mixed doubles final.

Li Ying/Wang Xianlan defended the mixed doubles championship and were the first to win a gold medal for the Xia national team.

Xu Guinian and Xu Mingyue could only get the runner-up with great regret.

But no matter what, the first and second place were both won by the Xia country's national table tennis team.

Subsequently.

In the men's doubles match.

Although the double insurance combination of Xia Guo's national table tennis team, Xu Guinian/Meng Li, unexpectedly failed.

but.

Liang Long and Kong Fengge finally retained the men's doubles championship!

After the team and doubles competitions, the next highlight is the singles competition.

3 month 1 day.

The 2012 Asian Table Tennis Championships entered its final day of competition in Haojiang today.

Li Ying had just finished his match, defeating Tomoaki Furukawa and advancing into the men's singles semi-finals.

Then, we came to watch the focus match of the men's singles quarter-finals.

Beijing Olympic Games runner-up Meng Li competes against Xu Guinian.

The situation in this semi-final was quite stalemate. From the beginning to the end, neither Xu Guinian nor Meng Li was able to gain a particularly obvious advantage. The two sides fought with wits and courage, chasing each other, and put up a wonderful tug-of-war.

Mengli won the first game 11-6, and Xu Guinian won the second and third games to overtake.

After that, both sides won one game each, and Xu Guinian took the lead 3 to 2. In the crucial sixth game, Mengli won 11 to 8, bringing the game into the deciding game.

In the deciding game, the scores of both sides rose alternately and tied at 9-9. At the critical moment, Mengli dodged and scored a forehand to get the match point. In the next point, Xu Guinian attacked for a long time but failed, and finally lost 9-11.

After the game, Xu Guinian was interviewed by reporters in the mixed zone. Talking about the quarter-final that just ended, although Xu Guinian lost the game, he thought that both sides were evenly matched and he felt okay overall. "The score was still very close. Maybe the weather was a bit humid and there were a few more unnecessary offensive mistakes." Xu Guinian said frankly.

Xu Guinian's Asian Championships journey has come to an end. Looking back at his performance in Macau, he helped the team win the men's team competition. In the men's doubles competition, he and Monri were upset by an Indian player in the second round. In the men's singles, he made it to the quarterfinals.

"Overall it was OK. I learned a lot from the game. I feel it was better than before, including my self-motivation on the field and my inspiration for the game." Xu Guinian summed up himself, "Next I have to return to Pengcheng for closed training and strive to practice better."

As the London Olympics draws near, the competition for Olympic qualification among the national table tennis players is becoming increasingly fierce. However, as the absolute main force with the least experience among the current Chinese men's table tennis players, when asked if he feels a lot of pressure at the moment, Xu Guinian answered very calmly, "It's okay. For me, I've been used to it for a long time. I have been competing for many years, so it's normal.

As for the other half.

It is Li Ying VS Liang Long.

In this case, men's table tennis is the same as women's table tennis.

In the singles game, all four places were taken.

As for the women's table tennis team.

They are Wang Xianlan, Qiao Yuning, Ji Chuanxia and Xu Mingyue.

The women's singles semi-final matchups are Qiao Yuning VS Ji Chuanxia, ​​Wang Xianlan VS Xu Mingyue!
It can be said.

Up to this point in the Asian Championships, it was almost all internal fighting among the national table tennis team.

Men's singles semi-finals.

Mengli VS Kong Fengge starts the battle.

at this time.

Li Ying did not even go for warm-up training. He just sat aside and watched the game silently with Chen Daqian.

Kong Fengge actively attacked after the start of the game, but Mengli was a little slow to get into the game. With the score of 11 to 5, Kong Fengge took the lead.

Monli gradually found his rhythm and made a strong effort in the second game, pulling back a point with 11 to 8.

In the third game, Kong Fengge quickly took the lead and got the game point first with 10 to 7. Although Monli resolved two crises, he did not seize a single opportunity. Kong Fengge narrowly won with 11 to 9 and led the total score 2 to 1.

第四局中蒙里以10比8率先拿到局点，可是他却没有把握住机会，孔凤歌连追两分扳平。11平后他又连拿两分以13比11拿下，总比分3比1领先。

士气大振的孔凤歌在第五局又很快领跑，10比8拿到赛点。被逼入绝境的蒙里连扳两分追成10平，孔凤歌又一次得到赛点，可惜又没有把握住，蒙里在10比11后连赢3分以13比11扳回，总比分追成2比3。

The resurgent Monli continued to pursue the victory in the sixth game, winning 11-8 and dragging the game into the deciding game.

In the deciding game, Monli had a good start and quickly took the lead 4-1. Kong Fengge requested a timeout.

When the two returned to the court, Kong Fengge narrowed the gap, but Monri continued to maintain the lead and got the match point with 10-7.

Kong Fengge, who was forced into a desperate situation, successfully rebounded and saved three match points to tie the score to 10. Monli was obviously affected, and Kong Fengge won two points in a row. As he scored on the serve, 12 to 10, Kong Fengge finally reversed at the fourth match point and won the deciding game, eliminating Monli 4 to 3 and advancing to the final.

After the game, Monri went for an interview.

But this time.

Li Ying has already stood up.

already.

His semi-final match with Liang Long is about to begin.

competition is over.

Liang Long tried his best.

But he was still defeated by Li Ying 4 to 2.

Liang Long, who lost the game, was very calm.

