Shandong Luneng's night of glory, Ma Long leads the way to another brilliant performance!
Focusing on Beijing, the 2022 Table Tennis Super League came to a close in Weihai on December 11, with Shandong Luneng playing on two fronts with the men's and women's team titles at stake. In the Men's Team Semi-Final, Shandong Luneng under Ma Long topped Shandong Weiqiao 3-1 and will face Shanghai Real Estate Group tonight to fight for the Men's Team Championship.
In the middle of the season, Shandong Luneng's national team mainstay Wang Chuqin transferred to Shandong Weiqiao, wanting to add luster to the defending champions. However, Liang Jingkun's temporary suspension has limited Shandong Weiqiao's overall strength.
In the first match of the semifinals, Shandong Luneng lost the first point as Ma Long/Yuan Lizen defeated Ziyang/Zhou Qihao 0-3. However, Shandong Luneng junior Xu Yingbin came back from 0-2 down to beat Wang Chuqin 3-2 to tie the score. Xu Yingbin also beat Wang Chuqin 3-2 in the National Championships last month.
After winning this crucial battle, Shandong Luneng won back-to-back matches. Ma Long swept Zhou Qihao 3-0 and Xu Yingbin beat Yu Ziyang 3-1 to seal Shandong Luneng's spot in the final 3-1.
Shandong Weiqiao's title defense came to an abrupt end. Photo courtesy of China Table Tennis Association
Ma Long season double line play, and Yuan Lizen partner doubles. After the doubles loss, Ma Long admitted that he did not perform well, but quickly adjusted his state and zeroed in on Zhou Qihao in singles, "It is vital to play normally on key courts to win."
Xu Yingbin said after the game, the game with Wang Chuqin is at a disadvantage, the first two too conservative, resulting in a big score behind, "finally put up a good fight, and finally won."
At 1am today, Shandong Luneng will face Shanghai Real Estate Group led by Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin for the men's team title. At 2 p.m., Shandong Luneng women's team final will face Shenzhen University team Chen Meng and Sun Yingsha.
