original title:WTT Singapore Grand Slam: Ma Long eliminated the famous Brazilian player, Guoping won five championships in advance
The World Table Tennis Professional League (WTT) Singapore Grand Slam is about to reproduce the grand occasion that the Chinese team won five championships. In the men’s singles semi-finals that ended on the 18th, Olympic champion Ma Long eliminated the world’s fifth-ranked Brazil 4:1 Famous player Hugo Calderano advanced to the final with his teammate Fan Zhendong.
On March 18, Malone celebrated scoring in the game.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Deng Zhiwei)
The day before, the Chinese women’s table tennis team seized the women’s singles semi-finals and joined the women’s doubles final, securing two championships in advance; in the men’s doubles final that took the lead on the afternoon of the 18th, Fan Zhendong/Wang Chuqin defeated the South Korean team Zhang Yuzhen/Lin Zhongxun 3:1 and successfully defended the title ; In the mixed doubles final on the 16th, Wang Chuqin/Sun Yingsha defeated the Japanese team Tomokazu Zhangmoto/Hina Hayata again after the World Table Tennis Championships in Houston, also defending the title.
On March 16, Wang Chuqin (left)/Sun Yingsha at the award ceremony.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Deng Zhiwei)
Calderano is the only non-Chinese Table Tennis Association player who has successfully advanced to the semi-finals of the singles. The champion of the Pan American Games and Latin American Championships, which Ma Long called “the real opponent of national table tennis”, showed his tenacious fighting spirit. He fought bravely to get back a game when he fell behind with a big score of 0:3, and then fell behind 4:9 in the fifth game. Shi relied on a high-quality backhand to straighten and scored 4 points in a row, chasing to 8:9.
But Ma Long’s strength is even better, and his willpower is equally firm. After getting the match point, he made a quick start and made a fatal blow. He won the fifth game 11:8 and won the game with a big score of 4:1.
On March 18, Malone returned the ball in the game.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Deng Zhiwei)
The last time Malone played against Calderano was at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest. “I can feel Hugo’s progress over the past few years, regardless of ability, record, and ranking.” He said, “But I played well in today’s game. High, the first three rounds established a lot of advantages.”
Regarding the difficulties encountered in the last two rounds, Ma Long said that “this is normal”: “The opponent itself has such an ability to create difficulties for any opponent.”
Another men’s singles semi-final held earlier was exactly the same as this process. After Fan Zhendong won three games in a row, Wang Chuqin pulled one back. As a doubles partner and singles opponent, the former did not give the latter a chance to reverse. A big score of 4:1 advanced to the final.
On March 18, Fan Zhendong returned the ball in the game.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Deng Zhiwei)
In the women’s singles semi-final, Qian Tianyi defeated Zhang Rui 4:1, and joined forces with Sun Yingsha, who defeated Wang Manyu 4:0, in the final. In the women’s doubles final, Sun Yingsha/Wang Manyu defeated Chen Meng/Wang Yidi 3:2 and won the championship.
On March 18, the champion Sun Yingsha (left)/Wang Manyu was at the award ceremony.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo by Deng Zhiwei)
The men’s and women’s singles finals of the WTT Singapore Grand Slam will be staged on the 19th.