In the exciting 2022 Table Tennis Premier League Women's Team Final, Shenzhen University missed out on the title after going down 2-3 to Shandong Luneng. The result was a shock to many, as it was clear from the beginning of the match that SZU was still taking risks in adjusting their lineup, while Shandong Luneng seemed to be playing steadily and seemed to be winning the match. However, Shandong Luneng's performance was as enigmatic as it was elusive.
In the course of an exciting match, Qian Tianyi/Chen Xingtong defeated Sun/Chen Meng 3-0 (scores 11-9, 11-4, 11-8) to give Shandong Luneng the first lead. However, Sun beat Shenzhen University's Wang Manyu 3-1 (4-11, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11) in the following game, making the match a whitewash. Chen Xingtong further consolidated Shandong Luneng's lead with a 3-1 (16-14, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7) win over Chen Meng in the third set. Although Sun Yingsha lost 0-3 (5-11, 2-11, 1-11) in the fourth set, Sun Yizhen sealed the win for Shandong Luneng with a 3-0 (11-7, 11-3, 11-8) victory over Wang Manyu in the final set.
Interestingly, despite both teams having the exact same lineup in the round robin as in the final, the final results were very different. In the round robin, Sun Yizhen/Chen Meng beat Qian Tianyi/Chen Xingtong 3-0, and Sun Yingsha also beat Wang Manyu for the second time in a row. However, in the crucial third set, Chen Meng defeated Chen Xingtong, while in the final, Chen Xingtong reversed Chen Meng with a score of 3-1, making the balance of the match gradually tilted to the side of Shandong Luneng team.
In fact, by looking at Shenzhen University's lineup, we can see that they don't have a clear advantage. Even though Shandong Luneng didn't change their lineup, it proves that they think it is the best strategy to restrain SZU.
In doubles, Chen Meng and Sun Yizhen don't work well together, and it showed in the match. In the round robin, Chen Meng/Sun Yizhen lost 1-3 to Chen Xingtong/Qian Tianyi, who had partnered many times and had a good understanding, and even became the women's doubles champion of the All-Championships. While facing Chen Meng/Sun Yizhen, they lost 1-3, which is unbelievable.
In the second set, Sun Yingsha had to face Wang Manyu, which was a task she had to accomplish. And Sun Yingsha managed to beat Wang Manyu twice in a row, equalizing the score for the Shenzhen University team.
In the third set, Chen Meng beat Chen Xingtong in the round robin, but lost consecutive points in the final. Nonetheless, we can't completely blame Chen Meng because there were problems with the lineup arrangement of Shenzhen University.
In the fourth set, Sun Yingsha beat Qian Tianyi 3-0, but her two points seemed more regrettable. In the final set, Shandong Luneng sent Wang Manyu to face Sun Yizhen in a match without suspense.
in summary
In the round-robin tournament, Shandong Luneng team managed to advance to the knockout stage despite their defeat. They excelled in the Women's Doubles and the crucial Tri Singles, which was their strategy to catch Sun Yingsha. It was not easy for Wang Manyu to catch Sun Yingsha, so they chose to give up, while the Women's Doubles and the Tri Singles had obvious advantages for Shandong Luneng. After all, the doubles strength of Chen Xingtong/Qian Tianyi is not to be underestimated, and Chen Xingtong also has an advantage when facing Chen Meng.
As a matter of fact, Shandong Luneng seemed to have intentionally lost to Shenzhen University in the round-robin tournament to make them take things lightly. In the final, Shandong Luneng once again adopted such a strategy, which was precisely their intention. In other words, if Shandong Luneng Team beat Shenzhen University Team in the round-robin match, then Shenzhen University Team would probably adjust their lineup in the final match, which would put Shandong Luneng Team in a passive position. Therefore, Shenzhen University team's loss can not be completely blamed on Chen Meng. Shandong Luneng team's desire to escape is not defensible.
