As night fell over the city on December 11, the 2022 Table Tennis Super League Men's and Women's Championships were announced! Shandong Luneng once again proved its unrivaled competitive strength by winning all the titles in one go.
The unexpected turn of events in the women's team competition was staggering. The Shenzhen team, led by Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng, suffered a defeat, a result that shocked those watching the match. Sun Yingsha scored two points, but Chen Meng lost in singles and doubles, making it an up-and-down match between Shandong Luneng and Shenzhen University. In the end, Shandong Luneng won the women's team championship with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory.
During the tournament, Chen Meng's performance was not as good as it could have been, facing Chen Xingtong in both singles and doubles and ending in a loss. Luneng's Wang Manyu, on the other hand, played twice but won and lost half of the matches. The match between Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu became the center of attention. In the end, Sun Yingsha beat Wang Manyu 3-1, helping SZU to a 1-1 score, but Chen Meng's performance was mediocre in the match, with two consecutive defeats putting SZU in a difficult situation, while Wang Manyu won the final round of the women's singles with ease.
In the men's team competition, the match between Shandong Luneng and Shanghai Real Estate also attracted a lot of attention. Luneng, with Ma Long, battled Shanghai's national team players Fan Zhendong and Xu Xin. The Shanghai team chose to partner Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong in doubles to try to deal a heavy blow to their opponents, but this strategy did not work. In the first match, Shandong Luneng's Ma Long/Yuan Lizen pairing defeated Shanghai's national player pairing with a 3-2 record. Luneng's Xu Yingbin then followed up with a 3-2 win over Zhou Kai, giving Shandong Luneng a 2-0 lead and putting Shanghai on the back foot.
Despite Fan Zhendong's later victory over Ma Long and Xu Xin's 2-2 draw with Xu Yingbin, young Yuan Lizen ensured that Shandong Luneng would eventually win the title with another victory over Zhou Kai in the final match. Shanghai's rising star Zhou Kai did not live up to expectations in this marquee matchup. It can be said that Shandong Luneng not only trained new blood, but also gained the championship honor with the excellent play of veteran Ma Long and young newcomer Yuan Lizen, which was well deserved. As a result, both the men's and women's teams of Shandong Luneng took home the trophies.