When facing Li Ying, he could only smile bitterly.

Li Ying didn't say much. They just shook hands and patted each other on the shoulders. Everything was said without words.

night.

The highlight of the show.

It's the men's singles final.

Li Ying VS Kong Fengge!
This is another extremely classic duel.

To know.

Last year's words.

In the Rotterdam World Table Tennis Championships, the Men's World Cup finals, and the year-end finals, Li Ying faced Kong Fengge.

Battle between Kirin and Phoenix.

Until now in the Asian Championships, the men's singles final is still Li Ying versus Kong Fengge.

only.

Countless people are looking forward to it.

But the ending.

But I could never imagine it.

In the latest world rankings released by the International Table Tennis Federation, Li Ying and Kong Fengge ranked first and second. Kong Fengge took the lead 4-2 at the beginning of the game. After the score became 7-3, Li Ying fought harder and Li Ying scored 4 points in a row to tie the score at 7. After the score was tied at 8, Kong Fengge scored again and took the lead. Li Ying responded with two points and overtook 10-9 to get the game point. Li Ying scored with a forehand pull, 11-9, and Li Ying won the first game.

In the second game, Kong Fengge made full use of the advantage of backhand position and started with 5-1. Li Ying paid attention to controlling his opponent with the return ball landing point, which allowed him to get rid of the passive situation and chase to 5-6. Kong Fengge responded quickly to widen the gap, and Li Ying chased to 8-4. Kong Fengge's two serve returns were very good, and he scored two points in a row to get the game point. At this time, Li Ying did not show any mercy. He won 12 points in a row and won another game with 10-2, leading the total score 0-.

Li Ying quickly took the lead with 4-1 in the third game. After Kong Fengge chased to 4-5, Li Ying continued to attack and won two points in a row to widen the gap. After Kong Fengge tied the score to 8, he served out of the table. Li Ying directly sideways and pulled to score. Kong Fengge quickly responded with a serve attack, 9-10. Li Ying served and pulled straight to score, and he got the game point with 9-10. Kong Fengge received the serve and put it short out of the table. Li Ying took the initiative to pull the ball. Kong Fengge retreated to the middle and far table and fought hard with a forehand counter-pull. Li Ying missed the pull and tied 12. However, Li Ying was not affected. He scored two more points. With Kong Fengge eating a serve, 10-3, Li Ying added icing on the cake and took the lead with a total score of 0-.

In the fourth game, Li Ying took advantage of the victory and started with a 5-2 lead. Kong Fengge requested a timeout. Back on the court, Kong Fengge made a mistake in forehand pull. In the stalemate, he returned the ball into the net. Then, he received the serve with his backhand and it went out of bounds. Li Ying extended the advantage to 6 points. After both sides scored 1 point, Li Ying lost two points in a row. He chose to request a timeout. After adjustments, Li Ying quickly scored points and got the championship point with 10 to 5. Kong Fengge made a mistake in serving and attacking, 11 to 5. Li Ying won the fourth game and swept Kong Fengge 4 to 0 to win the championship.

In this final, Kong Fengge lost directly with 0-4, and this result was more or less unexpected.

When the game was over, Kong Fengge was so lost in thought that he even forgot to give Li Ying a polite handshake.

Li Ying didn't say much. He went to shake hands with the referee and Kong Fengge's head coach Liao Huazhong, and then returned to Chen Daqian.

Right now.

Liao Huazhong hurriedly caught up with Kong Fengge who was a little dazed.

"Feng Ge, why didn't you shake hands with Li Ying just now?"

After Liao Huazhong said this, Kong Fengge finally woke up from his dream.

"Ah, didn't I shake hands just now?" Kong Fengge kept thinking about the game.

Liao Huazhong: “???”

"Forget it, I'll explain it to Aying later!"

at this time.

Kong Fengge has arrived at the press conference room.

Immediately.

First accept the interview from the reporter.

Kong Fengge had obviously gotten out of the game state, and after sitting down he spoke to the reporters very sincerely.

"I didn't shake hands with Li Ying just now. First of all, I want to clarify here that I didn't mean to do that. Maybe I was too immersed in the details of the game."

Kong Fengge laughed.

Talking about the reason for the big loss in this game, Kong Fengge summarized, "I didn't win the first two games because I had the chances. I didn't grasp the key shots well. I lost both times when I was leading. In the third game, I was behind and it was 10-10 but I lost. I lost two points in all three games. My mentality was affected to a certain extent, and there was a certain fluctuation."

Li Ying continued his hot performance, and Zhang Jike was generous with his praises when talking about this teammate who has been extremely popular since joining the national team.

"Li Ying has very comprehensive skills. As the world's No. 1 player, I think his game is impeccable. I think it's very interesting to play against him. Both sides can compete with each other. Whether we win or lose, we can draw certain conclusions. So I look forward to playing against him next time."

Talking about the semi-final with Monli in the afternoon, Kong Fengge said that the game was full of twists and turns, and he and Monli were in and out of the game several times in the tug-of-war.

孔凤歌说：“我大分打到3比1领先，第五局10比8领先但没拿下来，反而是第七局7比10落后之后连得5分获胜了。我觉得我和蒙里犯了同样的错误，领先之后有点着急。”

However, when asked whether the exhaustion in the semi-finals affected her performance in the finals, Kong Fengge did not want to make excuses for herself, "I think it's OK, physical strength is not the biggest problem."

(End of this chapter)